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Five Breeders’ Cup Challenge Races At Longchamp On Sunday’s Arc Card

Breeders' Cup Ltd., and France Galop are once again proud to announce that five Group 1 races at ParisLongchamp for the world-renowned Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe day on Oct. 4 will be part of the 2020 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge, now in its 14th year, is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid for corresponding races in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.

The 1 ½-mile Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, is the centrepiece of the international spectacle on the ParisLongchamp program. For the second consecutive year, the winner of Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will receive an automatic berth into the US$4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1), which will also be run at 1 ½ mile at Keeneland. Prince Khalid Abdullah's Enable (GB) became the first horse to win the Arc and the Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year, which she accomplished in 2018.

Top turf sprinters will be in action in the 5-furlong Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines, with the winner receiving a “Win and You're In” position into the 5 ½ furlongs, US$1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1).

An automatic berth into the 1 3/16-mile, US$2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) will be awarded to the winner of the 1 ¼-mile Prix de l'Opéra Longines.

There will also be two “Win and You're In” races for 2-year-olds on the Arc day program. The 7-furlong Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère will give the winner a free placement into the 1-mile, US$1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), and the winner of the 1-mile Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac, for 2-year-old fillies, will earn an automatic starting position into the 1-mile, US$1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).

“We are extremely pleased to partner again with the great teams of France Galop and ParisLongchamp, who each year host international Thoroughbred racing at the highest level,” said Dora Delgado, Breeders' Cup Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer. “To align the Breeders' Cup World Championships with these prestigious races on the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe day program provides a clear path for Europe's finest horsemen, and we look forward to their participation in the World Championships at Keeneland Race Course.”

“Once again this year, France Galop is delighted to associate five Group1 races from this Sunday's program with the Breeders'Cup Challenge Series 2020. The winners of the most prestigious races of the weekend of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will have the chance to automatically qualify to run to one other International largest thoroughbred racing weekend in the world, the Breeders'Cup World Championship”, said Olivier Delloye, France Galop Chief Executive.

As part of the enhanced benefits to horsemen competing in the series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees and guarantee a starting position in a corresponding Championships race for winners of all Challenge races. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 26 to receive the rewards, and those rewards must be used in the year they are earned.

Breeders' Cup also will provide a $40,000 travel stipend to the connections of all Championship starters from outside of North America.

The five Arc day races are among the seven total Breeders' Cup Challenge races in France this year.

Two “Win and You're In” races were held at Deauville. On Aug. 16, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's 3-year-old Palace Pier won the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (G1) and earned an automatic berth into the US$2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1). On Aug. 23, Stonestreet Stables' 2-year-old filly Campanelle (IRE) captured the Darley Prix Morny (G1) at Deauville and secured a free starting position into the US$1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2).

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Oisin Murphy Could Face Long Ban After Positive Drug Test, Vows To Clear His Name

Top European jockey Oisin Murphy could face a long suspension after a urine test taken from the rider in France this summer was found to contain cocaine metabolites. Murphy said France Galop has indicated the positive came from the authority's A test and that its B test (split sample) results have not yet been released to him.

Murphy has subsequently had hair tests done which have not found the presence of cocaine, and he maintains he has not taken the drug.

Hair tests are primarily used to look for the presence of substances over a longer period of time than blood or urine tests and are not generally thought of as any more sensitive than blood or urine tests.

Previously, riders testing positive for cocaine by the authority have faced bans of six months.

Murphy Tests Positive For Cocaine, Vows Innocence

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has said he will “fight to clear his name” after it was revealed on Thursday that he had tested positive for metabolites of cocaine at Chantilly on July 19, the card during which he partnered The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) to finish second in the G2 Prix Robert Papin. Murphy said he has “never taken cocaine.” If found guilty, he could face a lengthy ban from the saddle; Frankie Dettori was sidelined six months in 2012 after testing positive for cocaine in France-he admitted to using the drug–while Rab Havlin failed a drug test in that country in 2017, resulting in nearly 10 months out of the saddle.

Murphy was informed of the positive on Aug. 19, at which time he organized a hair sample test that came back negative. Those results have been shared with France Galop.

A statement from Murphy read, “I have never taken cocaine in my life and will fight to clear my name. I want to thank those who are supporting me and in the meantime I want to keep riding winners and focus on my career.”

Speaking on Racing TV later on Thursday, Murphy said, “I had to release a statement today as the story had got round, but it is a weight off my shoulders. I’d been riding to the best of my ability and had a great week last week, but something needed to be said today–and I’m pleased it’s out there.

“People will examine every ride now, and if I give one a bad ride, they’ll probably say it’s because of this, but I have a brilliant support team and I am innocent. I think those closest to me believe in my innocence, so I’ve been able to push it out of my head.

“I’ve got to trust in France Galop and try to carry on as normal. A lot of important things are going on in the world at the moment, and this is crucial in my career, but it’s out of my control. I don’t come into contact with drugs, I didn’t ever expect to hear from France Galop, BHA or wherever else I ride around the world. I don’t even take pain killers–I take an inhaler, and that’s about it. I don’t know the next steps. I’ll have to hear back from France Galop, which could take a few weeks. In an ideal world the headlines wouldn’t have come out today– we could have waited until we had a clearer picture–but now we have to wait on the ‘B’ sample.”

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Arc Attendance Cut To 1,000

Attendance at ParisLongchamp on Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe weekend on Oct. 3 and 4 will be cut from 5,000 to 1,000 after Paris and its suburbs were once again placed in the Reinforced Alert Zone of areas with high incidences of coronavirus. The French government announced on Wednesday that maximum attendance at public events in such zones would be 1,000.

France Galop has suspended ticket sales for the weekend and, pending the publication of the official decree that will specify terms, is working on setting up a system that will remain open to racing professionals while respecting health measures.

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