It was very bittersweet on Saturday, as we got a winner, but the other selection lost her life.
It's the worst side of the game when you see the sight of a horse break down, and that is what happened to Fallen Angel. Karl Burke's filly was a tremendous horse over the last couple of years, and she deserved to have a great career as a broodmare, but she went wrong at Longchamp.
Wimbledon Hawkeye was a winner earlier on the Longchamp card, and he managed to win under hands and heels. He didn't win by a big margin, but he was never in trouble, and the jockey oozed confidence.
Maltese Cross 8/1 (EW, 4pl) – Longchamp 3.05
I wasn't a fan of Maltese Cross at the start of the season when I saw him run in the Lingfield Derby trial, as I wasn't sold on the form. He's gone on to prove me wrong since then, and I think he is a very smart middle-distance performer.
He was second in the Epsom Derby, and considering the ground was very bad that day, and he seems better on a quick surface, that was a solid effort. He then went to Longchamp in a Group 1 and won despite getting no luck in running until the final stages, and that was impressive as the horse got Tom Marquand out of a lot of trouble. Last time out, in Great Voltigeur, he was impressive, showing that he has a good cruising speed, and I believe he has all the tools required to win an Arc.
I don't think this is the strongest of Arc renewals, and outside of the favourite and the second favourite, it's an open race. Daryz has to be the one to beat, considering he won this race last year, but this is different on a much quicker surface, and I'd rather take a chance on Maltese Cross at 8/1 than Daryz at 15/8.
True Love 9/2 – Longchamp 4.25
If Puerto Rico wasn't in this race, I'd give Thesecretadversary a much better chance, as he is a strong front runner, but with competition for the lead, it might set it up for stablemate True Love.
I tipped up True Love when she was runner-up to Thesecretadversary, and I thought she should have won, but Ryan Moore gave her a really bad ride. He had her off the pace, and he pressed the button far too late, but she was staying on strongly. We saw Qirat get an easy lead yesterday, and for that reason, I'm hoping that Puerto Rico is in the race as a pacemaker for True Love. If he takes on the favourite on the front end, and turns it into a stamina test, I think it sets it up for the UK 1000 Guineas winner, who is proven over a mile.
GambleAware