A weekend for Global racing if ever there was one, with the top-level action from abroad swamping what Britain has to offer. That's not to say the British racing this weekend is bad, as the Cumberland Lodge Stakes (which we have compiled a runner-by-runner guide to here) at Ascot headlines the weekend's racing and has plenty of other black-type races and good handicaps for punters to get their teeth into. You can get Timeform's take on all Ascot races here.
It takes just a hop across the Channel to find the highlight of this weekend's racing, with Paris hosting arguably the greatest weekend of Flat action in Europe at Longchamp. Saturday's card would stand out in its own right at just about any other time of the year, and you can read the Timeform view on the big Saturday contests here, but it's Sunday's card, replete with no less than seven Group 1s, that steals the show.
Tony McFadden reckons he can kick off your Sunday with a winner in the Prix de l'Abbaye, after which there are two juvenile Group 1s (the Prix Marcel Boussac & the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere) and the Prix de l'Opera for fillies and mares, before we reach the big one: the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Much of the build-up to this year's Arc has centred on the horses that won't be there over those that will (as our Chief Correspondent Jamie Lynch has attested to in his weekend preview), but it can't be denied that this will be a fascinating renewal. We've put together a runner-by-runner guide to Europe's richest race, while Simon Rowlands has attempted to play mythbuster by looking at some of the more famous 'trends' in the Arc with his usual analytical rigour.
The Arc build-up may be all but at an end, but we've got the best part of a month before either the Breeders' Cup or Melbourne Cup comes to a head, and there's duly plenty of top-quality action in both the US and Australia as the competitors continue their preparation. There are several Group 1s Down Under on Saturday between Flemington and Randwick, and head of Timeform Australia Gary Crispe has previewed them all, as well as providing three best bets at each of the meetings.
Saturday also sees three Grade 1s apiece between Keeneland and Belmont in America, with clues for the Breeders' Cup in early-November sure to crop up, especially in the Shadwell Turf Mile at the former track in which top American performer Wise Dan will aim to enhance his credentials for Santa Anita. Graeme North has previewed that race and seven others, with his Keeneland Preview in full here and his Belmont thoughts here.
Comments, Ratings & Colours. Visit timeform.com to download racecards for Arc weekend at Longchamp
