1. Daryz
Trainer: Francis-Henri Graffard. Jockey: Mickael Barzalona. Draw: 5.
Pedigree: Sea The Stars x Daryakana (by Selkirk). Age: 4. Odds: 7-4.
Only three colts have won the Arc twice since the end of the second world war, and the most recent of those was Alleged, in 1977 and 1978, so Daryz is bidding to join a very select club when he goes to post this weekend. That stat is slightly skewed by the fact that many Arc winners are packed straight off to stud whatever their age, but Bago (third), Hurricane Run (third) and Workforce (unplaced) have all tried to repeat their three-year-old success since 2005 and Daryz will deservedly be ranked among the Longchamp all-timers if he can succeed where they failed. For the second year running, he has the luck of the draw on his side too with an excellent pitch in stall five, but he is now cast as the older horse trying to give weight to the three-year-olds and two prime candidates from the Classic generation are drawn on his inside.
2. Saddadd
Trainer: Roger Varian. Jockey: Ray Dawson. Draw: 9.
Pedigree: Pinatubo x Talmada (Cape Cross). Age: 4. Odds: 40-1.
Got off the mark at Group One level in Germany last time out, in the same race that Torquator Tasso won before causing a massive Arc upset in 2021. That was also his first run at a mile-and-a-half so further progress is entirely possible, but his limitations did appear to be exposed in a stronger Group One – the Eclipse at Sandown – in July and this latest assignment is much tougher still.
3. Chestnut Rocket
Trainer: Alicja Karkosa. Jockey: Marvin Grandin. Draw: 2.
Pedigree: Intells x Rocaille (Anabaa). Age: 4. Odds: 200-1.
Launched his career in the racing backwater of Poland before a switch to the much bigger pond of Chantilly, and has improved by the run since joining his current yard a year ago. Latest short-nose second to the useful Al Aasy in a Deauville Group Two was a fresh career best, but realistically still leaves him at least a stone short of what is likely to be required on Sunday.
4. Admire Terra
Trainer: Yasuo Tomomichi. Jockey: Cristian Demuro. Draw: 12.
Pedigree: Rey De Oro x Admire Miyabi (Heart’s Cry). Age: 5. Odds: 50-1.
Finished a half-length behind the winner when third in the spring Tenno Sho, one of Japan’s most prestigious Group One events, back in May, and hit the frame too in the Japanese St Leger in his three-year-old season. Still waiting for a first Group One success, however, and has plenty to find (from a double-figure draw) to trouble the principals. The less-fanciable of the two Japanese-trained runners on form, and his compatriot, Meisho Tabaru, is scarcely shortlist material.
5. Meisho Tabaru
Trainer: Mamoru Ishibashi. Jockey: Yutaka Take. Draw: 13.
Pedigree: Gold Ship x Meisho Tsubakuro (French Deputy). Age: 5. Odds: 40-1.
A 12th Arc ride for Japan’s ultimate hero in the saddle, Yutaka Take, whose previous attempts to supply his homeland with a much-desired first win in the race have all come to naught. His latest partner will set off at much longer odds than the likes of Deep Impact, whose travelling fans all but crashed the PMU back in 2006, but the five-year-old does arrive in the Bois de Boulogne as only the third horse in the 67-year history of the Group One Takarazuka Kinen to win the race in consecutive years. The previous two – Gold Ship, Meisho Tabaru’s sire, and Chrono Genesis – both finished unplaced in the Arc, however, and while the ground should be to his liking, a double-figure draw is another serious obstacle to overcome.
6. Arrow Eagle
Trainer: Jean-Claude Rouget. Jockey: Ioritz Mendizabal. Draw: 14.
Pedigree: Gleneagles x Absolutely Me (Anabaa Blue). Age: 5. Odds: 100-1.
