A tinge of regret but at least Baaeed's absence opens the race up

If the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe can survive Frankel not running in it, it can probably cope without Baaeed at Longchamp on October 2.

It would be going a step too far to say the race is better off because, while the build-up would have been dominated by the brilliant four-year-old, he still had questions to answer in Paris, namely tackling a mile and a half for the first time, while gruelling ground and different opposition added a layer of interest to the Baaeed story.

But equally the Longchamp event will be a more open affair in Baaeed's absence. Instead of analysis of the race revolving around one horse and the question of whether or not Sheikha Hissa's superstar colt would stay, we now have a more complex picture.