Arc will be the perfect race for Al Kazeem to shine, says James Doyle

James Doyle says Longchamp would be perfect for Al Kazeem (Getty Images)

James Doyle believes the trip and track at Longchamp will be "perfect" for Al Kazeem when he attempts to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on 6 October. The in-demand rider is relishing a crack at the end-of-season middle-distance showpiece with Roger Charlton's five-year-old, winner of three Group Ones this year at a mile and a quarter.

He has been placed in two others, most recently in the Irish Champion Stakes, and will try a mile and a half for the first time since winning the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket in May last year.

Doyle was aboard that day, as he has been ever since, and he said: "I rode at Longchamp a couple of weeks ago for the first time, I walked the whole of the track and I thought it would be perfect for him. That nice false straight and long straight, it takes plenty of getting and I thought it was the perfect track for him.

"The race looks pretty tough after watching the trials at the weekend, Treve looked spectacular the way she quickened up and Orfevre couldn't have won any easier, so the competition is pretty strong," Doyle added. "Al Kazeem has done really well to have done what he's done over a mile and a quarter, and on good-to-firm and sometimes firm ground."

Meanwhile, André Fabre will decide whether Intello ends his season in the Arc or the Qipco Champion Stakes after he runs in the Prix du Prince d'Orange at Longchamp this weekend. The Prix du Jockey Club winner met with defeat when racing back over a mile in the Prix Jacques Le Marois and returns to 10 furlongs on Saturday. He is prominent in the betting for the Arc, but Fabre admits to harbouring doubts.

"Intello runs in the Prix du Prince d'Orange on Saturday and a decision will be made after that race between running in the Arc and the Champion Stakes," he said. "The question is if he will stay a mile and a half and his pedigree hints that it might be a problem. Hopefully we will know more after Saturday."