The final runner in the outstanding career of Jean-Claude Rouget, who saddled his second Arc winner in the space of four runnings when Ace Impact, the favourite, completed an unbeaten six-race career in 2023. The seasons since have been a struggle, though, and Rouget was only able to extend his career until Sunday when a court delayed the winding-up of his training business until next Tuesday. It would be one of the most remarkable stories in Arc history if Arrow Eagle could send him out on a high, but while he finished sixth last year at massive odds, back in the real world his chance is summed up by his price.
7. Bay City Roller
Trainer: George Scott. Jockey: Oisin Murphy. Draw: 15.
Pedigree: New Bay x Bloomfield (Teofilo). Age: 4. Odds: 33-1.
Looked exposed as simply a very useful Group Two performer at best until this time last year, when he ran away with a Group One in Germany by seven lengths. Added a much more significant Group One win to his record in the Coronation Cup at Epsom on Derby day, thanks in no small part to the rain-softened ground, and would be an interesting each-way shot on the going that generally prevails at Longchamp in early October. Unfortunately for him, though, the ground on Sunday will be closer to the good-to-firm on Arc Trials Day in September, when he was handed a beating by Daryz in Prix Foy that was far more decisive than the one-and-three-quarter margin might suggest, and a draw in stall 15 looks like the final nail.
8. Minnie Hauk
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien. Jockey: William Buick. Draw: 10.
Pedigree: Frankel x Multilingual (Dansili). Age: 4. Odds: 20-1.
Sent off as favourite 12 months ago having won three Group Ones earlier in the campaign, and led from two out until a few strides before the line before Daryz collared her late on. That prompted a sporting decision to keep her in training with a return to Longchamp in mind, but she has found it much tougher going as a four-year-old, with no further Group One wins from four attempts. A return to her very best three-year-old form would put her in with a squeak, but she had a better draw last time around too and there is a distinct sense that her best chance of Arc glory has already been and gone.
9. Kalpana
Trainer: Andrew Balding. Jockey: Colin Keane. Draw: 6.
Pedigree: Study Of Man x Zero Gravity (Dansili). Age: 5. Odds: 6-1.
A continuous improver throughout her career, and easily forgiven her seventh-place finish behind Daryz last year, when she was caught wide from stall 10 and then stayed on well in the straight. Has progressed again this year, and had Daryz six lengths adrift in third when winner in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July. Daryz, admittedly, seems to save his best form for Longchamp, but quicker ground this time around is another big plus for Andrew Balding’s mare and a draw in stall six is another step up from last year.
10. Friendly Soul
Trainer: John & Thady Gosden. Jockey: James Doyle. Draw: 7.
Pedigree: Kingman x In Clover (Inchinor). Age: 5. Odds: 25-1.
Punched her ticket for Europe’s showpiece event with a win in the Prix Vermeille in early September, which came with a free supplementary entry for the Arc attached. Even so, the Prix de l’Opera over 10 furlongs – a race she won in 2024 – remained an option until earlier in the week, and though the Vermeille is over the Arc’s 12-furlong trip, she was gifted a very soft lead and only held the closers by three-quarters of a length. A draw in stall seven is positive, but a strongly-run mile-and-a-half may well prove too much of a challenge.
11. Varandir
Trainer: Francis-Henri Graffard. Jockey: Clement Lecoeuvre. Draw: 4.
Pedigree: Zarak x Varkesha (Pivotal). Age: 3. Odds: 12-1.
Less than half a length behind Maltese Cross in the Grand Prix de Paris on Bastille Day, although that was good enough only to secure fourth place in a blanket finish. That was the only defeat of his career so far, and he had Benvenuto Cellini back in fifth when finishing one-and-a-quarter lengths clear in the Prix Niel last time out. The second-string behind Daryz in Graffard’s team according to the betting, but he won the same newcomers’ event at Longchamp in April that launched Daryz’s racecourse career in 2025 and has shown similar, race-by-race improvement ever since. The Aga Khan Studs breeding operation is turning out top-class middle-distance performers at a prodigious rate at present and it would be no surprise if Varandir is another. One to take seriously despite a double-figure price with the UK bookies.
12. Benvenuto Cellini
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien. Jockey: Ryan Moore. Draw: 1.
