The draw has been announced for Sunday’s Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp – but what does it mean?

In basic terms, the lowest draw (closest to the inside rail) should be the prime position, with the least distance to travel around Longchamp's right-handed track. With a traditionally large field, it is not always that simple. Runners next to the rail risk being boxed in by opponents but horses drawn high are forced to travel widest throughout the race or waste energy attempting to move over into an advantageous position.

At Longchamp, jockeys are required to keep their mount in a straight line for the first 200m of the 2400m trip and are not permitted to cross the field.

With those problems in mind, it is little surprise to see a distinct bias towards low numbers. Since 2010, ten of the fourteen winners (71%) have come from stall eight or lower with stall three and six providing three victories apiece.

It is worth noting at this stage that the 2016 and 2017 renewal were held at Chantilly, but the same principle applies to the right-handed track – Found was an unusual winner from stall twelve in 2016 and Enable found victory from stall two in 2017.

It is equally worth looking at the horses who have been able to buck the trend. The four horses who have won from stalls twelve and upwards have arguably been exceptional in their own way. Treve won the first of her two Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes from stall fifteen in 2013; Golden Horn dominated from stall fourteen in 2015; Found cemented her champion race-mare status from twelve in 2016 and Torquator Tasso relished heavy ground conditions in 2021 to win from stall twelve.

So what does the draw mean for this year's renewal of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe?

The post position ceremony was a disastrous moment for Japanese hopes with their three contenders – Croix Du Nord, Byzantine Dream and Alohi Alii– drawing seventeen, fifteen and four respectively. Whilst the recent statistics prove that Croix Du Nord and Byzantine Dream are capable of winning from their relative positions, it has made the task of a first Japanese 'Arc' success considerably harder.

The favoured Aventure and Minnie Hauk may not have drawn plum position, but their stalls of twelve and one respectively give hope that the two fillies can add to the exceptional female record of the race.

The domestic defence have strengthened their hand with exceptional draws; Prix Niel winner Cualificar will exit from the favoured stall eight whilst Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Leffard has stall six. The Aga Khan Studs' owned Daryz will come from stall two and the experienced Sosie, dual Group 1 winner during the 2025 campaign, has stall three – the same draw as last year's heroine Bluestocking.

Full draw list

Giavellotto - Andrea Atzeni (5)

White Birch - Dylan Browne McMonagle (9)

Arrow Eagle - Ioritz Mendizabal (16)

Sosie - Stephane Pasquier (3)

Los Angeles - Wayne Lordan (14)

Byzantine Dream - Oisin Murphy (15)

Estrange - Danny Tudhope (18)

Quisisana - Alexis Pouchin (7)

Kalpana - Colin Keane (10)

Aventure - Maxime Guyon (12)

Daryz - Mickael Barzalona (2)

Leffard - Cristian Demuro (6)

Cualificar - William Buick (8)

Hotazhell - Shane Foley (11)

Croix Du Nord - Yuichi Kitamura (17)

Alohi Alii - Christophe Lemaire (4)

Minnie Hauk - Christophe Soumillon (1)

Gezora - Tom Marquand (13)