Valyra a three-year-old rival for Camelot to fear in the Arc

Camelot is one horse that fits the age trend of Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winners, but with fillies also enjoyed a growing success in the race, Valyra may prove a livewire danger.

The 1m4f contest may not be taking place until October, but Camelot has already been installed as the 5/2 favourite.

There is good reason for this given his dominant success in the Epsom Derby over the same trip and he looks far and away the best of the home crop of three-year-olds.

However, Aidan O’Brien is still intending to run the horse in the St Leger first and it may be best to witness this result before lumping on Camelot in the Arc.

Eight of the last nine Arc winners have been aged three and the weight allowance they get for their younger years seems to have been of growing benefit.

This does not bode well for some of the other early market leaders for this year, most notably Nathaniel and last year’s Arc winner Danedream, who is bidding to become the first horse since Alleged in 1978 to triumph in successive years.

One three-year-old who looks especially interesting ante-post is Valyra at 12/1, given the comfort of a success in a Group One in France on her latest start.

Valyra took to the step up to Group One level with little fuss to land the French Derby after being supplemented as a late entrant.

Interestingly, she beat odds-on favourite Beauty Parlour in that race and Sir Henry Cecil’s recent recruit is also 12/1 to win the Arc.

But with Beauty Parlour seemingly not staying the trip in the French Derby of 1m2f, it is hard to see her seeing out an additional 2f in the Arc.

Valyra is still to be beaten in three career starts and with fillies winning two of the last four Arcs despite being responsible for a minor percentage of the entries, she warrants respect from punters.

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