The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is Europe's richest horse race and this year's renewal takes place on Sunday 1st October at Longchamp in Paris.

The 2022 Arc was won by the mare Alpinista, ridden by Luke Morris and trained in Newmarket by Sir Mark Prescott, and now we have taken a look at the leading contenders for the 2023 race. 

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Outright Odds

Ace Impact

Current Outright Odds - 4/1

Only two of the last eight Arc winners have been trained in France, but Jean-Claude Rouget, who won the race in 2020 with Sottsass, is aiming to strike a blow for the home team with his unbeaten three-year-old Ace Impact.

He shot to the top of the Arc betting thanks to a brilliant win in the Prix du Jockey Club at the start of June, recording a record time in the race.

Since then, the colt returned to action at Deauville and made it five wins out of five with success in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano.

Ace Impact is expected to handle the step up to 1m4f in the Arc and Rouget's star sets the standard at this stage of the Flat season. 

Hukum

Current Outright Odds - 6/1

Hukum won the Coronation Cup at Epsom in June 2022, but his campaign was cut short by an injury to a hind leg which required surgery.

Trainer Owen Burrows has the six-year-old fit and firing again this season and Hukum defeated Derby winner Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May before a gutsy victory over Westover in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

Given his injury issues, Hukum is likely to go straight to Longchamp without a prep run and he could be a big player especially on soft ground. 

Feed The Flame

Current Outright Odds - 8/1

Fourth to Ace Impact in the Prix du Jockey Club, Feed The Flame boosted his Arc credentials with victory in July's Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.

Jockey Cristian Demuro, who has ridden both Ace Impact and Feed The Flame this season, was impressed by the latter's stamina and Christophe Soumillion, an Arc winner in 2003 and 2008 and runner-up on Vadeni last year, is likely to be on board for October's big race.

Westover

Current Outright Odds - 10/1

Last year's Irish Derby winner was sixth in the Arc at the end of the 2022 campaign but has come back with a bang this year, enjoying Group 1 success in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

The Ralph Beckett-trained four-year-old started his 2023 season at Meydan and was second in the Coronation Cup and the King George, although connections may be tempted to send him to the Breeders' Cup instead of Longchamp. 

Paddington

Current Outright Odds - 10/1

Aidan O'Brien's three-year-old star has already picked up four Group 1s this year, including the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes at Ascot.

He could add the Juddmonte International at York to his glittering CV before his connections finalise their Arc plans.

Normally reticent jockey Ryan Moore has talked up Paddington's chances of staying the 1m4f Arc trip and the three-year-old's presence in the field would be a real treat for racing fans.

Savethelastdance

Current Outright Odds - 11/1

Derby winner Auguste Rodin has slipped down the Arc betting after his disappointing run in the King George, but Savethelastdance could offer Ballydoyle another chance of autumn glory at Longchamp.

The 5/6 favourite for the Oaks finished second to Soul Sister in the Epsom Classic but bounced back by winning the Irish Oaks at The Curragh under Ryan Moore in July.

Blue Rose Cen

Current Outright Odds - 14/1

Blue Rose Cen is an intriguing contender, having finished an unlucky fourth in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood. 

She is set to be tested over a mile and a half for the first time in September's Prix Vermeille and may yet be supplemented for the Arc if she proves her stamina. 

There is no doubting the class of the Christopher Head-trained filly, who has swept all before her in France, winning the Prix Marcel Boussac last October and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and the Prix de Diane this year.