ENABLE deservedly stole the show in Paris last weekend with her second Arc de Triomphe success allowing her to join some of the greats of European racing.

It was also a weekend that will live long in the memory for Gavin Cromwell who supplied the only Irish-trained winner of the weekend in Paris when Princess Yaiza claimed a narrow success in the Group 2 Prix de Royallieu.

This was Cromwell’s most prestigious victory to date on the flat and provided yet further evidence of his notable prowess as a trainer. It may have seemed as though Princess Yaiza had plenty to do as she looked to improve on her second to Baby Pink in the Oyster Stakes at Galway last month but it is worth recalling her form through the first few months of the season.

Third-place finishes in listed races won by the classic-placed Mary Tudor, the dual Group 1 second Magic Wand and the brilliant Sea Of Class offered ample evidence of Princess Yaiza’s pattern-race potential and she duly rewarded her trainer’s brave decision to venture to France, which resulted in her becoming only the third Irish filly to win this race in the last 40 years.

FILLIES’ SUCCESS

To continue with the theme of Paris, the victory of Enable continued what has been a stunning run of success for fillies in the Arc. Since Workforce won the great race in 2010 the only other colt to have emerged victorious in the intervening period was Golden Horn in 2016.

What makes this recent run of success for fillies and mares all the more remarkable is the fallow period that preceded it. From 1979 to 1983 fillies dominated the Arc but there followed close to 30 years of male domination. Indeed Urban Sea, unquestionably one of the most influential mares of at least the last 100 years, was the only filly or mare to win the race between 1984 and 2007.

Maybe it is just coincidence, but could the recent run of success enjoyed by females in the Arc be a product of the expanded and enhanced fillies’ pattern race programme in Europe which has evolved over the last 15 years?