Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris (Group 1)

ARC Trials Day at ParisLongchamp last Sunday was a fascinating affair which might have been renamed Irish Champions Day if that title hadn’t already been copyrighted for use elsewhere!

For it was the green, white and orange of the Irish tricolour rather than red, white and blue of the tricolore français which was hoisted aloft following each of the three showpiece races.

As usual, the big topic of debate was how much these contests told us about the likely outcome of the big race itself, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, over the identical mile-and-a-half course and distance three weeks later.

Initial indications were their relevance was strictly limited, given that all three winners were set to bypass the Arc.

However, after reflecting on the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris result, Mogul’s connections (trainer Aidan O’Brien and owner-breeders Coolmore Stud) seem to have had a rethink and the son of Galileo, whose brother, Japan, was fourth in last year’s Arc, do seem to be leaning towards a return visit to the French capital after all.

Quick ground meant that rapid winning times were being registered through much of the afternoon.

The Grand Prix was much the quickest of the Arc Trials, almost 1.7s faster than the Qatar Prix Vermeille, and thus best mirrored the shape of the Arc itself, though who can say if the current dry spell will continue right through until early October?

Striking fashion

Mogul’s victory was achieved in quite striking fashion. He was held up towards the rear of the 10-runner field as his stablemate, Nobel Prize, set a solid enough pace and then kicked with almost three-quarters of a mile to run, building up a six-length advantage.

In contrast to In Swoop, who he raced alongside for much of the journey, Mogul was taken to the inside by jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot straightening for home and got the perfect passage against the rail, only having to be angled out past the weakening Nobel Prize with a furlong and a half to run.

He put the race to bed in a matter of strides and was two and a half lengths to the good at the line.

Speaking from the Curragh, O’Brien’s immediate reaction was to suggest that Mogul might benefit from a drop in trip, saying: “He could go to the Champion Stakes, to America, Hong Kong or Australia.”

But, having allowed the dust to settle for a couple of days, he had changed his mind and was flagging up the Arc as his most likely target.

The Master of Ballydoyle, who was completing a hat-trick in this race following on from the victories of Kew Gardens and Japan, has long hinted that he sees Mogul at the top of his super-powerful team of three-year-old colts while admitting that he is the kind of horse who takes plenty of getting fit.

Yet, while the complication of a Covid-shortened preparation might have contributed to his unplaced efforts at Royal Ascot and in the Derby at Epsom, his more recent form has not maintained a constant progression.

He had been closely matched with Highland Chief on his last two starts, beating him narrowly in the Gordon Stakes before finishing just behind him in the Great Voltigeur, but this time that British-trained rival was well adrift, trailing home over six lengths behind in fifth. It may transpire that proper fast ground is the key to Mogul, so an anxious wait could be in store to see if the weather breaks.

With Nobel Prize doing an admirable job in his role as pacesetter, the third O’Brien contender, Serpentine, provides another conundrum following his fourth place, beaten just over four lengths, on his first start since his runaway demolition of the Investec Derby field.

No surprise

Tenderly handled by Christophe Soumillon, he kept on well enough, and it would be no surprise if he made big improvement in the Arc, where he is likely to be part of massive O’Brien posse, led by Love and including the brothers Mogul and Japan.

In Swoop also comes out of the race with credit, as his trainer, Francis Graffard, has always maintained that his Deutsches Derby hero needs some cut in the ground to be seen at his best. He took plenty of time to engage top gear before staying on stoutly down the outside in the final furlong to deprive Gold Trip of second place right on the line.

“If you had offered me second beforehand I would have taken it, as we were worried that he might get a bit tapped for speed,” Graffard said.

“I’ve kept him on the go right through the summer as he is very straightforward and takes his work well. He’s got other options, including back in Germany, but if it was softer ground in the Arc it would play to his strengths.”

Biggest losers

The race’s two biggest losers were English King and Port Guillaume, and neither had any real excuse for their underperformance. English King did suffer from a touch of interference early in the straight, but not enough to have made any difference to his finishing position of sixth, while Port Guillaume was ridden quite aggressively close to the pace before dropping out tamely to finish last.

The resiting of this race in the calendar of this shortened season, taking over from the Prix Niel, has prompted widespread praise, with many suggesting that having a second Group 1 on the card, alongside the Prix Vermeille, makes sense and is an experiment worth repeating.

Yet its regular position, as the centrepiece of a bank holiday evening Bastille Day card in mid-July that attracts a good crowd, does seem a natural fit.

And does the packed early autumn schedule really need another top-level event?

Officials at Doncaster, home of the competing St Leger, would surely argue not, and maybe In Swoop might have made a successful swoop on that Yorkshire venue if there had been no Group 1 alternative available closer to home?