Weekend workout places Arc in sights of O’Brien’s Leading Light

The Montjeu colt has displayed admirable versatility so far this year, winning twice over a mile and a quarter before stepping up to two miles to take the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot.

He came back to a mile and three quarters to claim Classic glory at Doncaster earlier this month and will now pit his wits against the world’s top mile-and-a-half performers in France.

Epsom Derby hero Ruler Of The World, Camelot and Kingsbarns are the other potential Ballydoyle representatives in the Arc.

O’Brien said: “Leading Light obviously hasn’t done a lot since Doncaster – it’s not that long ago – but everything he’s done we’ve been really happy with.”

Roger Charlton’s Al Kazeem – the mount of James Doyle – also remains on target for Europe’s premier middle-distance prize after pleasing in a workout with Prix de l’Opera-bound stable companion Thistle Bird over the weekend.

“They both worked well on Saturday morning over eight furlongs on our summer gallops, which are in fantastic condition,” he said.

“Although Al Kazeem has had some tough races and on ground faster than he would have preferred, from what I can see he still retains his enthusiasm and his speed figures compared well on Saturday morning with his work before both the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and the Eclipse.

“The Arc will be his seventh race of the season but only his 15th race spread over four seasons.

“It is never an exact science to know whether a horse has gone over the top or about to produce another high-class performance but the vibes are good.”

Trainer Andrew Balding is eyeing some lofty end-of-season targets for Scotland after the juvenile won a valuable conditions stakes at Epsom on Sunday.

The Monsun colt impressively stretched two-and-a-half lengths clear to initiate a possible raid on the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on October 26.

“We were interested to see what we had as he looks quite nice at home,” said Balding. “He ran a nice race on debut at Sandown but just got very tired in the ground after travelling strongly into the race.

“He’s got some smart autumn entries so we were keen to see if he was up to them.”

Malton-born jockey Andrew Tinkler makes his riding comeback today after knee surgery.

Sidelined since winning the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown on Quentin Collonges in late April, he is due to ride Tim Etherington’s Touching History in the opener at Sedgefield.