The 2024 edition of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting saw the British and Irish runners launch a successful cross-Channel assault, with Aidan O’Brien, John and Thady Gosden, Brian Meehan, Ed Walker, and Ralph Beckett combining to plunder nine valuable prizes – headlined by the spectacular success of Bluestocking in the main event.
No doubt those results didn’t sit too well with the home contingent. Next weekend, our Gallic cousins will attempt to exact revenge as a talented squad heads to Ascot for British Champions Day on Saturday, 19th October.
With seven previous wins at the meeting, headlined by the success of Almanzor in the 2016 edition of the Champion Stakes, the French are no strangers to success at this prestigious fixture – will any of the following add their names to the list of winners in 2024?
Beauvatier – Qipco British Champion Sprint Stakes
Trainer | Age | Guide Odds | Career Earning |
---|---|---|---|
Yann Barbarot | 3 | 16/1 | £276k |
France has yet to taste success in the headline act for the speedballs and may be up against it in 2024, with British-trained runners filling the top nine positions in the Prix de l’Abbaye on Arc Day. Will the Brits continue that dominance on home soil, or can this Yann Barbarot-trained three-year-old upset the applecart?
Exploding onto the scene in 2023 with wins in his first four outings, including the Group 3 Prix la Rochette, Beauvatier rounded off his season with a smart third to Rosallion in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. Initially stepped up to a mile in 2024, he was found wanting in the stamina department but has been rock solid since returning to six to seven furlongs.
Earning top marks for consistency, the colt has finished third in his last four starts, including at Group 1 level in the Prix Jean Prat, the Prix Maurice de Gheest, and the Prix de la Foret. Those efforts don’t leave him with much to find, and he seems likely to be a popular each-way option at a double-figure price.
Metropolitan – Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
Trainer | Age | Guide Odds | Career Earning |
---|---|---|---|
Mario Baratti | 3 | 9/1 | £628k |
Reigning champion Big Rock will not return to defend his crown in 2024. Having stormed to victory by a resounding six lengths twelve months ago, that will come as a relief to the British and Irish trainers. However, they still have two French stars to worry about, headed by this three-year-old from the yard of Mario Baratti.
A perfect two from two in his juvenile campaign, this good-looking chestnut achieved a breakthrough Group 1 success in the Poule d’Essai Poulins over this trip on soft ground. Having since run with credit to finish third in the St James’s Palace Stakes and second in the Prix Jacques le Marois, he shouldn’t be far away with conditions likely to be in his favour.
Facteur Cheval – Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
Trainer | Age | Guide Odds | Career Earning |
---|---|---|---|
Jerome Reynier | 5 | 12/1 | £3.09m |
Rounding out the French challenge in the big one-mile event of the fixture is this five-year-old son of Ribchester. This one will be making his fifth appearance on British soil and has performed with credit in his previous outings – finishing second and third in the past two editions of the Sussex Stakes and runner-up to Big Rock in the 2023 edition of this contest.
Enjoying a lighter campaign than many of his rivals, he kicked off 2024 with a first top-level success, when causing a 20/1 shock in the Dubai Turf before running disappointingly in the Queen Anne Stakes at this track. Back in the groove with a fine third in the Sussex Stakes, he arrives fresh following a 74-day break and has solid claims of going one better this year.
Calandagan – Qipco Champion Stakes
Trainer | Age | Guide Odds | Career Earning |
---|---|---|---|
Francis-Henri Graffard | 3 | 2/1 | £520k |
With three wins since 2011, the French are always to be feared in the main event and may send a three-pronged attack into battle this year. Of the trio, this rising star from the yard of Francis-Henri Graffard looks like the biggest threat to hot-favourite Economics.
Having picked up a pair of Group 3 wins in his homeland, this son of the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Gleneagles introduced himself to British racegoers when routing the King Edward VII field by six lengths at the Royal Meeting.
Returning for a shot at Group 1 glory in the Juddmonte International at York, he found only City Of Troy too good and won’t have that rival to worry about here.
Iresine – Qipco Champion Stakes
Trainer | Age | Guide Odds | Career Earning |
---|---|---|---|
Jean-Pierre Gauvin | 7 | 20/1 | £779k |
If this seven-year-old gelding comes home in front, he will join 1887 winner Bendigo as the oldest winner in Champion Stakes history. That’s a strong stat to overcome, but this rock-solid performer has few questions to answer in this grade.
In common with Facteur Cheval, Irisene will be making only his fourth start of the season, having picked up wins in Listed and Group 2 company and stayed on well for fourth in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. A winner 15 times in 23 starts, including the Group 1 Prix Ganay over 1m2½f, he’s a strong stayer at this trip and could prove particularly dangerous if the heavens open.
Zarakem – Qipco Champion Stakes
Trainer | Age | Guide Odds | Career Earning |
---|---|---|---|
Jerome Reynier | 4 | 66/1 | £364k |
This race may come too soon for many who lined up in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on the 6th of October, but this Jerome Reynier contender is being readied for a quick return to the track. Posting a career-best effort to finish sixth at Longchamp, his only previous outing on British soil resulted in a ¾l second to Auguste Rodin in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. A repeat of that effort would put him in contention here, but he may opt for the easier assignment of the Prix du Conseil de Paris on Sunday, 20th October.