Orfevre takes dead aim at Arc after his pace earns Prix Foy victory

Orfevre, a Triple Crown winner in his native Japan, is the clear favourite for next month's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with several bookmakers after his victory in the Prix Foy on Arc trials afternoon at Longchamp on Sunday. Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, Orfevre tracked a modest early pace and then showed good speed to take the lead and hold off Meandre, a Group One winner for André Fabre last season, by a length. "I was very happy with the performance," Soumillon said. "The pace was a bit slow and he was a bit fresh but I just wanted to keep track of him on his first time at Longchamp. In two strides I got exactly what you need from an Arc de Triomphe horse. Hopefully he can improve a bit, as he needs to improve to win an Arc, but the trainer [Yasutoshi Ikee] has done a perfect job so far." Orfevre is top-priced at 5-1 for the Arc with Boylesports, and more generally quoted at 9-2 and 4-1. Danedream, last year's Arc winner, is top-priced at 9-2. Saonois, who squeezed past Last Train and Bayrir to win the Prix Niel, will now be supplemented for the Arc and can be backed at a best price of 12-1 with Bet365. Saonois won the 10-furlong French Derby last time out for Jean-Pierre Gauvin, who trains near Lyon. "He is better over a mile and a half and was a bit free and fresh today," Gauvin said, "but he gets better with every run." Shareta, the Yorkshire Oaks winner, followed up in the Group One Prix Vermeille and is also 12-1 (with Paddy Power) for the Arc. "She's a much more mature filly than she was [when runner-up in the Arc] last year," the Aga Khan, her owner, said. Moonlight Cloud edged home in front of Farhh in the Group One Prix du Moulin and will run next in the Breeders' Cup Mile, while the runner-up could go for either the Champion Stakes or the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot in mid-October.