My Five Contenders For The 2022 Prix De L'Arc de Triomphe

On Sunday 2nd October 2022, all eyes will be on ParisLongchamp for the 101st running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Here at the 888sport blog, we take a look at five horses that stand a great chance of lifting Europe's premier middle distance race. You may want to consider them when placing your horse racing online bets.

Al Hakeem

Regarded by his connections earlier in the season as “the next Sottsass”, Al Hakeem could well be a dark horse in this year’s Arc.

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, the three-year-old made up for a mediocre run in the Prix du Jockey Club by landing the spoils in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano (Group 2) at the Deauville-Barrière Meeting.

To be fair, he actually recorded the best closing sectionals in the Chantilly race after a very tardy start, which if corrected gives him a big shout over these two extra two furlongs.

La Parisienne

La Parisienne was very narrowly touched off by Nashwa in the French Oaks in June, then exactly the same thing happened to her in the Prix Vermeille on Arc Trials Day.

So in theory she could actually be a dual Group 1 winner if her luck had been a little bit better. If she avoids any mishaps in the Arc and her rider is a tad more tactically aware, she could well be a player at decent odds.

C & Y Lerner-trained horses have been running well at ParisLongchamp this season which gives any prospective punters for her more grounds for optimism. 

Mendocino

The Grosser Preis von Baden has always been a decent Arc barometer down the years and none more so than last year when Torquator Tasso completed the von Baden and Arc double.

This year the Frau S Steinberg-trained Mendocino lowered the colours of Torquator Tasso in a power-packed conclusion to the Grosser Preis von Baden, which would lead you to think that the new German star can put up a bold show in this year’s Arc too.

Torquator Tasso has shown that last year’s Arc victory was no fluke by running up to a high level this term too, so Mendocino must have something going for him.

Alpinista

Alpinista is the shortest-priced British-trained horse for the Arc and it is easy to understand why.

Following four successive Group One wins on mainland Europe, she bagged her first top-level victory on home soil with some ease in the Yorkshire Oaks at the Ebor meeting in August.

The five-year-old has won her last seven starts and the Kirsten Rausing-owned mare just never gives in. She’s certainly got every chance in Paris.

Onesto

July’s Grand Prix de Paris has spewed out some excellent form lines since and the race itself was won by Fabrice Chappet's three-year-old Onesto.

The runner-up Simca Mille lifted the Prix Niel, whilst the fourth that day Eldar Eldarov was victorious in the St Leger.

Throw into the mix Onesto’s half a length beating by Luxembourg in the Irish Champion Stakes and it gives the Frankel-colt one hell of a  good shout in the Arc.

Already excited for next year’s Flat season? Then why not check out our early Royal Ascot betting!

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 20th September 2022

September 20, 2022
Horse Racing

By Steve Mullington

Steve Mullington
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    Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

    He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.

    Steven graduated from the University Of Lancaster in 1996 with a B.A (Hons) in Urban Policy & Race Relations (major) with Contemporary Religions & Belief Systems (minor) and still wonders if any of these help him find the winners?

    He writes for a number of websites and online publications and you can sometimes hear him at the weekend discussing racing on a number of local radio stations. 

    Steve Mullington

    Can Michael Owen Win Over Liverpool Fans After Man United Betrayal?

    Michael Owen has a complicated relationship with Liverpool fans. A teenage sensation, Ballon d’Or winner and star of the treble winning side, Owen was adored by the Kop like one of their own, but a move to Real Madrid disrupted that love affair. 

    Owen returned to the Premier League soon after. While he has spoken at length about his desire to return to Anfield, Newcastle swooped with a club-record bid and secured his services.

    He made just 79 appearances over four seasons for the Magpies, scoring 30 goals. 

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    Another attempt to return to Merseyside failed. Owen’s relationship with the Anfield faithful was already hanging by a thread. A decision to sign for Manchester United cemented his status as an enemy of Liverpool fans worldwide.

    Owen had attempted to return to Liverpool and once again be a factor in Liverpool betting tips.

    The club was not interested at the time of his move to Old Trafford, though, and he was left to choose between Alex Ferguson’s winning machine, Everton and Hull. It was a no-brainer. 

    Speaking in 2018, Owen said, “If you’re going to say no to Manchester United, you might as well just retire.

    "I did all I could and I can’t do any more. Circumstances just meant that I couldn’t ever go back [to Liverpool]."

    At the point of Owen’s move to United, Liverpool to win the league odds were the shortest they had been in years. There was no need for an injury-riddled, post-peak Owen. 

    He has always been pragmatic about the decision, yet the vitriol from Liverpool fans after he moved to Real Madrid clearly hit hard.

    Owen told The Guardian, "I've got to earn a living, provide for my family. I supported Everton as a kid. I never supported Real Madrid, but I played for them. It's a job opportunity, just like anyone else's work."

