YOU will rarely see a horse given an easier race that Gallante (33) had in the Prix Niel. His jockey never once pulled his whip and only moved his arms back and forth slightly in the closing stages, allowing Gallante to quickly drop out as he got outpaced on ground much too fast for him.

I suggested after his win in the Grand Prix de Paris that Gallante was a mudlark who was likely to get badly outpaced and given an easy race in the Prix Niel if it was run on fast ground. That’s exactly what happened here, so I don’t think the race did anything to harm his chances in the Arc providing the ground is in his favour. He’s won all three times he’s run on soft ground.