“It’s not a race, it’s a monument”, states the slogan of the biggest event of the French racing year. That description is apt for a contest admired around the world and standing out like a titan in the late European racing season.
First run in 1920 and offering a huge €5m in total prize money, this is the race which determines the finest 1m4f turf horse on the planet. Barring geldings (a subject of some controversy in 2024), all are permitted to enter, laying the foundations for a mouthwatering clash between the colts, fillies, and mares from the Classic crop and older generation. As ever, the 2024 edition has assembled a stellar international cast with 16 runners and riders set to do battle at 3:20 pm on Sunday, 6th October.
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe: Confirmed Field of Runners and Riders
| Number | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zarakem | Cristian Demuro | Jerome Reynier |
| 2 | Haya Zark | William Buick | Adrien Fouassier |
| 3 | Fantastic Moon | Rene Piecheluk | Frau S Steinberg |
| 4 | Al Riffa | Yutaka Take | Joseph O’Brien |
| 5 | Sevenna’s Knight | Mickael Barzalona | Andre Fabre |
| 6 | Continuous | Christophe Soumillon | Aidan O’Brien |
| 7 | Bluestocking | Rossa Ryan | Ralph Beckett |
| 8 | Mqse De Sevigne | Alexis Pouchin | Andre Fabre |
| 9 | Look De Vega | Ronan Thomas | Carlos & Yann Lerner |
| 10 | Shin Emperor | Ryusei Sakai | Yoshito Yahagi |
| 11 | Sunway | Oisin Murphy | David Menuisier |
| 12 | Delius | Ioritz Mendizabal | Jean-Claude Rouget |
| 13 | Sosie | Maxime Guyon | Andre Fabre |
| 14 | Los Angeles | Ryan Moore | Aidan O’Brien |
| 15 | Survie | Tom Marquand | Nicolas Clement |
| 16 | Aventure | Stephane Pasquier | Christophe Ferland |
Highlights
He may have lost his unbeaten record in the Prix Niel, but Look De Vega currently heads the market for Carlos and Yann Lerner. Reportedly undercooked on trials day, he had looked like a horse out of the top draw when landing the Prix du Jockey Club. Thoroughly proven on soft ground, the son of Lope De Vega rates a danger to all if bouncing back to his best.
It wouldn’t be an Arc without a strong challenge from the Chantilly yard of Andre Fabre. With eight Arc triumphs, Fabre is the most successful trainer in the history of the race and sends three into battle this time. The Sea The Stars colt, Sosie, is the clear pick of that trio, having landed the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris over course and distance in July and lowered the colours of Look De Vega in the Prix Niel. With the excellent Maxime Guyon in the saddle, this three-year-old has plenty in his favour. Of the other Fabre runners, Mqse De Sevigne arrives seeking a five-timer but steps up to this trip for the first time, whilst Sevenna’s Knight is a big price but could prove dangerous if this turns into a slog.
No surprise that the shortest price contender from Britain and Ireland hails from the Ballydoyle operation of Aidan O’Brien. The two-time Arc winner relies on Los Angeles and Continuous in 2024, with Ryan Moore opting to ride the former. This year’s Irish Derby winner bagged the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud on his only previous start on soft ground and posted an excellent trial for this when fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes. Los Angeles may be the yard number one but don’t rule out a big run from Continuous, who ran a cracker to finish fifth on ground quicker than ideal in the 2023 edition.
Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa completes the Irish trio and is fancied to go well by many observers. Steadily improving throughout the season, he was the horse who gave City Of Troy most to do in the Coral-Eclipse and built on that with a five-length romp in the Grosser Preis von Berlin last time – a race previously won by subsequent Arc winners Marienbard, Danedream, Torquator Tasso, and Alpinista.
This year’s British challengers are the David Menusier-trained Sunway and the much-improved filly Bluestocking from the Ralph Beckett operation. Sunway is without a win in six starts this season but was only three-quarters of a length behind Los Angeles in the Irish Derby and warmed up for this with a third-place effort in the St Leger. Bluestocking, meanwhile, is seeking a third Group 1 of an excellent season and advertised her clams with an impressive course and distance success in the Prix Vermeille on Trials Day. Her three Group wins have come in fillies-only affairs, but she’s hard to rule out with conditions in her favour.
Or perhaps this will finally be the year that Japan grabs Arc gold. Second with El Condor Pasa in 1999 and Nakayama Festa in 2010, the eastern hopes rest on the shoulders of Shin Emperor this year. A big eyecatcher when running on into third in the Irish Champion Stakes last time, he’s certainly bred for the job, with his full brother Sottsass having landed the 2020 edition of this.
Of the others, Jean-Claude Rouget holds his Frankel colt Delius in the highest regard. Making only his sixth career start here, this three-year-old is one of the more lightly raced runners in the field and split Sosie and Look De Vega in the Prix Niel last time. Likely to relish soft ground and a strong pace, he could go close to handing last year’s winning trainer a third Arc success.
