Owners of star German racehorse pay ‘eye-watering’ fee to run in the Arc but punters reckon it is money well spent
THE Germans will have a big player in Sunday's Arc de Triomphe after Fantastic Moon's owners coughed up an eye-watering fee to run him in the big race.
The colt, who bolted up in the German Derby at Hamburg in July, has been added to the field of Europe's richest race at a cost of a whopping £105,000.
Aidan O'Brien's St Leger hero Continuous was also supplemented to the Arc field on Wednesday morning.
There is a mouthwatering £2.5 million up for grabs for the winner of the Arc, but either horse will have to finish at least fifth in order to recoup the supplementary fee.
The huge cost hasn't put off connections of Fantastic Moon, and punters reckon it could prove money well spent.
He was a general 14-1 shot yesterday but is now as short as 8-1 with a few bookies.
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Continuous has also been trimmed since being added to the field, with Coral going 11-2 from 6s.
The Germans have a good record in the Arc having won it three times, including with shock 80-1 shot Torquator Tasso in 2021.
Fantastic Moon's trainer, Sarah Steinberg, revealed earlier this month that he was likely going to be sent for a crack at the Japan Cup or Breeders' Cup instead of the Arc.
But because the weather has been unusually warm in Paris and the ground is set to be drier than in recent years, they have decided to stay closer to home and head to Longchamp instead.
She told the Racing Post: "Fantastic Moon is doing excellent. He worked very well yesterday and handled the workout well.
"We continue to hope for sunshine and good ground conditions in Paris for him to be able to call up his best form.
"We thought long and hard about which of the races would be the best for Fantastic Moon and together with the owners, we decided against a long trip to the US or Japan for Fantastic Moon this year.
"We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather in Paris. There is the dried-up turf at Longchamp and the horse has recovered very quickly after his last race.
"A trip to the Breeders' Cup at the beginning of November or travelling to Japan at the end of November would place an enormous burden on a three-year-old and we do not want to expose Fantastic Moon to that."
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