International flavour: Arc contender Sottsass to run at York for Rouget

Jean-Claude Rouget will unleash Sottsass on the Juddmonte International at York next month, with the race already set to feature fellow Group 1 stars Ghaiyyath and Lord North.

Winner of last season's Prix du Jockey Club, Sottsass has been spoken of as a potential challenger for any number of mid-season targets since winning the Prix Ganay on June 14.

But trainer Rouget has been in no rush to firm up plans for the second half of the season, with all roads hopefully leading to a second crack at the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a race Sottsass finshed third in last season.

"Sottsass is in very good form and he will go to York," Rouget said. "I think that's the race he needs to be running in, he is a Group 1 horse. If he stayed home at Deauville [for the Prix Gontaut-Biron] he would be giving a lot of weight away in a lesser race."

Sottsass is a best-priced 16-1 for the Arc, a race owner Peter Brant would dearly love to win.

Rouget envisages Longchamp being the third race in a sequence which begins with the International, with a second run on the weekend of Irish Champions Weekend and Arc trials day (September 12 and 13).

"After York, if all goes well, he could take in the Prix Foy and then the Arc," said Rouget.

News of Sottsass heading to York will be a relief to those who cherish international competition for Britain's summer highlights, after the first four Classics, the Coral-Eclipse and the King George attracted no French runners.

Difficulty transporting horses and quarantine restrictions on jockeys have made British forays complicated, while several of Britain's most prestigious races have suffered bigger cuts in prize-money than has been the case at Group 1 level in France.

In a further boost, Rouget confirmed impressive Prix Saint-Alary heroine Tawkeel is on course for the Qatar Nassau Stakes a week on Thursday.

"Tawkeel goes to Goodwood and is in good form," said Rouget.

Hamdan Al Maktoum's daughter of Teofilo is four from four and sprinted away from Magic Attitude in the Saint-Alary to record a five- length success.

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