3 Breeders’ Cup winners are entered on Arc de Triomphe card

The international portion of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series wraps up on Sunday with a quintet of qualifiers at ParisLongchamp in France. From start to finish, the action-packed card is stacked with major races and elite horses, including three winners from the 2020 Breeders’ Cup.

Easily the highlight of the day is the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Held over 1 1/2 miles, the historic race ranks as one of Europe’s most prestigious prizes, so although it technically awards a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf, the Arc is actually an end goal for many of its starters.

As is befitting for such an important race, the 2021 Arc has drawn a stellar field. The slimmest of favorites in the early betting is Tarnawa, the 5-year-old mare who delivered a stretch-running victory in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Turf. The Dermot Weld trainee arrives at ParisLongchamp off a gutsy runner-up effort in the Irish Champion (G1), where she finished less than a length behind five-time Group 1 winner St Mark’s Basilica despite being carried outward by the winner down the homestretch.

The Irish Champion was contested over 1 1/4 miles, a distance arguably shorter than Tarnawa’s best. She figures to relish stretching back out over 1 1/2 miles for the Arc, though the distance is also suitable for her younger challengers Adayar and Hurricane Lane, 3-year-old stablemates representing the powerful team of Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby.

Adayar needs no introduction. An upset winner of the Epsom Derby (G1) during the spring, Adayar delivered another powerful performance in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1) on July 24, edging away to win the 1 1/2-mile prize by 1 3/4 lengths over globetrotting star Mishriff. Unfortunately, Adayar hasn’t run since due to an injury, and he’ll enter the Arc off an unexpectedly long layoff.

No such obstacles face Hurricane Lane, who has rattled off consecutive Group 1 victories in the Irish Derby, Grand Prix de Paris and St Leger racing 1 1/2 miles or farther. In Hurricane Lane’s case, the question is whether he’ll have sufficient time to recover from his 2 3/4-length score in the 1 13/16-mile St Leger just three weeks ago—no horse has ever won the St Leger and the Arc in the same year.

Other key Arc contenders include 16-length Epsom Oaks (G1) winner Snowfall, the multiple Group 1-winning Japanese raider Chrono Genesis and Prince of Wales’s (G1) heroine Love. The latter, a 4-year-old filly who dominated the 2020 Epsom Oaks by nine lengths, will be ridden by six-time Arc-winning jockey Frankie Dettori.

Another important prize on the Sunday agenda is the Prix de l’Opera Longines (G1), a 1 1/4-mile stepping stone toward the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The clear favorite in the early betting is defending Filly & Mare Turf winner Audarya, who came within a length of upsetting Love in the Prince of Wales’s (G1) during the spring. Audarya was last seen finishing a short head behind Grand Glory in the 1 1/4-mile Prix Jean Romanet (G1), and the two 5-year-old mares will enjoy a rematch on Sunday.

The third Breeders’ Cup champ in action this week is Glass Slippers, the reigning Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner. The 5-year-old mare has finished third in her first two starts of 2021, but was beaten less than a length in the Flying Five (G1) three weeks ago and appears poised for a peak effort in Sunday’s five-furlong Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines, which awards a fees-paid berth back to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

Glass Slippers is not the only fleet female in the Prix de l’Abbaye field. Flying Five winner Romantic Proposal, Nunthorpe (G1) heroine Winter Power, and King George (G2) winner Suesa are other primary players, and a 1-2-3 sweep for fillies and mares wouldn’t come as a surprise.

Speaking of talented fillies, the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (G2) features a potential star in the form of Raclette. The Juddmonte Farms homebred daughter of Frankel was produced by Emollient, a four-time Grade 1 winner in the United States. Conditioned by Andre Fabre, Raclette has gone 2-for-2 so far and is being bet like she can’t lose the one-mile Prix Marcel Boussac, which awards a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Meanwhile, 2-year-old colts will seek a slot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf field when they square off over seven furlongs in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1), Nine horses have been entered, including the undefeated Accakaba, who brought his record to 4-for-4 with a narrow victory in the Prix du Calvados (G2).

Ebro River, who upset the Phoenix (G1) sprinting six furlongs during the summer, may have the best chance to give Accakaba a tussle. Do not forget about Angel Bleu, who retains the services of Frankie Dettori after winning the Vintage (G2) back in July. Also on the Sunday card at ParisLongchamp is the Qatar Prix de la Foret (G1). The seven-furlong sprint is not part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, though it often serves as a springboard to the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Space Blues, winner of the 2020 Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest dashing 6 1/2 furlongs, looms as the favorite over the improving Lennox (G2) winner Kinross, the mount of Frankie Dettori