Aidan O’Brien is once again plotting an audacious route to ParisLongchamp – this time with a staying titan turned potential Arc contender in the form of Kyprios.

Fresh off a flawless seven-race campaign that saw him reassert his dominance over the staying ranks – including a Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup, Irish St Leger and Prix du Cadran – the seven-year-old is now being seriously considered for a tilt at Europe’s premier middle-distance crown.

“We might look at the Arc this year instead of going to the Cadran,” mused O’Brien with classic understatement.

The campaign begins in familiar territory – Navan’s Vintage Crop Stakes, then on to Leopardstown and Ascot’s Gold Cup – but should all go to plan, the Arc may well replace the Cadran as his autumn assignment.
O’Brien is glowing in his praise for the evergreen star:

“His whole attitude hasn’t changed at all since he was two – which is very unusual.”

In the same breath, there’s another Ballydoyle name being quietly primed for a possible Arc bid – Los Angeles, last season’s Irish Derby winner and third behind Bluestocking in last year’s Arc. He’s set to follow a more 10-furlong-focused campaign with a tilt at the big one kept firmly in mind.

The likely route?

Prix Ganay → Tattersalls Gold Cup → Prince of Wales’s – with a possible King George curveball depending on how the cards fall.

“We’ll try to keep him at a mile and a quarter for as long as we can,” said O’Brien, ever the master of keeping options open.

Two very different horses – one a battle-hardened stayer, the other a maturing middle-distance talent – but both could be primed to peak when it matters most. First Sunday in October. Paris. The Arc. The countdown begins.

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16 ran
Going: Very Soft

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (3) -    Bluestocking 4 9-2 Ralph Beckett Rossa Ryan 5/1
2 (4) 1¼ Aventure 3 8-9 C Ferland Stephane Pasquier 17/2
3 (10) 1½ Los Angeles 3 8-13 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 6/1
4 (5) 1½ Sosie 3 8-13 A Fabre Maxime Guyon 10/3F
5 (12) 2½ Sevenna's Knight 4 9-5 A Fabre Mickael Barzalona 28/1
6 (1) ¾ Zarakem 4 9-5 J Reynier Cristian Demuro 66/1
7 (6) ¾ Survie 3 8-9 N Clement Tom Marquand 80/1
8 (7) ½ Delius 3 8-13 J-C Rouget Ioritz Mendizabal 14/1
9 (2) ¾ Fantastic Moon 4 9-5 Frau S Steinberg Rene Piechulek 33/1
10 (15) ¾ Sunway 3 8-13 David Menuisier Oisin Murphy 33/1
11 (9) ¾ Al Riffa 4 9-5 Joseph O'Brien Yutaka Take 15/2
12 (11) 1 Shin Emperor 3 8-13 Yoshito Yahagi Ryusei Sakai 10/1
13 (8) 6 Look De Vega 3 8-13 C & Y Lerner Ronan Thomas 8/1
14 (16) 2½ Mqse De Sevigne 5 9-2 A Fabre Alexis Pouchin 25/1
15 (14) hd Continuous 4 9-5 A P O'Brien Christophe Soumillon 25/1
PU (13) Haya Zark 5 9-5 Adrien Fouassier William Buick 80/1