All questions revolve around Enable in this year's Arc. If the reigning champion is anywhere near the maximum of her powers, she should crush the field at Longchamp. How she overcomes the dreaded "bounce factor", the theory that a horse that runs well after a long lay-off will run badly on their second run, will be the main determinant of the result of the race. She came back from injury in the most comforting of fashions by easily overcoming top-class Crystal Ocean on the synthetic track of Kempton a few weeks ago. My belief is that her class will tell and that she will emulate Treve and win her second Arc.
Of the rest, I will pick possibly the next filly superstar in Sea of Class and the trio of Fabre runners in Waldgeist, Cloth of Stars and Talismanic. Sea of Class has been supplemented for the race and looks set to be a major force in the middle distance division, male and distaff, next year. She will benefit of the all-important 3-pound allowance but her outside draw and the soft conditions will play against her. She can definitely place in the first 3 though.
Fabre has a strong-hand in his 3 horses and were it not to the 2 above-mentioned fillies, he would have been in a great nick to win the Arc for the 8th time. Waldgeist looks his best chance as this son of Galileo has won his last 4 races and beaten his 2 other stablemates in the Prix Foy. The German star should be at the finish. Cloth of Stars came second to Enable last year and seems to have gotten in better form over the course of the year. He definitely has the class to place again. Finally, Talismanic is certainly able to pick up the pieces should Enable fail to fire. The soft ground might play against him as his best form is on quick ground.
Win: Enable
Place: Sea of Class, Waldgeist
Top 5: Talismanic, Cloth of Stars
