The ‘Sporting Life’ have published an article today re Danedream. Doesn’t say if she will run in the Arc or not but rather, once again, it is still to be decided what her next target will be. The full article is at: http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/..._NAME=racing/11/09/16/RACING_Arc.html&BID=465
Nathaniel is the best horse in the race, he has the best form, and he is the most progressive, it's as simple as that. Workforce is a tree, SYT is an overrated hype horse whilst Sarafina and Galikova are no better than Midday. I told you before the KG, and I'm telling you now, Nathaniel wins
A tree that wins the Derby and the Arc - now that's a tree I wouldn't mind having if I were a trainer!
Ron.....No I've only been to the Arc once, when Sindaar won, and that was only because I was on holiday in Paris at the time. It's a good meeting but im not realy into all the travelling, im quite happy watching on the tele
I went in 2005 when the Hurricane won it with king Kieren on board. Happy days and I'd recommend it to every racing enthusiast.
I was considering going this year but the travel is too much of a hassle and too expensive. I fully intend to go at some time in the future mind. It always receives glowing reports and sounds like a cracking day out.
Will have to wait for the actual going, as I said, but first thoughts are for Galikova and of course So You Think!
Reading the racing article in The Times this morning and William Haggas seems pretty certain that So You Think will be taking in both the Arc and the Champion's Stakes. Not sure whether he is privy to any 'inside information' but it certainly wouldn't be beyond the realms of possiblity, especially for a horse that is reknowned for his ability to 'back up' as the Aussies like to say! He also said that Nathaniel was very unlikely to take up both engagements. So it looks like Arc/Champion is on the cards rather than Arc/Classic.
The positives are that the racing is top quality. the negatives for me are no bookmakers, and the place is heaving with French people
The secret to keeping the cost of travel down for the Arc is to plan early. I used to fly to Charles De Gaulle before the cheap scheduled flights all got clobbered with punitive taxes (with our elected liars claiming they were doing it to save the planet). Now I use the Eurostar. The secret is to book as soon as the tickets become available because there are limited cheap tickets. The cheapest return ticket that will do just Arc Sunday is currently £225. The other way that I have travelled to Longchamp is to get the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Ouistreham (Caen), get the bus to Caen railway station and the train to Paris. There is a lot more hassle doing this and the return ferry would have to be Monday morning because there is no bus for the Sunday night sailing (Caen to Ouistreham is nine miles). There are two or three operators that run escorted trips of various duration for Arc weekend; or the really adventurous could drive. With regard to Danedream, the cost of the available options depends on whether the horse has managed to collect a Breeders’ Cup nomination with any of its European victories. If it has not, then the cost of entry fees added to the travel expenses will make the Breeders’ Cup the most expensive option. The same probably applies to a trip to Japan, whereas France is just next door. Not as bad as the rest of Paris, because the Brits and the Paddys constitute a large part of the crowd on Arc Sunday.
Dexter, sit down and prepare yourself for the startling news about the cost of racecourse admission in France. Far and away the most expensive day of the year is Arc Sunday. If you are able to get a mortgage, you will have to find the princely sum of eight Euros. If you make a weekend of it, Saturday costs four Euros. On the subject of four Euros, that is the sort of money that you will be stumping up if you want to drink a tinny. They don’t have beer on tap at Longchamp, but you can pick up a can of Kronenbourg or a couple of other French lagers. They do check bags at the entrance to make sure that you haven’t been down to the local supermarket and bought your own at less than half the price. I can’t tell you what the course restaurants charge as I have never dined in any of them. The bar behind the grandstand sells sandwiches as well as drinks and you can expect to get fleeced just like you would at Newmarket or Ascot. There are also various stalls selling ice creams and confectionary.
Nass, when Towcester are offering a card with seven Grade 1 races for seven quid, the tailbacks on the A5 will be horrendous. On the Saturday of the Arc meeting, you can watch four Group 2 races for less than the racecard costs at Ascot.
