Shock Arc hero Torquator Tasso returns on Sunday as King George bid is mulled

Shock 80-1 Arc hero Torquator Tasso is a much stronger horse for 2022, his connections have warned the middle-distance pretenders to his Longchamp crown.

The five-year-old, who is trained by Marcel Weiss, returns to action in Sunday's at Baden-Baden, in which he was only sixth when it was staged at Mulheim 12 months ago.

From there, he won Hamburg's Grosser Hansa-Preis der Baum Unternehmensgruppe, finished second to Alpinista in the Longines 131st Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten and struck in the 149th Wettstar Grosser Preis von Baden before his memorable Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe triumph.

Marcel Weiss with Torquator Tasso's jockey Rene PiechulekCredit: Edward Whitaker

A similar schedule is planned, but the trainer is considering an audacious assault on Ascot for the Qipco-sponsored King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes as well.

Weiss's assistant Julia Romich, speaking to the Racing Post, also identified the Japan Cup as a possible pre-retirement send-off for , who runs in the colours of Gestut Auenquelle.

"The King George depends," she said. "The horse needs a fast pace and it would be nice to have some soft ground. He goes on quick ground as well, but he's better on soft. He has two options – Ascot or Berlin – and we'll see at the last moment which is the better way to go and how the horse feels at that point – he must be 100 per cent if he's going to run a good race at Ascot.

"We thought running him in this race on Sunday last year was a really good idea because it was close to home and we didn't have to travel, but the race wasn't really good in the end, although at home he does nothing."

Arc entries

Romich, who has worked for the upwardly mobile Weiss for two and a half years, added: "I'd say he's the same as last year. He's not at 100 per cent, he's maybe at 70 per cent because Marcel says the horse has to be at 100 per cent in September and October, not in May.

"We hope the race isn't too hard for him and maybe, with his class, he can run a good race anyway.

"German horses need longer to become the finished article. They're not bred to be two-year-olds or three-year-olds. They are really hard horses when they get older and he's much stronger than last year. He had a really good winter and when you win the Arc de Triomphe, you cannot say that he'll be better again, but physically he is better – absolutely."

Torquator Tasso (yellow colours) gets going in the ArcCredit: Edward Whitaker

Torquator Tasso, who is 14-1 for the Arc with bet365, is based at Weiss's Mulheim stables at one of Germany's biggest training centres, which is home to around 200 horses spread among a handful of trainers.

His surprise success helped put the yard on the map, but his team were confident of a big effort at Longchamp.

"Marcel always tried to find the easiest way for the horse, so he couldn't do more than win easily in Hamburg or at Baden-Baden, while he probably wasn't at his best in Berlin behind Alpinista, so maybe he was difficult to find for people in the Arc," Romich said.

"For instance, I don't know if the English people thought Alpinista was as good as she turned out to be. His Arc win was difficult to read for everybody, but before the race Marcel was interviewed and I did the translating.

"He asked me if I could tell the journalists that he'd be in the first three. I said, 'No, you can't say that – he's 80-1 – everybody will think you are crazy!' It was not a big surprise to Marcel that the horse ran well, but it was a surprise he won."

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