Greg Wood's report from Longchamp
Japanese dream of Arc glory turns to a nightmare again
The Japanese quest to win the Arc de Triomphe, which started way back in 1969, is unfulfilled again after today’s result. The heavy rain came over the weekend, which didn’t help runners who normally run on much faster ground, and the outside draw for two of their three runners wasn’t helpful but it was still a desperate return again for the Japanese racing industry which has targeted this prestigious race. Byzantine Dream, heavily backed late, was best of the travelling contingent in fifth with Croix du Nord in 14th and Alohi Alii in 16th. Maybe next year the aim should be to lay all the horses from that country! That’s all for another year for the Arc blog – we’ll be back with more live horse racing from Champions Day at Ascot on October 18th.
