For more than half a century, Japan has chased the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, with legendary names such as El Condor Pasa, Deep Impact and Orfevre all going close without landing the spoils.

Trainer Takashi Saito knows the heartache first-hand, having saddled Chrono Genesis to finish seventh in 2021. But this year, his hopes rest on a very different type of challenger: the lightly raced, progressive Croix Du Nord.

The colt, runner-up in the Japanese 2000 Guineas before powering to Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun victory, has just six runs on his record - a stark contrast to Chrono Genesis, who was making her fourteenth start when she attempted the Arc. Croix Du Nord has already proven himself at Longchamp too, taking last month's Group 3 Prix du Prince d'Orange in what was his first start since June.

He said: "I raced the Arc with Chrono Genesis four years ago and that didn't go well, but having this opportunity again, I'm so delighted and feeling honoured to run again. It's a different horse but I'm delighted to have a challenger again.

"After the race I kind of realised it was too much. We trained hard and it was too hard for her, that's what I learned from that time. Many different horses taught me many different things. Croix Du Nord, coming back with him, it's very hard to win the race but we think it's the right thing to do.

"It's hard to point out one thing but I learnt many things from different horses in Japan and outside of Japan, and I would like to show what I learned and how I improved in these four years."

Croix Du Nord is set to be part of a strong Japanese challenge, with three runners from the country still in contention and the field potentially swelling to eighteen after the supplementation of triple Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk on Wednesday.

Of the Japanese-trained trio, Byzantine Dream currently heads the market. The four-year-old arrives in Paris on the back of a half-length victory in last month's Group 2 Prix Foy, having earlier landed the Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia. Oisin Murphy partnered him on both occasions and is booked to ride again on Sunday.

Trainer Tomoyasu Sakaguchi was hesitant regarding his charge's chances on Sunday, saying: "Probably we don't want the heaviest ground, we're not sure how he would handle that because we have never experienced that. I'm not sure at the moment, we know he likes better ground, but we don't about how soft or heavy he can handle it."

Alohi Alli rounds out the Japanese contingent and also brings proven French form, having made all the running to defeat Rashabar by an emphatic three and a half lengths in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville.

That Group Two success came after a 118-day layoff, and trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka is confident the three-year-old son of Duramente will strip fitter for the run.

He said: "We were originally aiming for the Grand Prix de Paris but there was a minor setback, the horse came back well to prepare for the Guillaume d'Ornano. It was great to win as I know it's a high-class race.

"The Guillaume d'Ornano was after his four-month lay off and the training did not go as we planned. He definitely wasn't fit, 10 days or a week before the race we were concerned about scratching him but that week we thought he was fine to race and he did really well.

"In his training, he got keener in a good way after the race, coming back for this autumn campaign and he's adapted to the French track, so he's definitely fitter and improving.

"Rain is expected but we don't want to make an excuse, so I hope he will handle the ground."