Pedigree: Frankel x Newspaperofrecord (Lope De Vega). Age: 3. Odds: 14-1.
Deemed a non-runner in the Derby due to a self-inflicted issue at the stalls – even though we all saw him trail home in 10th place – but performed much better when winning the Irish equivalent next time up, on much quicker ground. Went on to finish two lengths behind Kalpana in the King George at Ascot but there were no obvious excuses for a lacklustre fifth behind Varandir, another of today’s rivals, in the Prix Niel in early September. His prospects improved somewhat when he was handed stall one in Thursday’s draw, prompting Ryan Moore to switch into his saddle, but Varandir for one is drawn low too and looked much the better prospect last time.
13. Bright Light
Trainer: Andreas Suborics. Jockey: Benjamin Marie. Draw: 8.
Pedigree: City Light x Brighton Blues (Sakhee). Age: 3. Odds: 100-1.
German racing waited more than half a century for a debut Arc success with the 119-1 outsider, Star Appeal, but has upped the pace somewhat in the last 15 years with two more wins, for the well-fancied Danedream (2011) and then another boilover when Torquator Tasso went in four years ago. A third win in 16 years is a only a remote possibility, though, as the country’s only runner has at least a stone to find with the likes of Maltese Cross and Daryz, and while he has run with credit in relatively minor Group Ones on his last two outings, he still has only a maiden win to his name after six starts.
14. Maltese Cross
Trainer: William Haggas. Jockey: Tom Marquand. Draw: 11.
Pedigree: Sea The Stars x Nabatea (Camelot). Age: 3. Odds: 5-1.
Hated the ground in the Derby in June, when he also had the worst of the draw in stall one, but still ran on best of all to finish second and has shown improved form on his two starts since. Showed a high-class turn of foot to edge a four-horse blanket finish after a tricky passage in the Group One Grand Prix de Paris in July – a race run over the Arc track and trip – and then breezed to victory in the Great Voltigeur at York, with the Derby winner four lengths adrift. Unusually, the ground is likely to be better at Longchamp in October than it was for the Derby in June, but a draw in 11 – a stall that has not housed the winner since 1988 – is less auspicious. Still in there with a solid chance, but Tom Marquand’s path to victory has definitely narrowed.
15. Thundering On
Trainer: Joseph O’Brien. Jockey: Pierre-Charles Boudot. Draw: 3.
Pedigree: Frankel x Thundering Nights (Night Of Thunder). Age: 3. Odds: 8-1.
Produced one of the best winning performances in the Oaks this century at Epsom in June, when she cruised alongside Legacy Link as though she had only just joined in and then powered nearly four lengths clear at the line. That has proved to be just one among a series of major wins for her trainer in an outstanding campaign, which also saw him run his father, Aidan, very close for the top trainer prize at Royal Ascot. As per Diamond Necklace, the mere fact that that she is a Group One-winning three-year-old filly makes her of significant interest and unlike O’Brien Sr’s runner, she has an excellent draw in three. The ground is a slight concern, as she was only fourth on good-to-firm when favourite for the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh in June, but she was subsequently found to be coughing and bounced back to winning form last time out. In similar form, it is hard to see her finishing outside the first three.
16. Diamond Necklace
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien. Jockey: Christophe Soumillon. Draw: 16.
Pedigree: St Mark’s Basilica x Prudenzia (Dansili). Age: 3. Odds: 14-1.
One of two three-year-old fillies in the race (Thundering On is the other), a cohort that had a high old time of it in the Arc between 2008 and 2017 with four wins from 10 runnings. They have since drawn a blank, though digging a little deeper reveals that just eight three-year-old fillies have lined up in that time and three – including Minnie Hauk last year – finished second. So far, so good, and she looked sure to be the Ballydoyle No 1 earlier in the week, but the France-Galop computer handed her the widest draw of all on Thursday and Ryan Moore has baled to ride Benvenuto Cellini from stall one instead. Christophe Soumillon is a jockey who likes to put on a show, but an Oscar-winning performance will be needed from stall 16.
