Moore seeks Arc repeat by gambling on Winter
Ryan Moore has elected to ride Winter in Sunday’s €5 million (£4.4million) Qatar Prix de l’arc de Triomphe even though the filly has never run over 12 furlongs.
Aidan O’brien, who saddled the first three home in the race last year – led by Moore on Found – will have five runners. Moore’s choice essentially came down to three: Winter, the winner of four Group Ones, albeit three of them over a mile; the 2016 Gold Cup winner Order Of St George and the recent Leger winner Capri. Moore said of Winter: “She’s high class. She’s won four Group Ones, she has a great attitude and has won in the soft. Obviously, none of us knows whether she will stay a mile and a half until she tries it.”
The trainer’s son, Donnacha, has come in for the ride on Order Of St George, who warmed up with an impressive Irish St Leger victory while Wayne Lordan, who won the 1,000 Guineas on Winter, will ride Capri. Winter shortened in the betting to 9-1 after the announcement. Enable remains the 4-5 favourite for the race at Chantilly.
At Newmarket yesterday, Elarqam, by Galileo out of the 1,000 Guineas winner Attraction, earned a quote of 16-1 for next year’s 2,000 Guineas after running out a comfortable winner of the Group Three Tattersalls Stakes for Mark Johnston and Jim Crowley.
The British Horseracing Authority’s inquiry regarding Graham Gibbons, who tested positive for cocaine last year, has been deferred until next Thursday after the jockey’s car broke down on his way to London. Apart from testing positive, Gibbons, who has not ridden since, is charged with trying to pass off a sample of another jockey, Callum Shepherd, as his own.
At a different inquiry, Dale Swift was banned for 21 months for testing positive to a banned substance. It was his second offence. Swift, currently out of racing, could not ride until December 2018 if he wished to renew his licence.