Who to have a flutter on at Longchamp

The Arc weekend at Longchamp – well worth a visit if you have never been racing in France – is just over a week away and now seems a good time to place a couple of bets at this most prestigious of meetings.

Set on the outskirts of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne, Longchamp hosts two big races that British trainers love to target: the Grade 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s richest race over a mile and a half, and the Grade 1 Prix de l’Abbaye, for the continent’s best sprinters over five furlongs. Both races will take place on Sunday October 1.

Five of the last six runnings of the Arc have been held on soft or heavy ground, but the weather forecast for Paris over the coming week or so suggests little rain and warm temperatures, with the ground likely to be ‘good to soft’ or better if these predictions are right.