The progressive Sea Of Class tops 2018 Arc de Triomphe betting tips given by Horsebetting.com experts for this prestigious 1m 4f Group 1 contest at Longchamp on Sunday, 7 October. Enable, who is a red-hot favourite to retain her crown, is the obvious danger following an impressive return to action following injury. Cloth Of Stars, meanwhile, looks a huge price given that he finished runner-up last year, so makes plenty of each-way appeal. Read our 2018 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe betting tips to learn more about our recommended punts in the world’s richest turf flat race.Sea Of Class taken to capture Arc glory in ParisSea Of Class looks worth a bet to capture more Group 1 glory in the feature race at Longchamp on Sunday, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (15:05). This 1m 4f contest is the world’s richest turf flat race and has a prestigious roll of honour. Three-year-olds have won seven of the last 10 renewals, so that’s a big plus with regards to the chances of William Haggas’ filly.
This daughter of the sensational Sea The Stars, who won the race in 2009, is unbeaten in four starts since finishing a neck runner-up on debut at Newmarket back in April. She bagged her first Group 1 success on her penultimate outing at The Curragh when beating Forever Together by a neck in the Irish Oaks.
The narrow margin of victory does not tell the whole story, however, and she was value for much more. After racing at the rear and seemingly having plenty to do turning for home, Sea Of Class made good headway two out down the outside of the field under an ultra-confident James Doyle.
She then stayed on well under a hands and heels ride to lead on the line, and the fact she got the job done without her rider giving her one touch of the whip made it an even more impressive success. Sea Of Class has since gone on to land the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks in devastating fashion.
Doyle adopted the same patient tactics at York, holding her up at the rear of the field for much of the contest. When he then let out an an inch of rein, Sea Of Class cruised into contention two from home pulling double. When then asked to put the race to bed inside the last, the response was immediate and she quickened clear to easily beat Coronet by 2 1/4 lengths.
The runner-up is a solid yardstick and the third home Eziyra has since come out and landed a Group 2, so that gives the form a solid look. However, it was the visual impression which Sea Of Class created yet again – without her rider having to give her one backhander – that marked her out as something really special.
She’s come a long way in such a short space of time and undoubtedly has the potential to do even better. Sea Of Class is now officially rated 118 – 10lb below that of market leader Enable. That may underestimate how good she actually is, however, and she receives a handy 7lb weight-for-age allowance from John Gosden’s stable star.
It means that there is not much between the pair on adjusted ratings and Sea Of Class remains open to plenty more improvement after just five starts. So, taking everything into account, she looks value at the odds on offer to turn over Enable and thus rates the main selection in our 2018 Arc de Triomphe betting tips.Enable a worthy favourite and formidable opponentThe aforementioned Enable ran out the easy winner of this 12 months ago and is a red-hot favourite to retain her crown. John Gosden’s brilliant filly bids to become just the eighth horse to win the race twice. Only Treve, who was victorious in 2013 and 2014, has achieved the feat since the 1970s.
She simply destroyed the opposition last year when the race was staged at Chantilly, travelling well throughout on the heels of the leaders before quickening clear two from home and staying on strongly to easily beat the re-opposing Cloth Of Stars by 2 1/2 lengths. Prior to that, Enable had landed for Group 1s on the bounce.
After bolting up by five lengths in The Oaks at Epsom on her third start of the campaign, she toyed with the opposition when running out the facile 5 1/2 length winner of the Irish equivalent at The Curragh. The daughter of Nathaniel then took the boys for the first time the King George at Ascot and handed out a 4 1/2 lengths drubbing to the very smart Ulysses.
Enable then made all in the Yorkshire Oaks to score by five lengths from Coronet. Those exploits earned her an official rating of 128, the highest in the line-up, and she looked as good as ever on her eagerly awaited return to action following 342 days on the sidelines when making all to beat Crystal Ocean by 3 1/2 lengths in the Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton last month.
She stretched readily clear when asked to go about her business by Frankie Dettori, who is seven from seven on her, and won easing down at the line. Gosden said that she would come on significantly for that outing, so that is ominous as far as Enable’s rivals are concerned.
However, she is now being asked to back that up quickly following injury and that has to be a concern in a race of this nature. Lots of horses bounce after winning first time up after injury and fillies are more fragile than colts. If Enable does perform to her best, then she is undoubtedly the one to beat but, at the odds on offer, she is plenty short enough and worth taking on with the thriving and upwardly mobile Sea Of Class.Cloth Of Stars an each-way play at huge oddsAndre Fabre has saddled a record seven previous winners of the Arc, with the last of those coming 12 years ago courtesy of Rail Link. He sends three out this time around, with Waldgeist by far the shortest in the betting and currently trading as third-favourite. However, at massive odds it’s his Cloth Of Stars that appeals most as the each-way bet.
This five year-old has won seven of his 19 starts and also hit the frame on nine occasions, including when running a cracker in this race 12 months ago when runner-up to Enable. Although no match for the easy winner, Cloth Of Stars stayed on well after encountering trouble in running to be beaten 2 1/2 lengths.
Given how the race panned out, and the fact that he had to concede 9lb to the filly as a result of sex and weight-for-age allowances, it was a fine effort. Cloth Of Stars now meets that rival on 6lb better terms, so there shouldn’t really by the huge discrepancy in the odds between them currently on offer at the time of writing.
Although Cloth Of Stars has finished behind his stable companion Waldgeist in his last three starts, there was lots to like about the way he shaped last time out in the Group 2 Prix Foy over course and distance when a staying on 2 3/4 lengths third following a break. That should have put Cloth Of stars spot on for this and, in a betting market totally dominated by Enable and Sea Of Class, he had to feature as the each-way punt in our 2018 Arc de Triomphe betting tips.Your Next Bet
