New Zealand-bred 11-time Group One winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed) is in danger of not making the 20-strong Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m) field at Longchamp on Sunday.
A total of 27 horses remains in Arc contention after the first forfeit stage elapsed on Monday and should Verry Elleegant’s connections pay the €120,000 late entry fee ahead of Wednesday’s supplementary deadline, that number will rise to 28.
Verry Elleegant arrived in France with a rating of 120, however, France Galop’s handicapping team with the benefit of assessing Verry Elleegant’s two French defeats have assigned her with a rating of 113.
Verry Elleegant’s French adventure under Chantilly-based trainer Francis Graffard started by finishing last of seven in the Gr.1 Prix Jean Romanet (2000m) at Deauville on August 21 before running third in the Gr.2 Prix Foy (2400m) at Longchamp on September 12.
Australian-based jockey Mark Zahra is set to reunite with the mare having won the Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) and Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) two years ago.
France Galop officials on Monday confirmed that given the demand for an Arc berth that the field limit may increase.
“The limit is 20 but the question of whether we would go above that is currently being studied, with all the implications that such a decision would carry,” France Galop’s deputy chief executive Henri Pouret told Racing Post.
“We are waiting to see what the first forfeit stage brings and then, depending on how the forfeits progress this week, we will come to a conclusion.”
An extra layer of complication for France Galop is that their popular exotic bet type, the Quinte, does not support fields greater than 20. Prior to the creation of the Quinte in 1989, the Arc field regularly exceeded 20 starters.
