Chantilly demands a different Arc model

It just won't be the same. The G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe run at Chantilly will be a very different race to the scores of great contests witnessed at Longchamp over the past nine decades and more.
 
Two factors are crucial -- tactical positioning early in the race, and the timing of the final sprint to the line. Top jockeys should be to the fore, even more so than usual in this transplanted Arc.
 
There will not be any 'false straight' to contend with, that 400m stretch of track that precedes the home straight at Longchamp, but front-runners may find it easier to dictate.
 
The well-credentialed Postponed, a son of Darley stallion Dubawi, has an amazing record -- he has won his last six on the trot -- and I feel he will be suited to the style of this race. He is a Chantilly model, if I have ever seen one.
 
Trainer Andre Fabre has already been lavish in his praise of Talismanic, the Godolphin three-year-old, who finished fourth to Almanzor in the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club. He admires the colt's willingness -- and he comes here off the back of a win.
 
Fabre also has New Bay, another son of Dubawi, to carry his stable's hopes. Third to Golden Horn in last year's Arc, this colt won the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club at Chantilly, coming with a most impressive surge down the outside.
 
The Jockey-Club is 400m shorter in distance, however.
 
The G1 Investec Derby winner Harzand will find this a more suitable  race that when recently eighth in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes, and is expected to give a good account of himself.
 
Apart from the changed face of the race, the crowd size and their behaviour in a cramped environment will be of great interest. Don't forget, the race is due to come back to Chantilly again next year.