Longchamp Saturday

The "Arc" weekend at Longchamp is generally recognised as the world´s best race meeting, despite the rival attractions of the Breeders Cup, Dubai World Cup, Hong Kong and Japan, and the meeting this weekend, entirely sponsored by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, is as strong as ever, with 7 Group One races and four other Group races, as well as a new and valuable race for Arabian-breds. Saturday´s card includes two Gropup Ones, the Prox de la Foret over 1400 metres at 15.20 CET (won last year by Toylsome, but no German runners this time) and the Prix du Cadran over 4000 metres at 15.55. This race, the French equivalent of the Ascot Gold Cup, was won last year by Werner Baltromei´s Le Miracle after a brilliant ride by Dominique Boeuf, and this pair will be hoping for a similar result this time. Le Miracle was a big disappointment at Ascot, but the trainer considers he is coming back to form. Another German contender is Dr. Andreas Bolte´s Caudillo, running for the first t ime in this grade and over this trip, but the ones to beat are clearly Aidan O´Brien´s Yeats and Francois Doumen´s Kasbah Bliss, a top hurdler but also pretty smart on the flat. Best German bet of the day is Uwe Ostmann´s Liang Kay (Terry Hellier) in the Group Two Prix Dollar over 1950 metres at 17.00.