Warm Heart's brilliant season continued as she landed the Qatar Prix Vermeille at Longchamp for Aidan O’Brien.
The Galileo filly came into the Group One off the back of a Yorkshire Oaks success on the Knavesmire in late August, a race that was her first under rider James Doyle.
Prior to that she was fifth in the Irish Oaks, but her year has included plenty of winning as she took both the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Haras De Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial Stakes at Newbury.
Her trip to Paris was also a success as she reunited with Doyle and was given a fine ride, finding plenty when pressed to defeat Francis-Henri Graffard’s Melo Melo by a neck as a 3-1 shot on the PMU (11-4 industry SP).
Hermine Bastide of owners Coolmore said: "She loves good ground and is super generous. James Doyle said she hadn’t had the easiest of races and yet she showed a lot of determination. The team will decide the next step."
Doyle found the race less than straightforward but was impressed with Warm Heart’s will to win, saying: "The race was a bit of a trappy contest.
"Normally, she exits the gates very well but she slipped today, losing her action for a few strides, and so I found myself further back than I would have liked and a bit fenced-in.
"They didn’t go very fast and I was worried during the race, she showed a lot of determination to come out on top.
"Once in the lead, she doesn’t really stop, but tends to idle a bit and wait for the others, which is what she did in the Yorkshire Oaks, and what she did again today."
Warm Heart is not entered in the Arc and while she could be supplemented, Doyle considers the ground to be crucial as he does not believe she will appreciate soft conditions. In the build up to France, O’Brien mentioned the Breeders’ Cup as the likely destination.
Doyle said: "As for the Arc, her connections will decide. My feeling is that she needs good ground – being a light-actioned sort, and the going is therefore important in that regard.
"We’ve already seen editions of the Arc being run on fast ground, it can happen, but it’s not common either."
Fantastic Moon (51-10 PMU, 11-2 industry SP) entered the Arc picture as he flew the flag for German trainer Sarah Steinberg when a decisive winner of the Qatar Prix Niel.
The son of Sea The Moon emulated his sire when taking the German Derby earlier in the year, after which he was second to Nations Pride in the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis at Munich – another Group One.
He was an intended runner in the Grosser Preis von Baden last weekend, a race that led the German-trained Torquator Tasso to Arc success in 2021.
The going scuppered that Baden-Baden entry and Plan B was deployed when Fantastic Moon rerouted to Paris.
The decision proved a wise one as Fantastic Moon carried Arc-winning rider Rene Piechulek to a convincing two-and-a-half-length victory, cruising around the final bend to reel in the front-running King Of Records and hold off his well-regarded stablemate Feed The Flame.
Fantastic Moon is not among the Arc entries at present and would therefore need to be supplemented, with the ground a key factor in the decision as the Breeders’ Cup and the Japan Cup are on the table also.
"He is fantastic, what a horse, what a day," said Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten of owners Liberty Racing.
"Arc, yes or no? We are not sure, we will decide. The Arc is an option, the Breeders’ Cup is an option and the Japan Cup is an option.
"We will discuss when the horse is back in Munich, he is a wonderful horse.
"Everybody saw that today and he is untapped at the moment, nobody knows how good he is.
"We will decide in the next days what we do but we need good ground, that’s important for him – no soft ground.
"That is the question for the Arc, what will the weather be in Paris for the next two weeks?"
Pascal Bary was not too downhearted at defeat for Grand Prix de Paris winner Feed The Flame, saying: "He wasn’t quite as ready as I thought. With the heat, Feed The Flame asked for a breather during the race. He picked up well, even if the last 100 metres perhaps seemed a bit of an eternity for him.
"Christophe Soumillon made sure of the fact that the colt was given a lesson when it came to racing between horses, which is a good form of preparation. Furthermore, he wasn’t hard on him. Of course, it’s always better to win than to be second.
"That said, the winner, Fantastic Moon, has every right to be considered a good colt. Feed The Flame will line up in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. If the ground were to ease that would be even better."
Andre Fabre’s Place Du Carrousel (13-5 PMU, 5-2 industry SP) may also have earned herself a spot in the Arc after landing the Qatar Prix Foy, again over course and distance.
The Lope De Vega filly, who is owned by Al Shaqab Racing and Ballylinch Stud, was partnered by Mickael Barzalona for the Group Two that Waldgeist won for Fabre in 2019 before flooring Enable in her bid to win the Arc for the third time.
Place Du Carrousel now looks likely to follow the same path after a neck success over a worthy opponent in Iresine – twice a Group One winner himself.
Rupert Pritchard-Gordon of Al Shaqab Racing said: "The filly showed that she’s in good form. She’s still fresh because she hasn’t run much this year, due to a slight setback in the spring.
"The weather conditions are exceptional today, and Monsieur Fabre preferred to go for the Qatar Prix Foy rather than the Qatar Prix Vermeille, anticipating that there would be less pace in the Foy.
"When we decided to keep her in training at four, after her success in the Prix de l’Opera Longines last year, the idea was to aim her at the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
"If all goes well between now and then, we’ll be heading to the race of dreams!"
