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The Fugue increasingly likely to take Arc chance

| 02.10.2013

Bets on The Fugue to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe have been relatively sparse so far, with one possible reason being uncertainty over whether this year’s Irish Champion Stakes winner would line up at Longchamp.

However, trainer John Gosden has dropped a massive hint that his leading mare will line up in the Arc, having removed her from the entry list for the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp on the same day.

The Fugue remains 25/1 in the Arc betting, with Ladbrokes offering the top price on the three-time Group 1 winner, while two of these successes have come on her last two starts.

Gosden has previously stated that The Fugue is a stronger horse than last year and the Arc has certainly been a race for the females in recent years, as they have provided three of the last five winners.

Meanwhile, The Fugue has never been out of the first three in her four career starts over 1m4f, with one victory, two seconds and a third-place finish to her name. This can only be a positive to her each-way credentials.

Her victory in the Irish Champion Stakes last time, where she beat fellow Arc contender Al Kazeem, is another positive, as five horses have attempted to do the double in both races in the last decade, with two successful and another placed.

Furthermore, she has been successful on her only previous start in the month of October and seven of the last 10 Arc winners arrived at Longchamp having already enjoyed more than one triumph at Group 1 level.

The only obvious negatives to The Fugue’s chances are that she has never run at Longchamp before, she needs a strong pace throughout (they may go slow in the early stages of the Arc) and she is at her best on good ground, with the likelihood being that conditions will be a bit softer in France.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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Author

Craig Kemp

Craig has written for Ladbrokes since the 2010 World Cup, having previously gained a Media & Sports Journalism degree and contributed to publications including the Racing Post. His main areas of interest are horse racing and UFC, but he is also an avid X Factor gambler and likes nothing more than indulging in a spot of Hip Hop Karaoke.