By Daithi Harvey
Anthony Oppenheimer's homebred Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will sidestep the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly on Sunday. Oppenheimer confirmed the decision on Sunday and cited the Chantilly track had a bearing on his and John Gosden's decision to miss Sunday's showpiece with the 3-year-old. “I think it had a lot to do with Chantilly itself. A lot depends on the size of the field. If it was at Longchamp, where the track is wider and the bends are not as tight, it may have been an easier decision,” said Oppenheimer, who has already tasted Arc success as an owner/breeder with Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}). Despite narrowly missing out on a Group 1 win when placed in both the Epsom and Curragh Derbys Cracksman showed the benefit of a short break after The Curragh when running out a impressive winner of both the G2 Betway Great Voltigeur S. at York and the G2 Qatar Prix Niel at Chantilly. Although Cracksman has an entry in the G1 QIPCO Champion S. at Ascot on British Champions Day Oct. 21, that race is also far from certain for the colt.
“He is in the Champion Stakes, which personally I would say is equally unlikely as the Arc, but that is still four weeks away,” Oppenheimer said. “I haven't been down to Newmarket for a little while, but if the horse was bouncing out of his skin and let us say the ground came up heavy to soft and it blunted the speed of some of those mile-and-a-quarter horses, there could be some merit in it. He is a fresh horse, but I would say the Champion Stakes is a backstop as we've always said we wanted to run him as a four-year-old and we want him to be fresh for that.” Cracksman's stablemate Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) is currently an odds on shot to extend her Group 1 winning streak to five in the Arc.
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