The road to the Arc: older horses can have say in home defence

Ulysses produced the best middle-distance performance of the season in last Saturday's Coral-Eclipse on Racing Post Ratings, earning 124 for his first Group 1 success.

That was 5lb higher than Zarak was awarded for his victory in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud six days earlier.

Almanzor is yet to be seen this season, but there are signs that the three older horses to claim Group 1 wins in France this season could develop into serious challengers in their own right.

Zarak: A breakthrough over the Classic distance

Rather harshly, the French handicapper has found himself unable to raise Zarkava's son by so much as half a kilo since he first hit 116 when runner-up to Almanzor in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville last August.

More charitably his new Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 119 for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud was a career-high and given that it came on a first try over 1m4f, Zarak could find further improvement over the longer trip.

However, both Alain de Royer-Dupre and Christophe Soumillon were in agreement that his finishing kick would be better deployed over 1m1f in the Dubai Turf back in March, rather than the 1m4f of the Sheema Classic.

Given how pedestrian the pace was in the second-named contest – as well as what we now know about Zarak's ability to stay – he might have been extremely competitive in the longer race, while it should be remembered that Vivlos produced a really fine performance in the Turf.

The fly in the ointment is he has produced two poor performances at Chantilly on fast ground. This is a colt who was second in a Prix du Jockey Club, so the track configuration is not a problem in itself but both trainer and jockey worry about the downhill section on really quick going.

A flatter track like Del Mar – home to this season's Breeders' Cup –would alleviate that problem. Then again, this will be the second and final Arc run at Chantilly, a track which Zarak's owner/breeder the Aga Khan did so much to save, while even a slight ease in the ground would also mitigate any worries.

Most of all, a mile and a half gives Zarak time to find his rhythm, while appearing not to blunt his finish.

Cloth Of Stars: The strength of the Ganay form

Cloth Of Stars is being rested for an autumn campaignCredit: Hugh Routledge

Immediately after Cloth Of Stars defeated Zarak at Saint-Cloud on May 1, Andre Fabre was also talking of going up to a mile and a half for the son of Sea The Stars.

Cloth Of Stars ran in both the Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris over the trip last year but was unable to settle well enough to properly get home.

Given a strong pace to run at – rarely a problem in the Arc and certainly not at Chantilly – he now seems much more tractable and it will be fascinating to see him try the distance again.

Fabre was looking at the ten furlong Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot on account of the open nature of the race, but ultimately chose to give Cloth Of Stars a break with a view to the autumn.

His nearest pursuers in the Prix d'Harcourt (Mekhtaal) and the Prix Ganay (Zarak) have both gone on to win Group 1s in his absence and again Cloth Of Stars does not look likely to have reached his RPR ceiling at 118.

The Ganay form also brings in Silverwave – though Pascal Bary seems reluctant to try him in the Arc for a third time – and Erupt, who failed to act on the rain-affected surface in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud but who will have plenty of international options come the autumn.

Mekhtaal: A long-term project

Having pushed a race-fit Cloth Of Stars all the way on his reappearance in the Prix d'Harcourt, Mekhtaal made no mistake in the Prix d'Ispahan over 1m1f in late May.

Jean-Claude Rouget made no secret of his confidence heading to Royal Ascot, but the son of Sea The Stars was never able to get into the argument and was a well-held sixth in the Prince of Wales's Stakes.

Rouget's diagnosis in the immediate aftermath was that Mekhtaal may not have been battle-hardened in the way that Highland Reel and company were, while it might be that the colt needs more time between races than was available at Ascot.

Mekhtaal is another who settles much better than a year ago – he ran with the choke out in both the Jockey Club and on his only try at a mile and a half in the Grand Prix de Paris – and could yet prove better back at the Arc trip.

One thing that has looked sure up until this point is that Rouget and Al Shaqab – who are likely to have Brametot as their leading Arc hope – will want a dry September for Mekhtaal.

The elusive Almanzor

Almanzor: last year's champion three-year-old is favourite for this year's ArcCredit: Edward Whitaker

A triple Group 1 winner as a three-year-old in 2016, Almanzor at last made it to a racetrack last Saturday, albeit for a far-from-forced piece of exercise.

On the plus side, as far as the Arc is concerned Rouget gave the first concrete indication that Chantilly was the preferred target for what will presumably be a career swansong.

Against that was the revelation that he had been extremely slow to come to hand and had suffered one or two physical niggles in addition to the quarantine issue at Rouget's virus-hit yard in Pau.

As a long-term betting proposition he looks a slightly shaky conveyance from this vantage point, since any further training setbacks would not only put the Deauville-Leopardstown-Chantilly timetable in doubt but could conceivably hasten his departure to stud.

That said, his expanded ownership group are committed to racing at four if at all possible, having already passed on the 'safe' option of retirement at the end of a glorious 2016.

Satono Diamond: The gem of the East

There will be another older horse on French shores from the middle of next month who will require serious consideration: Japan's sole challenger for the Arc, Satono Diamond, is already the equal of Ulysses in terms of his 124 RPR.

More importantly, the son of Deep Impact has run to within 2lb of that figure on all but one of his last six starts, the sort of high level consistency that only Highland Reel can match among the older brigade.

Satono Diamond will have the assistance of Christophe Lemaire but, perhaps even more importantly, is trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, Japan's most internationally-minded trainer.

Ikee was assistant to his father Yasuo when Deep Impact himself challenged for the Arc in 2006, while he knows more about the race than any of his compatriots given his handling of the extrovert Orfevre, who was second in 2012 and again in 2013.

Satono Diamond will follow the Orfevre route in the Prix Foy and this will undoubtedly be the most meticulous Japanese challenge to date.