Fantastic Moon on international travels in search of faster ground

Fantastic Moon will be Japan or Hong Kong-bound following the late Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe U-turn by his connections.

The colt is a leading light in his native Germany, having won the Deutsches Derby as a three-year-old and the Grosser Preis von Baden on his final run before setting off for Paris this season.

His inclusion in the final Arc field was always uncertain, however, as the son of Sea The Moon needs good ground to perform at his best and Longchamp was getting progressively softer as the rain fell on Sunday morning.

After waiting until a few races had been run on the track, both trainer Sarah Steinberg and Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, founder of ownership group Liberty Racing, decided the ground would be too testing for Fantastic Moon to run and stated their intention to withdraw him on social media.

It was when connections went to officially declare him as a non-runner that they heard of the €55,000 fine they would incur for doing so, and having deliberated over running the bay, they then decided to reverse their earlier decision.

“We discussed for a long time if it was right to run him with the rain, we decided after a half an hour that we would not run,” said Baumgarten.

“I told the press and Sarah went to the stewards, but we didn’t have in mind that it cost €55,000 to come out of the race.

“It was a 50-50 decision and when Sarah came back from the stewards, we were a little confused, but then Rene (Piechulek, jockey) said ‘no, we will run’.

“It wasn’t because of the money, it was a sign for us to say OK, we will run. We decided not to sell him for three million, so it was not about money, sometimes in life you need a small sign.

“It was my mistake to confuse the world, forgive me for that!”

Fantastic Moon went on to finish ninth on very soft ground, a run connections were pleased with considering his liking for a faster track.

“He ran a good race on the inside, it was our strategy to stay on the inside from stall two and he’s come out of the race very well,” said Baumgarten.

“It was not the best ground for him and that was not his A-game, but we had in our minds that perhaps there would be a miracle and that didn’t happen.

“The important thing is he is fit and well and he will run in six weeks in Japan or Hong Kong, perhaps both, but we will not go to the Breeders’ Cup.”