Andre Fabre feels Meandre will have his work cut out to reverse the form with the Japanese horse Orfevre in next month's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Meandre went into Sunday's Prix Foy at Longchamp on the back of two Group One wins, but he was put firmly in his place by the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown winner.

While Meandre is fairly prominent in the ante-post lists for Europe's premier middle-distance race, Fabre does not believe he is quite good enough to win.

"It (the Foy) was an awful race to watch, they went no pace at all," Fabre said.

"The result made sense, though. The horses probably finished in the correct order.

"I wouldn't be sure about turning the form around in the Arc.

"In slow races, the best horse usually wins as they have to show a turn of foot. Everyone can make excuses for horses after slow races but the best horse usually wins.

"I've always thought Meandre was good enough to be placed in the Arc, but maybe not quite good enough to win."

The handler’s Last Train will skip the race after he finished third in the Prix Niel.

Owned by Khalid Abdullah, the son of 2006 Arc winner Rail Link had looked a lively outsider for the end-of-season showpiece having been narrowly beaten by Imperial Monarch in the Grand Prix de Paris.

However, he was easily reeled in by French Derby winner Saonois, and Fabre sees him as more of a long-term prospect.

"Last Train ran well but he has no change of pace," said Fabre.

"He was beaten by two Group One winners so there was no disgrace in that, but I was very impressed by the winner.

"When he won the Prix du Jockey Club, he showed he had a fantastic turn of foot but people did not believe it. It is a tribute to the Jockey Club which everybody said was a bad race this year. The winner is a very good horse.

"Last Train will not go for the Arc, we'll let him mature and find a better race for him and he'll make a nice four-year-old."

Fabre was also pleased with the performance of Pirika who chased home the impressive winner Shareta in the Prix Vermeille.

"Pirika has a good turn of foot and she had excuses for her previous race," said Fabre.

"You have to respect the form, Shareta looked the best horse before the race and proved it so we learnt nothing new."