how soft is it at Longchamp ?

They are racing on fresh ground aren't they, doesn't look to bad to me, just soft i'd say.

doesn't look to bad to me

French soft=

Irish gfirm

It doesn't look that soft to me .

Looks like it was soft enough

Just over 2 1/2 secs slower than last years race on Good ground, i'd say soft no more.

Not sure if any realignment of the track during the Longchamp renovation has affected race times but I think Peintre Celebre's 2:24.6 in 1997 is the Arc record and, as "stewarts rise" has also hinted about above, Enable won in the mid 2:29's last year conpared to the giant winning post clock showing 2:31.97 today so clearly the going was testing to some degree (the way the trio of front runners, Magical included, staggered home would also suggest they set far too daft a pace for the conditions).

Mind you, it's been much boggier ... have a look back on Youtube at Frankie Dettori steering Sakhee to his 6-length demolition of the 2001 field and then be amazed that his winning time was 2:36.1, over 11 seconds slower than Peintre Celebre only 4 years earlier !!

Very easy to say in hindsight but if he could ride today's race again, would Frankie use up quite as much of Enable as he did to shadow those pacesetters up the back straight rise ? - I can understand him not wanting to be isolated between the daft pace and the rest of the pack, and I can also still praise Enable for what she was still able to offer in the home straight compared to the way the front trio folded.

But, effectively, Enable became a wonderfully enticing target for any useful mudlark stayer to reel in and, sure enough, Waldgeist did.