In wintry winds on the Rowley Mile yesterday, jockeys' thoughts turned anxiously to Paris. Richard Hughes reflected on losing a second coveted ride in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, Ryan Moore worried if his nominated mount would even run and Johnny Murtagh faced up to a choice every rider would love but none would relish getting wrong.

Moore, still seeking the glittering prizes to enhance his prolific season, needs more rain at Longchamp if Ask is to line up. Hughes, his great pal, could sit the race out anyway, with Look Here, his lifeline after an unjust sacking from the ride on Youmzain, not given the expected supplementary entry. “We weren't happy with her blood sample today,” Ralph Beckett, her trainer, explained. “It's unlikely she will run again this year.”

Meanwhile, as Murtagh pondered his decision between Duke Of Marmalade and Soldier Of Fortune, he received unsolicited advice from his predecessor. Kieren Fallon's final act as stable jockey at Ballydoyle was to win the Arc on Dylan Thomas last October but, even on the day, he feared he should have ridden Soldier Of Fortune instead.

“Going into the race, I thought he was the one - for a while, I thought I was on the wrong horse,” Fallon admitted. “For me, I wouldn't look beyond Soldier if they had a drop of rain there this weekend. He's been trained for the race, he's been kept fresh and I think this will be his race.”

Murtagh has ridden both the Ballydoyle contenders in their final gallops but he is understandably waiting until declaration time this morning to give his verdict. “I've no definite thoughts yet,” he said yesterday. “It's very much down to the weather and ground.”

Longchamp reported good going yesterday but Paris was also being subjected to squally showers. Amid such uncertainty, Murtagh may have to factor in Fallon's point about the fresher horse - in which case Aidan O'Brien, the trainer, will be handing someone an enviable spare ride on the five-times group one winner, Duke Of Marmalade.

O'Brien seems likely to spare Murtagh another sensitive choice between his leading two-year-olds by declaring only one for the Grand Criterium on the same card. “It's looking more like Mastercraftsman as he is a seasoned horse,” the trainer explained. “Rip Van Winkle would have to overcome a lot more and we'll maybe look at the Dewhurst for him.”

That race, back at Newmarket, could also be the target for Ashram, 14-1 winner of the group three Somerville Tattersall Stakes yesterday. In the process, he burst the reputation of Wingwalker, the Henry Cecil colt losing his unbeaten record by going down too freely and coming back looking unbalanced, an impression exaggerated when he stumbled in the dip.

Ashram is trained by John Hills, whose father Barry scored earlier with the debutant Redwood. Though unimposing in stature, he is from the family of Dancing Brave, which made him a highly topical winner going into Arc weekend.

Moore, who rode Ashram to victory, has committed to riding Ask in the Arc but Coral Pritchard-Gordon, partner of his trainer, Sir Michael Stoute, warned that rain was still required. “Both Ask and Papal Bull travelled over today, as the forecast is for gales towards the weekend,” she explained. “We just hope the ground is right for them both.”

Much the biggest prize yesterday stayed in Newmarket when the £250,000 Tattersalls Auction race was won by Kingship Spirit. Ridden by Murtagh, the colt was breaking his duck for Jeremy Noseda, who also disclosed he is “tempted” by the Breeders'Cup Turf for Sixties Icon. “It could yet be a below-par race but it all depends on what happens in the Arc,” he said. Unlike others, he can watch the race with detached interest.