Last year, Al Ghadeer discovered Longchamp on this occasion and adapted perfectly to the course, winning easily in this classic. It was his fourth victory in a row for the year 2023, where he remained undefeated. He has not experienced defeat since his debut at La Teste at 3 years old, where he finished in second place. This year, François Rohaut’s champion had a slightly less busy schedule, while having had a long trip to Qatar during the winter, where he won a group I in Doha, The Amir Sword, the final event of the Triple Crown of thoroughbred Arabians (1,600 m at Goodwood, 2,000 m at Longchamp and 2,400 m in Doha) which he won for the first time. Having had time to recover afterwards, he made a victorious return to Goodwood, where he won the Qatar International Stakes for the second consecutive year. A good omen in his historic quest to win the Triple Crown for the second time, something no other purebred Arabian has ever achieved until then. This Sunday, he has the opportunity to win his eighth Group I career, he who has never known defeat at the highest level and to continue to write the history of purebred Arabian racing. In addition to his talent and his ability to adapt to different distances, having managed to dominate the situation from 1,600 to 2,400 meters, he will find valiant adversaries on his route but whom he has always beaten. From then on, nothing seems to stand in the way of a new triumphal march on his part.
L’opposition
His main opponent could be Al Dohawho gave him a good response in this event last year, without threatening him. She also debuted at Longchamp that day, a racecourse on which she enjoyed success a few months later, in the spring, in the European Cup for Arabian Horses (group I). The student of Thomas Fourcy already has a great calling card with three Group Is to her name, including the latest at La Teste, where she pulverized her rivals of the day. Thomas Fourcy will also be able to count on Nour Al Maury whose candidacy commands respect with already six Group Is in his purse. For her only outing at Longchamp, she won last year in the Qatar Arabian Trophy des Juments (group I), the day before the Arc. Remaining on two successes in a row in Group I, she can harbor ambitions for a place. Another protégé of François Rohaut, Ch’ezza also has arguments to make. Third in this competition last year, he has already won two Group Is on the route that interests us. He has just made a good impression on his return after a long absence in the Prix Dragon (group I) and has never been out of the top three in nine attempts. Finally, Rb Kingmaker (a group I to his credit) and Moshrif (holder of two groups I and fifth last year) have titles to assert and will try to take advantage of possible failures to obtain a good ranking at the finish.
The meager foreign coalition will be led by the experienced First Classs (double winner of groups I including the Dubai Kahayla Classic), who knows the track and who has already performed well on his freshness, he who has not been seen in competition since March 30. That said, given his latest performances, he only seems to have a secondary chance.
