Arc Weekend Preview: Three Dark Horses To Watch The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is the biggest show in town this weekend as Longchamp gears up for one of Europe's premier races. It's certainly not the only race to focus on, however, with a host of major prizes to play for across two magical days at Longchamp on Saturday and Sunday. Here are three dark horses that might be worth keeping an eye on during Arc Weekend. Caballo De Mar — Prix du Cadran (Saturday 1.33) Trainer George Scott hasn't missed the chance to add Caballo De Mar to the mix for the Prix du Cadran — the longest Group 1 on the French racing calendar. You'll have to go back to 2019 to find the last French-trained winner of the race in Holdthasigreen for Bruno Audouin and the entry-list was paltry, resulting in Scott electing to supplement his German St Leger winner this week. He was progressive on the all-weather in the spring and went close in the Chester Cup in May before landing a handicap at Haydock and finishing second in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot in June. His last two runs have been over 1m6f but his Chester run in May over 2m2½f was a real pointer towards this sort of test and the marathon trip could bring about a career-best effort from the Phoenix Of Spain gelding. He'll need it, on this first opportunity to step out in elite company, but there's nothing of the ilk of Trueshan or Kyprios — the winners of the last four renewals — to fear on this occasion and Caballo De Mar's best days are probably ahead of him as a stayer. Princess Child - Prix Daniel Wildenstein (Saturday 3.25) Joseph O'Brien's filly Princess Child is an interesting contender for a wide open renewal of the Prix Daniel Wildenstein over a mile, a Group 2 event in which fillies have hit the frame in two of the last four renewals. With 11 left standing at the time of writing, a repeat will rest on Princess Child, the only filly left in the mix. The Dariyan filly ran well on debut in France over 7f on heavy going in Listed company in November 2023 before moving to Ireland. She took time to get going for this yard, failing to win any of her first 11 starts — but she ran into some strong rivals and arrives here after successive wins at Galway (7f, soft) and Tipperary (7½f, yielding). Latterly she scored in Group 3 company and did so in determined fashion from Queen Of Thunder after they'd gone clear. She arrives here in the form of her life and while a bit more is demanded, she could give the boys a run for their money. White Birch — Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Sunday 3.05) John Murphy's White Birch could be capable of producing a big run in the Arc. The five-year-old grey missed a year before his comeback at the Curragh in May. He was second to Los Angeles in the Mooresbridge Stakes that afternoon and has run well without threatening to win in two Group 1 outings since. Interestingly, he returns to this mile-and-a-half trip now for the first time since the autumn of 2023. He's yet to win over this far but is not yet exposed and his best form has all come on soft/heavy ground, so the forecast rain in Paris this week will only aid his cause. He's as big as 40/1 in places for the Arc and could be overpriced as a previous Group 1 winner.
