Arc ante-post outsiders: four horses available at 20-1 or bigger who look overpriced for Longchamp

Entries for the 2024 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe were revealed yesterday with 73 horses in contention for one of Flat racing's biggest prizes. Here we pick out four outsiders who represent value in the ante-post markets.

Do Deuce

Odds: 20-1

We are yet to witness a Japanese Arc win, but it is surely just a matter of time before that changes and Do Deuce may be the one to provide the country with its historic success.

Yasuo Tomomichi's five-year-old is no stranger to Longchamp, having finished fourth in the 2022 Prix Niel before trailing home 19th in the same year's Arc.

Soft ground was a viable excuse for that no-show, and he's since rebuilt his reputation with wins in the Kyoto Kinen and the Grade 1 Arima Kinen.

Do Deuce suffered notable trouble in running when fifth in the 1m1f Dubai Turf at Meydan last time out, but for which he'd surely have finished closer than a two-and-a-quarter-length fifth.

He's going to benefit from stepping back up in trip for the Arc, and it's interesting that recent winners Sottsass and Waldgeist were beaten in a previous running.

Feed The Flame

Odds: 40-1

Few horses were travelling better than Feed The Flame entering the final half-mile of last year's Arc. Christophe Soumillon looked full of confidence aboard the son of Kingman, but the colt was unable to live with speedier horses in the dash to the finish line, ultimately staying on into eighth.

Last year's running turned into a sprint, and that was never going to suit Feed The Flame, who had shown plenty of stamina when getting up late in the Grand Prix de Paris over the Arc course-and-distance last July.

Feed The Flame was a beaten favourite in the 1m2f Prix d'Harcourt on his seasonal reappearance last month, but he was much improved when third in the Prix Ganay on Sunday, when he did best of the horses positioned towards the rear of the field.

A strong pace over 1m4f looks like Feed The Flame's optimum conditions, while he has proved himself versatile in regard to ground conditions, so there's every chance he can go closer in this year's race.

Ylang Ylang

Odds: 50-1

Aidan O'Brien's Ylang Ylang took the Group 1 bet365 Fillies' Mile on her final start at two and made an eyecatching seasonal reappearance when a staying-on fifth in the 1,000 Guineas this month.

On that evidence, she is going to benefit greatly for the step up to 1m4f in the Oaks, for which she is the current 5-2 favourite, and a big run at Epsom will surely see her 50-1 Arc odds tumble.

The ill-fated Snowfall was catapulted to Arc favouritism following her wide-margin Oaks win in 2021, while Enable did the double for John Gosden in 2017.

Capulet

Odds: 100-1

Another Aidan O'Brien runner who has the potential to shorten dramatically before the Arc is Capulet.

The Justify colt was beaten at odds-on on his three-year-old debut at Chelmsford last month but left that run behind when claiming the Listed Dee Stakes over 1m2½f at last week's Chester May meeting. The extra two and a half furlongs clearly unlocked improvement from Capulet there and he shapes as though 1m4f will prove well within his reach.

He looks at his best when racing prominently, which suggests he will be suited by the style of racing in France, where the pace often holds up.

He holds a raft of Group 1 entries this summer, and if he were to make the Arc line-up he's surely going to go off a lot shorter than current odds of 100-1.

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