Who are the leading Irish contenders for Arc weekend

Flat horses trained in Ireland will be hoping for a better showing on Arc weekend 2020 after just the one winner during the prestigious meeting at Longchamp last year.

Certain stables have hopes of going well in Paris and that is more than just the usual suspects. What are the leading Irish chances in the big races on Arc weekend this time around?

Siskin (Prix de la Foret)

This year’s renewal of the 7f Prix de la Foret looks red-hot. Ger Lyons stable star Siskin lost his unbeaten record in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, but is a Classic winner after landing the Irish 2000 Guineas earlier this summer.

Dropping back in trip is an option for the Juddmonte Farms bred three-year-old First Defence colt. Siskin’s owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah, won the Foret in 2003 with Etoile Montante, so sending him to Longchamp could come under consideration and he’s 13/2.

Search For A Song (Prix de Royallieu)

Until Irish Champions Weekend, it had been a frustrating campaign for followers of Dermot Weld’s Moyglare Stud owned filly Search For A Song following on for her Irish St Leger success last autumn. Having stayed on so strongly to score in that, seeing the four-year-old daughter of Galileo running over shorter trips may not have been what she needed.

However, Search For A Song outran odds of 50/1 when third behind Magical in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and then made a successful defence of her Irish Leger crown. Up next, Weld said a tilt at the Prix de Royallieu is possible where she is a 6/1 shot and would take on the thriving Enbihaar, plus Joseph O’Brien improver Pista who won the Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster.

Princess Zoe (Prix du Cadran)

It was quite a remarkable training performance from Tony Mullins to saddle German import Princess Zoe to win two of the Galway Festival’s Premier Handicaps. When moving to his stable, the five-year-old Jukebox Jury mare had a lowly rating of 64 and she has defied rise after rise in the weights.

The handicapper now regards Princess Zoe as a 37lb better horse than her Irish debut. A tilt at the Prix du Cadran, France’s equivalent of the Ascot Gold Cup, is next on her agenda and the latest M Bet horse racing odds have her at 9/1 for the 2m 4f stamina test. We may also see Princess Zoe at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival too.

Love (Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe)

Last, but by no means least, is the Arc favourite herself. Love is clearly the best thee-year-old filly in the British Isles after decisive victories in the 1000 Guineas and Epsom Oaks. The latest star turn to be trained by Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle also came through her Arc prep in the Yorkshire Oaks just fine.

With race terms entirely in her favour at Longchamp, it’s no wonder that Love is the 15/8 favourite for glory in Europe’s richest race. Her Coolmore connections could also run Fancy Blue in Prix de l’Opera and the Donnacha O’Brien trained filly is the 5/1 market leader for that after being caught out by the drop back in trip for the Matron Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown last time out.