PARISLONGCHAMP on Saturday and Sunday featured eight Group 1 races, three of which were confined to fillies and mares. That left three open to all. The Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was run for the last time with geldings excluded. The merits of this decision will be debated for some time to come. What is not a subject of scrutiny is that the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere also does not permit geldings.

The main argument regarding the change to the Arc concerns the race as a stallion-making contest, and whether the admission of geldings will damage that reputation. People argue that the inclusion of fillies is not a problem, and further suggest that if the best colt is not able to beat the best gelding, then why should he be crowned the best racehorse? As the change has been made, we will simply now have to see how it works – or could there be a reversal of the decision?