Sarafina Gets Ante Post Nod for the Arc
- By A.J. Ryder on August 31, 2011 16:36 GMT
The 2011 Arc De Triomphe is the de facto finale of the European flat racing season and there are a number of extremely interesting contenders seeing plenty of ante post action for this one. Obviously there is some risk involved with many contenders as the race is still several months away and you can expect two additional runs for many of these horses prior to the Longchamp showpiece in the middle of October.
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Sarafina, owned by His Holiness the Aga Khan, has been campaigned exclusively on French shores and has been absolutely battering most of her competition. The four-year-old daughter of Refuse To Bend endured a tough beat in last year's Arc to Workforce by nearly three lengths. She still managed to hit the board which is rather impressive for a three-year-old filly in her first run against boys.
Her four-year-old campaign began with a second place finish in a Group 1 contest and then she dropped down to Group 2 level to capture the Prix Corrida against fillies and mares.
The major statement from Sarafina came in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud which is four four-year-olds and up and proved her chops running against mature male horses. After that, her price dropped quite sharply for the Arc and punters will now find her trading in the neighborhood of around 7/2.
Workforce can be backed at a 9/2 listing and that seems like a slightly risky bet as last year's Arc Champion has taken two successive losses since July, well-beaten by So You Think and Nathaniel. The Nathaniel score in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes has seen the three-year-old vault into contention for this massive staying contest and he is well-backed at 6/1 to make a major statement in this one.
So You Think has a number of options open to him including heading to Australia for a run there and he also trades heavily in the Breeders' Cup Classic ante post markets. The Arc seems a much more reasonable competition and the bookmakers have him as low as 5/1.
Some of the interesting spoilers include Galikova at 10/1, Behkabad at 20/1 and St Nicholas Abbey at 14/1.
