Daryz lines up against the Japanese Arc hopeful Croix du Nord

Japan will be sending a strong team to the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Group 1). Among them will be Croix du Nord (Kitasan Black). Trained by Takashi Saito, he will discover ParisLongchamp in the Prix du Prince d’Orange (Group 3) as a stepping stone to the Arc. He won the Tokyo Yushun, the Japanese Derby, and is a true champion. Should he handle the Parisian track and if his jockey Yuichi Kitamura quickly masters the course, Croix du Nord could emerge as one of the Arc favourites. However, the opposition will be stern, with the presence of Daryz (Sea the Stars), who lost his unbeaten record in the Juddmonte International Stakes (Gr1) after his victory in the Prix Eugène Adam (Gr2), Uthred (Persian King), owned by footballer Antoine Griezmann and a recent Listed winner, and Nahraan (Make Believe), unbeaten in three starts.

The Sunday card at ParisLongchamp also features the Prix du Pin (Gr3), a prep for the Qatar Prix de la Forêt (Gr1), and the Prix du Petit Couvert (Gr3), a lead-up to the Qatar Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp (Gr1). In the Prix du Pin, several well-known specialists of the 1,400m trip will be in action, including King Gold (Anodin), Exxtra (Starspangledbanner) and Polyvega (Lope de Vega). They will clash with the British raider Poet Master (Lope de Vega), a Group 2 winner in Ireland. In the Prix du Petit Couvert, Rayevka (Blue Point), third in the Commonwealth Cup (Gr1), will try her hand over 1,000m for the first time. She will take on the likes of Burhan (Siyouni), also dropping back in trip, and Ponntos (Power), a proven specialist over the ParisLongchamp five-furlongs.