One of Europe’s finest sporting events gets underway in under two weeks, as Paris Longchamp hosts the 2025 Arc De Triomphe weekend.
Two days in early October will welcome the eyes of racing fans across the world, who will hope to see some of the greatest action that the sport can offer.
Fourteen races will see racing’s elite go head-to-head, as the European continent stages one of its premier events on the sporting calendar.
The namesake and feature race of the meeting is the Prix de l’arc de Triomphe.
Running on the second day, it awards five million euros in prize money and boasts the title of being Europe’s richest flat race – highlighting the prestigious nature of this meeting.
Parisien culture awaits the eyes and here is everything that you need to know about it.
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When is the Arc de Triomphe weekend?
The action kicks off on Saturday, October 4, with a seven-race card serving as a fitting appetiser for the showpiece race the day after.
Day one’s card is highlighted by the running of the Qatar Prix De Royallieu and the Qatar Prix Du Cadran – each awarding 300,000 euros in prize money.
The second day will see the Qatar Prix De L’arc De Triomphe highlight the weekend and a card featuring the Qatar Arabian World Cup as well the Prix De L’Opera Longines.
Trainers to watch
Leading Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien is no stranger to Group One glory, be it on home turf, British soil or across the English channel and beyond.
He is the champion trainer in his native Ireland having accumulated over three million euros more than anyone else, whilst he also leads the British standings by around £600,000.
This is despite training almost 140 fewer winners than second-placed Andrew Balding – highlighting the efficiency of his yard.
His yard has recorded a plethora of prestigious race wins this season, notably at Epsom Downs, Chester and The Curragh.
O’Brien is no stranger to this meeting either, being a two-time winner of the Prix De L’arc De Triomphe, most recently in 2016 – a year before he trained 28 Group One winners, which is a record that is yet to be broken.
Since O’Brien’s latest win in the race, the Arc has gone to a British-trained victor four times, including last year – when trainer Ralph Beckett took home the prize.
He is enjoying a fine season in which he sits sixth in the British trainer standings, though is operating at an 11% win rate over the past 14 days.
In-form
Two-time winning trainer John Gosden has been partnered by his son Thady since his last win in Europe’s richest flat race.
Should they choose to send representatives over the channel, they will be carrying the weight of a yard that has trained Group One winning duo Ombudsman and Field Of Gold, this season.
Other in-form Brits include William Haggas and Charlie Appleby, with both men enjoying successful if not spectacular campaigns.
Haggas has seen his horses continue their good form in big Handicaps, whilst Appleby has trained two British Classic winners – as well as seven winners at Newmarket‘s July meeting – for renowned owners Godolphin.
They each boast a win rate of 20% and 26% over the last 14 days and will be notable names should their yards have horses in the running in early October.
French trainers to look out for include Francis Graffard and Andre Fabre, who – in that order – lead O’Brien in the French Trainer Championship.
They are both familiar with Group One wins across France and Great Britain, whilst boasting a 28% and 13% win rate at Longchamp, this season, respectively.
The former is yet to win this meeting’s feature event, whilst the latter is the race’s leading trainer, training eight horses to victory.
Another Frenchman to keep onside is Jean Claude Rouget, who has trained two winners of the Prix De L’arc De Triomphe – most recently in 2023.
Jockeys to watch
Ballydoyle saw both of their regular riders miss out on a weekend that featured both the Irish Champion Festival and the St Leger at Doncaster.
Star man Ryan Moore missed out on the chance to add to his collection of Group One winners, in a season where he made it 150 Group One winners when riding for O’Brien, after he fractured his femur.
Understudy Wayne Lordan lost an appeal on his 10-day ban, which saw him also miss those two meetings, which paved the way for Belgian Christophe Soumillon to ride three O’Brien-trained winners across the two events.
He will likely deputise for Moore once again, who is set to miss the rest of the season.
Soumillon is currently 10th in the French Jockey Championship standings, but does hold good form at Longchamp this season – riding 10 winners.
Mickael Barzalona, Maxime Guyon and Cristian Demuro round off the top three jockeys at Longchamp this season, with them riding 27, 23 and 20 winners at the course, respectively.
They are also the top three in the French Jockey Championship, with Demuro leading Guyon by 12 wins – who is 37 wins clear of Barzalona.
Those three are the only jockeys in the French standings to ride more than 100 winners this season, though the championship leader is out of form – with only eight per cent of his rides over the last two weeks resulting in wins.
One to watch
British jockeys in form include Billy Loughnane and Tom Marquand, both of whom are no stranger to riding outside of the United Kingdom.
Loughnane won his first career Group One in Germany earlier this season, whilst Marquand is a familiar name in Australia, Dubai and Hong Kong.
The former is second in British standings, whilst Marquand is sixth, but it is four-time Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy in front.
Murphy is sure to be one to watch should he make the trip over the channel, where he is likely to ride for Balding.
William Buick is another name that should be kept on side, given his record of wins in the all-blue of Godolphin for both Appleby and the Gosdens.
Last year’s Arc winning jockey Rossa Ryan has continued his form, riding 73 winners this campaign which puts him fourth in British standings.
How to watch the Arc De Triomphe weekend?
Sky Sports Racing will screen all the action live from Paris, for Sky Sports subscribers only.
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