Euro/Mideast Road: Ten set for Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc Day
Oct 04, 2024
British and Irish shippers loom large in Sunday’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1), the lone French scoring race on the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby. Field of Gold, Rashabar, and the Aidan O’Brien pair of Henri Matisse and Camille Pissarro are among the key contenders in the about seven-furlong turf affair at ParisLongchamp.
Scheduled as the second race with a post time of 8:30 a.m. ET on the blockbuster Arc Day program, the Lagardere offers points to the top five finishers according to the 10-5-3-2-1 format. It’s also part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series as a “Win and You’re In” for the Juvenile Turf (G1).
The John and Thady Gosden-trained Field of Gold comes off a victory in the Aug. 31 Solario (G3) at Sandown. The Kingman colt’s only loss was a debut third to New Century, the eventual winner of the Summer (G1) at Woodbine.
Among the fields of gold 🎵
Field Of Gold wins the Sky Bet Solario Stakes. @KShoemark could have some exciting days ahead with this one 🤩
— Champions Series (@ChampionsSeries) August 31, 2024
Rashabar’s claim to fame is upsetting the Coventry (G2) at Royal Ascot as an 80-1 maiden, but the Brian Meehan pupil is no flash in the pan. In his subsequent start, Rashabar rallied for second in the about six-furlong Prix Morny (G1) at Deauville, suggesting that he’ll thrive over the added ground.
Henri Matisse adds blinkers after he was overturned as the odds-on favorite in the Vincent O’Brien National (G1) in his latest. The Wootton Bassett colt was previously unbeaten, with scores in the Railway (G2) and Futurity (G2) at the Curragh.
His Ballydoyle stablemate, Camille Pissarro, has a lot more to prove after a series of losses since his maiden win, including an 11th behind Rashabar in the Coventry. But he has gone close in the Marble Hill (G3), Anglesey (G3), and a lucrative race at Doncaster last time out.
Not to be overlooked is another Irish raider, Cowardofthecounty, from the yard of Joseph O’Brien. Although he’s yet to gain a stakes credit in Britain or Ireland, most recently finishing a non-threatening fifth in the National, Cowardofthecounty captured the Prix Francois Boutin (G3) at Deauville.
Leading the home team is Misunderstood, who extended his record to 2-for-2 with a frontrunning romp in the Prix des Chenes (G3). The cutback from a metric mile poses a question along with the stiffer class test.
Houquetot, second to Cowardofthecounty in the Boutin, came back to win the course-and-distance prep, the Prix La Rochette (G3). Advancing from that same stepping stone are runner-up Heybetli, third Revolutionnaire, and fifth Tiego the First.
You can watch and wager on the Arc Day action at TwinSpires.com.
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