Matt Brocklebank takes a very early look at the 2026 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe following the release of the initial entries.
The 2026 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe entries were published on Wednesday and it almost goes without saying that to run through them all with a fine-toothed comb at this time of the year is a fairly futile task, not least because there are so many moving parts.
The reigning title-holder Daryz is in action again over 10 furlongs back at Longchamp this evening, for instance, while this weekend sees the 2025 Arc runner-up Minnie Hauk return to the Curragh following her Mooresbridge Stakes comeback win to tackle the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup.
The pair of them have clearly resumed in fine form as four-year-olds and could meet in next month's Prince of Wales's Stakes which would obviously be a serious race, before you even consider the likes of Ombudsman also looking likely to take them on at the Royal meeting.
There is the Prix du Jockey Club a week on Sunday where we could see something along the lines of an Ace Impact, who did the 'French Derby' and Arc double for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget just three years ago.
Constitution River would appear to be the chosen one for Aidan O'Brien this year and he's reportedly bound for the 10-furlong French Classic along with Hawk Mountain, while hot on that race's heels we have the Betfred Oaks and Derby which have also been a good source for three-year-old Arc winners.
Could Benvenuto Cellini, Item or Legacy Link be the next Workforce, Golden Horn or Enable?
Benvenuto Cellini was a smooth winner of the Chester Vase but it's interesting to note that stable companion Amelia Earhart, the striking Cheshire Oaks winner installed as 2/1 favourite for the Oaks, hasn't been given an Arc entry, the French 1000 Guineas winner Diamond Necklace being O'Brien's only Classic-generation filly entered for the early-October showpiece at this stage.
The Japanese search for an elusive first Arc win goes on and the squad from that part of the world is made up of Forever Young, Shin Emperor, Admire Terra, Meisho Tabaru, Alohi Alii, Byzantine Dream, Juryoku Pierrot. No sign of Masquerade Ball, who is being prepared for the King George at Ascot this year by all accounts.
There are eyecatching entries for Gethin (Owen Burrows), Le Destrier (Willie Mullins) and Daryzan (Francis Graffard), but one of the more appealing angles from an antepost point of view stems from a question surrounding another of the Graffard-trained stars whose absence is keenly felt.
That question being: what price would Calandagan be to win the Arc, were geldings allowed to take part in the race?
Stablemate Daryz has clearly muscled in on the equation, to say the least, but I still think Calandagan rules the roost in that stable for the time being and, having beaten Aventure, Kalpana, Ombudsman, Masquerade Ball and West Wind Blows in his last five starts, I'd personally make the brilliant five-year-old quite a short-priced favourite in this field.
Calandagan has suffered just the one loss in the past 12 months and that was a half-length defeat at the hands of an older horse who is widely available at 33/1 for this year's Arc.
Circling back to an eight-strong team from Ballydoyle, it was Jan Brueghel who was Calandagan's conqueror in the Coronation Cup last June and I think among all the clamour over the Chester Classic trials and just how good Constitution River could turn out to be, it got a little bit lost that O'Brien revealed Jan Brueghel had "got sick last year, he choked on a piece of hay and nearly died – he got pneumonia. He did very well to get back."
Not only is JB back - from a near-fatal experience one is led to assume - but he is seemingly fairly close to his peak form again having resumed with an ultimately dominant display in the Ormonde Stakes.
He's got an entry in the Gold Cup but is said to be bang on course for the Calandagan rematch at Epsom and I'd fully expect Ryan Moore to stay loyal despite 2025 Derby winner Lambourn also tossing his hat into the Coronation Cup ring with a gritty comeback success of his own around the Roodee earlier this month.
It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out but the last son of Galileo that O'Brien masterfully rekindled following a very serious illness went on to win nine races in a row including four at the highest level, so after just eight lifetime appearances, with half a dozen of those ending in success, I'd argue it's a bit too soon to be writing Jan Brueghel off as over the hill for a race like the Arc.
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