'I'm not on my hands and knees over 14' - John Quinn unperturbed by wide draw for Highfield Princess in Prix de l'Abbaye

John Quinn is not concerned by stall 14 for Highfield Princess in Sunday's Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye and reports his star mare in fine form for her Longchamp challenge.

The popular sprinter won the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville last summer but will be running in the Abbaye for the first time, having finished a below-par fifth to Moss Tucker in the Flying Five Stakes this month.

She will have to buck recent trends as the only Abbaye winners from a double-figure stall at Longchamp in the past decade are Move In Time (12) in 2014 and Mabs Cross (13) in 2018. No horse has won from higher than 13 since the French champion Marchand D'Or broke from 20 in 2008.

However, Quinn is not far from where he would have liked to have been drawn and believes Highfield Princess can put an uncharacteristically below-par run behind her, having finished second in the Nunthorpe before the Flying Five.

"When the gates opened in Ireland she lost her hind footing and didn’t get the usual propulsion – it just looked like one of those things and she had no momentum," the trainer said. 

"I've been thinking about it all week and the way I look at the draw is that some of the fancied horses are drawn high and I’d rather be where we have a bit of room so you can have plan A and B, whereas if you’re drawn one to four and it doesn’t work early on you’re going to get pushed.

"If I could have picked where to be I’d have picked ten, so I’m not on my hands and knees over 14. If it’s very soft I think that rail can be a massive advantage."

Quinn's three-time Group 1 winner will face 18 rivals, including Moss Tucker (stall 11), Art Power (13) and the in-form three-year-old Rogue Lightning (19), while last year's runner-up White Lavender (six) appears more favourably drawn.

Highfield Princess, who will be having her seventh start of the year on Sunday and has the option of the Breeders' Cup afterwards, is scheduled to arrive at a base in Auteuil at 3pm on Friday and is reported to be in excellent condition.

"She did a little piece of work on Tuesday and breezed nicely, so we were pleased with her," Quinn said. "She was on the early boat this morning. I’ve been very happy with her over the last ten days. She seems absolutely fine, she’s moving well and she looks well."

The sole entry not to be declared was Go Athletico, who won last Sunday's Group 3 Renaissance Stakes at the Curragh, while all entries stood their ground in the remaining Group 1s apart from Johannes Brahms in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (1.15).

Ten colts will go to post for the curtain-raising juvenile contest, with Wathnan Racing's duo Ballymount Boy and Native American set to take on the Aidan O'Brien-trained runners Henry Adams and Unquestionable and leading home chance Beauvatier.

Henry Adams: among the field for the Prix Jean-Luc LagardereCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

Rosallion will bid to bounce back from a disappointing effort when sent off favourite in the Champagne Stakes last time, while Frankie Dettori will partner the Brian Meehan-trained Newmarket novice winner Jayarebe.

Ten fillies will contest the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (1.50), with the May Hill winner Darnation set to take on Les Pavots, Zandy and Wathnan's new purchase Julica. Dettori rides Meehan's Extraordinaire and Ryan Moore is confirmed for Ballydoyle's Opera Singer.

All 12 will go to post for the Qatar Prix de l'Opera (3.50), meaning Group 1 winners Al Husn and Blue Rose Cen will renew their rivalry after finishing first and fourth in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, while Jannah Rose, Rogue Millennium, Jackie Oh and Lumiere Rock are also declared.

A field of 14 will go to post for the Qatar Prix de la Foret (5.00), including the ante-post favourite Kinross, who will have to beat King Gold, Shouldvebeenaring and Cachet if he is to win the race for a second time under Dettori.

The penetrometer reading at Longchamp held steady at 3.5 on Friday morning and after another dry and breezy day, the Arc meeting looks set to start on French good to soft, which is nearer good with good to firm in places to British observers. Saturday will again be dry with a top temperature of 21C.

Read these next:

Why this horse can win the 2023 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday - plus 1-2-3 predictions 

Confirmed runners and riders for the 2023 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp 

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