Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Grade 1, ParisLongchamp 15:20
€5,000,000 guaranteed,
3yo plus,
1m 4f, Class 1  
Sunday 5th October 2025

SureWIn

Minnie Hauk looks set for a direct route to ParisLongchamp, with trainer Aidan O’Brien confirming the multiple Oaks-winning filly is firmly “on the Arc programme”.

The three-year-old has been flawless this term, landing four wins from as many starts. She opened her campaign with the Listed Cheshire Oaks, then added Classic glory at Epsom and the Curragh, before sealing a third Group One triumph in the Yorkshire Oaks last time out.

Unibet go as short as 5-1 for Minnie Hauk, and while she will have to be supplemented for the October 5 showdown, O’Brien is clearly targeting the French showcase.

“We haven’t seen the best of Minnie Hauk at all and you’re not going to see the best of her until the tempo is very strong all the way. Physically she’s getting bigger and stronger,” he said.

“We weren’t sure what she was and I thought we’d know this time but we still don’t know, she’s relentless. She’s on the Arc programme.

“The last day was lovely but we didn’t really find out because the second horse (Qilin Queen) pulled back off Wayne (Lordan, on Garden Of Eden) a little so for half a furlong or a furlong she was in limbo land where we would have preferred if she was behind the pacemaker. But it might have been the best thing in the world because she had a very easy race.

“We think when she goes there she doesn’t do much, that’s the way she is at home. The Arc hopefully will be a strong run race and we’re going to find out. She looks very exciting and is still in the ‘could be anything’ category.”

O’Brien also raised the possibility that owners Derrick Smith, John Magnier and Michael Tabor could keep her in training next season if she finishes this campaign on a high note.

“It’s possible she could be kept in training, the lads love racing them if everything is well,” he added.

If history is any guide, Kalpana is stepping into some well-worn hoofprints on her journey to Paris — and the echoes of Juddmonte’s success last year are growing louder by the furlong.

Second in a strongly-run renewal of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, Andrew Balding’s filly lost little in defeat behind the French-trained Calandagan. It was a run brimming with determination, and one that mirrored Juddmonte’s Bluestocking 12 months ago — who, after a similar placing, went on to land both the Prix Vermeille and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Now Kalpana looks primed to follow that same path, with a brief mid-season breather pencilled in before the focus turns to autumn and an Arc campaign that is very much on the radar.

“She ran a huge race and the handicapper confirmed it with another career-best rating,” said Barry Mahon, Juddmonte’s European racing manager. “She’s so honest — gives everything every time — and Andrew will freshen her up now with an autumn plan in mind.”

That plan could take two familiar routes. The Prix Vermeille, a traditional Arc prep and a natural fit for a filly of her class, is firmly in the mix. So too is Kempton’s September Stakes — a race won by Kalpana herself last year, and used to lethal effect by Enable ahead of her second Arc triumph in 2018.

“Both races are tried and trusted lead-ups to the Arc for us,” Mahon continued. “It’ll be a case of sitting down with Andrew in a few weeks and mapping out the best route.”

Kalpana’s summer campaign has seen her more than hold her own at the top level. A slightly unlucky third in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and then a valiant runner-up in a strong Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh showed that she’s been operating at full throttle — even if things haven’t always fallen her way.

But with the expected ease in the ground later in the year and a return to her optimum trip of a mile and a half, there’s every reason to believe there’s still more in the locker.

“She’s shown top-class form on fast ground,” Mahon added, “but we think she’ll improve again on softer going, which we’re likely to get in the autumn. That’s what makes it exciting. She’s favourite for the Arc in a few places, and while that doesn’t mean much in August, it shows the regard she’s held in. These are the races Juddmonte want to be in — and she’s earned her place among them.”

There’s no doubting the engine under the bonnet, but New Ground will have to park the revs if he’s to stay on the Juddmonte road map toward ParisLongchamp this autumn.

An eyecatching fourth in the Derby at Epsom where he travelled well but didn’t quite see it out, and then a strong-finishing third in the Grand Prix de Paris last time, Henri-François Devin’s colt has shown all the raw ability—but just as much restlessness. And it’s that over-eagerness, that tendency to race a touch too freely in the early stages, which connections now know they must tame.

“He’s a high-class colt—no doubt,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for Juddmonte. “That Grand Prix de Paris run was a big effort. But he’s pulling far too hard—he did it again like he did at Epsom. It’s not something we see at home, which makes it all the more frustrating. So it’s back to the drawing board a bit, mentally. Henri’s got a few ideas we’re going to try.”

The son of New Bay certainly hasn’t lacked for profile or potential, but in Group One company, the margins are as tight as the straight at Chester—and one gear too high early can be the difference between first and fourth.

“He’s got all the talent,” Mahon continued, “but if he doesn’t learn to relax, he’s going to keep making life difficult for himself. These top-level races don’t forgive that.”

New Ground is priced up as short as 20-1 for the Arc in some places, and the trials will tell us more. Among the likely stepping stones is the Prix Niel, traditionally the litmus test for Arc contenders, although the Grand Prix de Deauville also features among his potential options in the next few weeks.

“There are around four stakes races that Henri has pencilled in from late August into September,” Mahon confirmed. “He’s tentatively on the Arc path—but he’ll have to earn his place. We’ll give him a proper target, see how he shapes up, and go from there.”

For now, New Ground is a colt with all the tools—but one key lesson left to learn.

