St Leger hero ruled out of Arc running

Sep 17 2007 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

WHILE Ladbrokes St Leger hero Lucarno will be put away for the winter ahead of a four-year-old campaign, two horses enhanced their Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe claims yesterday.

Unlike last year’s winner Sixties Icon, John Gosden has no intention of an ambitious raid on Europe’s end-of-season middle distance championship at Longchamp on October 7.

But Soldier of Fortune and Manduro put themselves firmly in the picture for the French autumn showpiece after yesterday’s trials day at Longchamp. Lucarno held off the Ballydoyle battalions in Yorkshire, but no-one had any answer to Aidan O’Brien’s Soldier Of Fortune in the Prix Niel over the course and distance of the Arc.

Since finishing seventh in the Vodafone Derby, the Chester Vase winner scored an empathic victory in the Irish version at the end of June. But yesterday was his first run since that triumph at the Curragh and he showed he is a live contender for more glory in the Arc itself, for which he is now a best-priced 11-2 third favourite with Coral.

Three of the last four winners of the Arc won the Prix Niel on the way to glory, while the other, Bago, finished third in the always informative trial three years ago

Under Johnny Murtagh the Galileo colt led from around two furlongs from home and held Sagara and Zambezi Sun to score a fine win. Murtagh said: “He’ll improve for the race as he’d been off a long time.

“Once he got going I gave him a smack with my left hand and he was off. The pacemaker did his job and got me to the two-furlong marker and my fellow did the job in the style of a high-class horse.

“He’s improved from Epsom and has now won an Irish Derby and a Prix Niel. He's got a great attitude and a great heart.

“It looked a solid race and while he went on the ground he would appreciate it slightly softer.”

Stablemate Dylan Thomas is 7-1 with William Hill and BetFred, but the horse challenging Derby winner Authorized at the head of the betting is Manduro. The five-year-old German-bred horse took his unbeaten run this season to five when defeating four-year-old filly Mandesha in the other Arc trial the Prix Foy yesterday.

It was the first time Andre Fabre’s star five-year-old had stepped up to the 1m4f trip, but he handled it well.

He is now a best-priced 7-2 with Ladbrokes behind the general 5-2 market leader Authorized.

Meanwhile following his length victory over the O’Brien-trained Mahler (13-2) in the final Classic of the season, trainer Gosden was delighted with Lucarno (7-2).

Jockey Jimmy Fortune was winning his first Classic of his career, while it was Gosden’s fourth and a second St Leger to add to Shantou’s success in 1994.

Gosden said of Lucarno: “He’s been a very good horse all the way along from the time he was second in his maiden first time out. He was fourth in the Derby behind an exceptionally good winner in Authorized.

“He’s done nothing but improve and will be put away now and come back for Group Ones over a mile and a half next year.”

TODAY’S NAP: Strensall (4.50pm Musselburgh).