LONGCHAMP 15:05 1f3s5n

All 11 ran.

Time: 2m 39.3s

Overrounds: Industry SP 119%, Betfair SP 108.7%

An Arc with too many absentees to fulfil its role as Europe’s middle-distance championship, Ghaiyyath and Love the 2 biggest names missing from a field which featured just 2 horses trained in Britain or Ireland and was further depleted by the withdrawal of 4 Ballydole runners after they tested positive for a banned substance found in contaminated feed, Mogul – who’d beaten both the runner-up and fourth in the Grand Prix de Paris – the one connections were perhaps left ruing the most, though the absence of Derby winner Serpentine and Sovereign were significant in how they affected the race tactically, depriving it of any of obvious pacemaker; that lack of a proper gallop – Persian King dictated steady fractions - combined with heavy ground, resulted in the slowest Arc since 1976, and the way things took shape certainly counted against the Gosden-trained pair Stradivarius and Enable, the latter bidding for an unprecedented third win in the race on her fourth try, both already struggling to quicken when hampered over 1f out; Sottsass, on the other hand, was always perfectly placed and showed a good turn of foot to settle matters, though probably didn’t have to better the form that saw him finish third in 2019 and goes down as a slightly below-average Arc winner.

SOTTSASS (FR) was right back at his best in going 2 places better than in 2019, probably benefiting from stepping back up to 1½m for the first time since, his season evidently geared around this race and finding things falling to perfection on the day, tracking the front-runner on the inside, quickening between that one and the fourth to lead entering the final 1f and driven out as the runner-up closed in the final 50 yds; the Breeders' Cup is an option for later in the year, though his trainer was non-committal, and it may be that he'll now head to stud at Coolmore, his win a good consolation for that operation, whose Ballydoyle-trained runners were forced to miss out on the race

IN SWOOP (IRE) is remarkably progressive and put up the best effort by a middle-distance 3-y-o colt this year, a compliment to Mogul, who beat him here last time, though In Swoop clearly improved again on just his fifth career outing, very different ground bringing his undoubted stamina into play, though a stronger gallop would surely have helped, strongest of all at the finish having made progress from mid-field to take second inside the final 1f; he won't run again this year and connections will no doubt be plotting a campaign that revolves around an attempt to go one better in 2021, even more progress as a 4-y-o easy to foresee considering the trajectory of his form.

PERSIAN KING (IRE) didn't quite last out on his first try around 1½m with conditions as they were but ran a good race under a fine ride that got the maximum out of him, Boudot controlling things from the front, getting an immediate response when asked for an effort under 2f out but finding Persian King has no extra to give once headed entering the last 1f; he now heads to stud and will no doubt prove popular in his new role, a good-looking son of Kingman who was a Group 3 winner at 2, a Classic winner at 3, and a dual Group 1 winner at 4.

GOLD TRIP (FR) put up a very smart effort to make the frame in another Group 1, shaping similarly to in the Grand Prix de Paris in that he quickened up well to get into contention from off the pace (hanging right as he did so, causing interference) only to find others stronger inside the final 1f; it could be that 1¼m proves his optimum trip, and the improvement he's found the last twice suggests he's not a forlorn hope to win a Group 1 around that trip.

RAABIHAH (USA) running in this rather than the Opera, won by her Vermeille conqueror Tarnawa, is shaping up well and looks the type to step up again if kept in training as a 4-y-o, leaving the impression this didn't get all the way to the bottom of her, doing her best work at the finish having been held up and switched for a run 2f out.

ENABLE missed the first 3 for the first time in her remarkable career bidding to win her third Arc on her fourth run in the race, not hard to forgive in the circumstances considering conditions, the lack of a proper gallop and the interference she met over 1f out, though in truth she already seemed to be struggling for a response at the time, having travelled well in touch up to that point, Dettori understandably sympathetic to her once beaten; connections didn't immediately commit to retirement, but rightly pointed out that she doesn't owe them or anyone else anything, and if this is the last we see of her, her extraordinary achievements are sure to live long in the memory.

STRADIVARIUS (IRE) shaped similarly to his stable-companion Enable a place ahead, racing in touch but already struggling for a change of pace when hampered over 1f out, the way the race took shape on heavy ground not playing to his strengths, very easy to forgive this in view of his outstanding overall record; he'll reportedly stay in training with a view to emulating Yeats in winning a fourth Gold Cup and there's no reason to think he won't continue to dominate the staying scene.

DEIRDRE (JPN) had never encountered ground this soft and made no progress after missing the break; she hasn't hit the same heights this year as last anyway.

WAY TO PARIS has had a good season but never got into this from off the pace.

ROYAL JULIUS (IRE) was out of depth; always behind.

CHACHNAK (FR) had a stiff task over the wrong trip on possibly the wrong ground and was already on the retreat when badly hampered under 2f out.