JAPAN RAIDERS DRAW SHORT STRAWS

JAPAN'S quest for a history-making first victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe suffered a double whammy at yesterday's draw ceremony.

- by DAVID YATES

Byzantine Dream and Croix Du Nord, its two principal hopes for the 2025 running, will begin their challenges from stalls 15 and 17 respectively, while Alohi Alii, the least-fancied of Japan's trio of runners, drew stall four.

Now Byzantine Dream's trainer Tomoyasu Sakaguchi is pinning his hopes on Oisin Murphy (left), in red-hot form with four winners at Salisbury yesterday, to come up with a masterplan.