It's definitely not a bad Arc - but it does suggest racing has lost something

If you were given £1 every time you heard someone say: “It’s not a good Arc this year,” you’d be in your counting house and in need of an abacus.

These things are relative. Even in the absence of a standout horse, there is no such thing as a bad Arc.

If this is a bad Arc then Europe’s premier races are not fit for purpose. In Sunday’s line-up are the winners of the Derby, Irish Derby, Prix du Jockey Club, King George, Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes, and of course, last year’s Longchamp hero Torquator Tasso.