    Even years after retirement, it hurts Owen how he is viewed at Anfield.

    "It has been painful going back to Anfield. Crying in the players' lounge and hoping nobody sees. It has been torture for a long time.

    "It is like splitting up with your wife. I can only blame myself, I said yes to Real Madrid. I still love Liverpool. Different to [Carragher], you are still at that club being idolised. I was you.

    "And yet there is a polarised opinion because of me thinking I will go away for a year and all of a sudden it is all ruined.

    "If I am walking along the Kop, they’re saying ‘you Manc’ or whatever and I have got to live with that. It has killed me for ages and the wound will never go."

    Returning to Anfield as a Manchester United player, on the other side of one of football’s biggest rivalries, might have been difficult, but Owen now believes there is respect from both fan bases.

    "Well, I’m absolutely fine at both. I’m respected at Man United; the derby winner, Champions League hat-trick, goal in a cup final. It’s not like I’m one of their own, we know that, but there’s mutual respect and good memories."

    In truth, Liverpool fans generally do not hold the same ill-feeling towards Owen as they did when they were mocking him for missing out on their 2005 Champions League win.

    Time is healer in that regard. The irritation at his decision to join Manchester United has faded, too. 

    While the relationship has improved, it would be wildly optimistic to suggest it can be ‘fixed’. Owen will always be the man who not only abandoned the club where he became a Ballon d’Or winner, but who rubbed salt into the wound by signing for United.

    The truth about his failed returns to Anfield are lost to history – the damage has been done.

     

     

    September 20, 2022
    Premier League
    Body

    Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

    He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

    Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

    Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

    Sam Cox
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    Is Frank De Boer The Worst Manager In Premier League History?

    There are some strong candidates for the worst manager in Premier League history. Despite winning the Eredivisie four times with Ajax and enjoying success with Atlanta United, Frank De Boer is clearly in the mix. 

    The Dutchman might have had a decorated playing career, but that didn’t translate to his abysmal spell in charge of Crystal Palace.

    De Boer lost all four of his Premier League matches without his team scoring a goal. His lone win came against Ipswich Town in the League Cup.

    Sacked 10 weeks after being hired by the Eagles, De Boer was replaced by Roy Hodgson, who had an immediate impact on the London club.

    De Boer hasn’t managed a European club side since, following his short-lived Palace tenure with a spell in charge of Atlanta United and a disappointing Euro 2020 campaign with the Netherlands. 

    In all likelihood, De Boer’s foray into Premier League odds at Selhurst Park was his first and last.

    There would be considerable backlash if a club brought De Boer back to England, despite his achievements elsewhere and his Palace team actually performing solidly by expected goals in his four matches. 

    The public perception of De Boer’s stint was not good. He was overly ambitious from a tactical perspective, shoehorning players into roles they were not familiar with.

    At times, managers can be given a longer leash because of injuries or bad luck.

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    De Boer’s attempt to revolutionise Palace had a different impact – people were baffled by what he was trying, and their shortening football odds for relegation were blamed solely on him.

    Palace were the first topflight team to lose their first four matches to nil since 1924. De Boer, though, still felt he deserved more time and that things would have worked out eventually.

    "They do some promises and they have a philosophy: ‘OK, we want to be a solid club.’ For example, Crystal Palace, you have to also play like a modern team and don’t play relegation football.

    "If you want to do that, OK, one year you can survive, maybe two years. But one time you will go down, I am convinced.

    "So they wanted to change that, like Southampton was doing in that period. I saw that picture in front of me, so I had the feeling that I had time, but when the season started, you already see some signs that this is not the way…

    "I’m convinced. I think if we get the time we should, we definitely turn it around, especially at Crystal Palace.

    "We had a feeling, in training you saw it, that this is the moment we’re going to go looking up and win games. And then they decided to sack me. Of course that’s not the nicest feeling, but it’s like that."

    To use a popular cliché, football is a results business, and for all his confidence that their Premier League prediction fate would improve, De Boer was not delivering. 

    Hodgson ultimately led the Eagles to 11th, 11 points clear of the drop. Palace beat Chelsea and drew with Manchester City under Hodgson, proving this squad was a long way from the relegation fodder it seemed to be under De Boer. 

    By record alone, De Boer is the worst Premier League manager ever. Bizarrely, the short-lived nature of his time in English football makes it difficult to really give him that status.

    Would Palace have slipped into Championship predictions if De Boer had stayed even a few weeks longer? Would he have brought the more entertaining football the board wanted and pulled them into mid-table? These are questions we never got an answer for.

    *Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

     

    FIRST PUBLISHED: 20th September 2022

    September 20, 2022
    Premier League
    Body

    Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

    He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

    Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

    Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

    Sam Cox
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