As mentioned in the other thread, there's a humorous final paragraph in a current European/BreedersCup article which refers to the Arc as a "prep". I've seen or heard that coming from American turf writers several times over the years, but this time it actually comes from Alan Shuback, who covers the European scene for the Racing Form (and therefore should know better). Btw, Shuback is quite often wrong when addressing the potential Breeders Cup targets of various European horses, so anything he says (or anything you read in DRF about the Euros) should be taken with a grain of salt. For instance, he recently said that Goldikova will run in the Mile, which is only a half-truth. It may indeed turn out to be true, but he failed to mention that her connections are considering the F&M Turf just as strongly. He also fails to mention that Goldikova's barnmate Tamayuz (current favorite for the Queen Elizabeth over Henrythenavigator) has been pretty much confirmed for the Mile already, and one might draw the conclusion it would be unlikely for them to wind up in the same race. In fact, it was recently disclosed that Goldikova's connections are also considering the Ladie's Classic on the main track, though that race appears a big underdog to either the Mile or F&M Turf. My guess is that Goldikova will turn up in the F&M Turf, though obviously the results of the Queen Elizabeth figure to influence that decision.

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