Home defence thin on ground in Arc One of the talking points heading into this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly tomorrow is the apparent lack of strength in the home challenge. In form terms at least, the leading French hope is Jean-Claude Rouget's Brametot, who won both the French Guineas and Derby back in the spring. Unfortunately the wheels fell off in his prep race when he was slowly away and was eventually well beaten by Eminent at Deauville, when it subsequently emerged he had injured his back. Harry Herbert, racing manager for Al Shaqab, majority shareholders in Brametot, said: "He's won at Chantilly so we don't have to worry on that score. "What he has to do is break on terms, if he jumps out slowly, well, you don't want to be giving horses like Enable and Ulysses a start, it will be hard enough to beat them on a level playing field. "Of course, over a mile and a half for the first time it will be slightly more forgiving if he is slowly out but we'd obviously rather he was closer to the pace than he has been in the past. "He's over the back problem he had at Deauville and and he looks much better. We'd like to think he's going with a chance." Alain de Royer-Dupre's Zarak could hardly be better bred being by Dubawi out of an Arc winner in Zarkava. He has won only four of his 12 races but he did land a Group One last time out. "He looks very well, he had his main gallop at Maisons-Laffitte with two pacemakers, it was like a little race, and he did very well," said De Royer-Dupre. "For this type of horse, it is difficult to run him twice at Chantilly (which was why he swerved a trial). Some horses are very anxious so it was better to do that. "A mile and a half could be his best trip now, in his last race he did very well and it was the plan to run in the Arc. His dam stayed well and he has a good turn of foot. "He was second to Almanzor twice last year, he's a very good horse. He has a very strong turn of foot." It would not be the Arc without Andre Fabre being represented but with Plumatic a rank outsider, Cloth Of Stars is his main hope and even he is 33-1. "I couldn't be happier with Cloth Of Stars's condition coming into the race," Fabre said on www.godolphin.com. "His preparation has been ideal and he has come on as expected from his run in the Foy."