BoyleSports

Qatar Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe
€5,000,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 4f, Class 1
78 entries
Going:

NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY (form as of Sep 01)
1 32-312 Almaqam 4 9-5 Ed Walker
2 0-3421 Al Riffa 5 9-5 Joseph O'Brien
3 11116- Economics 4 9-5 William Haggas
4 112-11 Redentor 4 9-5 Tetsuya Kimura
5 21-122 Illinois 4 9-5 A P O'Brien
6 16-733 Cold Heart 5 9-5 P Schiergen
7 302-17 Shin Emperor 4 9-5 Yoshito Yahagi
8 023-826 Narrativo 4 9-5 Marcel Weiss
10 11-212 Ombudsman 4 9-5 John & Thady Gosden
11 424-68 Deira Mile 4 9-5 Owen Burrows
12 -35445 Sunway 4 9-5 David Menuisier
13 131-53 Giavellotto 6 9-5 Marco Botti
14 -33233 Sevenna's Knight 5 9-5 A Fabre
15 111-24 White Birch 5 9-5 John Joseph Murphy
16 3-1111 Arrow Eagle 4 9-5 J-C Rouget
17 -11242 Map Of Stars 4 9-5 F-H Graffard
18 5-1262 Internaute 4 9-5 Christopher Head
19 114-16 Sosie 4 9-5 A Fabre
20 11-214 Jan Brueghel 4 9-5 A P O'Brien
21 9-1154 Los Angeles 4 9-5 A P O'Brien
22 65-612 Byzantine Dream 4 9-5 Tomoyasu Sakaguchi
23 3431-8 Nakheel 4 9-2 Owen Burrows
24 10-606 Doha 5 9-2 Ralph Beckett
25 71-112 Estrange 4 9-2 David O'Meara
26 77-232 Survie 4 9-2 N Clement & F Hermans
27 1115-4 Erle 4 9-2 Maxim Pecheur
28 12132- Tiffany 5 9-2 Sir Mark Prescott Bt
29 11296- Lava Stream 4 9-2 David O'Meara
30 1/6-23 Tasmania 5 9-2 Sir Mark Prescott Bt
31 11-322 Kalpana 4 9-2 Andrew Balding
32 -95164 Dare To Dream 4 9-2 Gavin Hernon
33 113-27 Tamfana 4 9-2 David Menuisier
34 17111- Friendly Soul 4 9-2 John & Thady Gosden
35 5551-0 Regaleira 4 9-2 Tetsuya Kimura
36 214-12 Shaha 4 9-2 John & Thady Gosden
37 4127-7 You Got To Me 4 9-2 Ralph Beckett
38 22-112 Aventure 4 9-2 C Ferland
39 51-111 Quisisana 5 9-2 F-H Graffard
40 1-245 Azimpour 3 8-13 F-H Graffard
41 1111 Daryz 3 8-13 F-H Graffard
42 -15638 Ridari 3 8-13 M Delzangles
44 -18064 Sea Scout 3 8-13 Simon & Ed Crisford
45 11-70 Tuscan Hills 3 8-13 Raphael E Freire
47 12-99 Expanded 3 8-13 A P O'Brien
48 -11912 Delacroix 3 8-13 A P O'Brien
49 -23206 Al Aali 3 8-13 Mme L Pontoir
50 11201 Leffard 3 8-13 J-C Rouget
52 -11123 Cualificar 3 8-13 A Fabre
53 1-225 Purview 3 8-13 D K Weld
54 1-3343 New Ground 3 8-13 H-F Devin
55 521213 Dioptase 3 8-13 J-C Rouget
56 1-1 Gethin 3 8-13 Owen Burrows
57 1-6030 The Lion In Winter 3 8-13 A P O'Brien
58 11- Twain 3 8-13 A P O'Brien
59 12-155 Stanhope Gardens 3 8-13 Ralph Beckett
60 211- Starzintheireyes 3 8-13 Ralph Beckett
61 -11061 Parachutiste 3 8-13 F-H Graffard
62 11 Akido 3 8-13 Henk Grewe
63 11-354 Hotazhell 3 8-13 Mrs John Harrington
64 11-P Lifetimes 3 8-13 P Schiergen
65 111-21 Croix Du Nord 3 8-13 Takashi Saito
66 1-2381 Alohi Alii 3 8-13 Hiroyasu Tanaka
68 1-3201 Damysus 3 8-13 John & Thady Gosden
69 1-2102 Nitoi 3 8-13 A Fabre
70 123 Oracle 3 8-13 A Fabre
70 6213 Phineas 3 8-13 A Fabre
72 -21344 Uther 3 8-13 C Ferland
73 21-334 Tennessee Stud 3 8-13 Joseph O'Brien
74 1-275 Frankly Good Cen 3 8-13 Mme Victoria Head
75 12-112 Zarigana 3 8-9 F-H Graffard
76 13-229 Shes Perfect 3 8-9 Charlie Fellowes
77 1-1516 Safia 3 8-9 F Chappet
77 3-124 Jones 3 8-9 S Cerulis
78 221 Pearla 3 8-9 William Haggas
80 121-31 Gezora 3 8-9 F-H Graffard
81 1-3111 Merchant 3 8-13 William Haggas
82 1-1111 Minnie Hauk 3 8-9 A P O'Brien
83 -61211 Whirl 3 8-9 A P O'Brien
NR Ancient Wisdom 4 9-5 Charlie Appleby NON RUNNER
NR Midak 3 8-13 F-H Graffard NON RUNNER
NR Pride Of Arras 3 8-13 Ralph Beckett NON RUNNER
NR Ruling Court 3 8-13 Charlie Appleby NON RUNNER
NR Camille Pissarro 3 8-13 A P O'Brien NON RUNNER

BoyleSports