PRIX DE L’ARC DE
TRIOMPHE (GROUP 1)
AS predicted for some time by the highly professional Chantilly clerk of the course, Matthieu Vincent, the going on Qatar Arc de Triomphe day was soft (Going Stick: 3.6). It is almost impossible to believe that all the Group 1 races during the afternoon were captured by horses trained in either Britain or Ireland. Even more difficult to believe is that Andre Fabre did not have a single winner during the two-day meeting, although he did train the runner-up in the Arc.
Chantilly has hosted two great Arc weekends. Last year Found led home an unprecedented Aidan O’Brien 1-2-3 and last Sunday Enable was awesome from start to finish in Europe’s richest race.
Next year everything returns to the rebuilt Paris Longchamp but a hearty pat on the back must be given to Vincent and his team who organised the France’s biggest race meeting to perfection. They even had to cope with the wild boar who were rampant on the lush turf from time to time while digging for worms!
VINTAGE
The 96th Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe can safely be described as a vintage event and comparable in quality to a 1961 Chateau Petrus or a Barolo from the Cannubi vineyard which is not too far from Milan. This city is the birthplace of Frankie Dettori and no one would deny that he was one of the stars of the show last Sunday at Chantilly. The 46-year-old Italian was winning a record fifth Arc. Owner/breeder Khalid Abdullah was also taking Europe’s richest race for a fifth time and the amazing Enable picking up her fifth Group 1 race of the season. The daughter of Nathaniel was also becoming the first British-trained filly to win the Arc and John Gosden, winning his second Arc, deserves a lot of credit for keeping her so fresh and at the top of her game from mid April when she made her seasonal debut – finishing third to stablemate Shutter Speed in a conditions race at Newbury.
No stone had gone unturned before the Arc. Dettori and Gosden mulled over tactics while walking the whole mile and a half course before racing commenced. The low inside draw was not considered a bonus but that turned out to be a fallacy as the first three crossing the line – Enable, Cloth Of Stars and Ulysses – came from stalls two, three and one respectively. Considering the soft ground, the time of 2.28.69s was excellent. Smartly into her stride, Enable led the field of 18 initially before slotting in between Idaho and Order Of St George. Dettori put her in cruise control soon after and she looked full of running from a long way out while bowling along in third place.
Idaho had run out of steam by the two-furlong post and shortly after Enable eased into the lead to put the winning purse of €2.857 million at her mercy. Cloth Of Stars finished well to take second place with Ulysses third in front of Order Of St George who had finished third the previous year. The winning distance was an effortless two and a half lengths.
COMPARISONS
Enable was immediately compared to previous female winners of the Arc such as Allez France, Zarkava and Treve, and with total justification. The big question now is whether she will stay in training as a four-year-old and bid to emulate Treve who won back-to-back Arcs in 2013 and 2014. Down the line, Dettori may have a couple of big decisions to make as stablemate Cracksman, the Prix Niel winner, has been set aside especially for a four-year-old campaign next season.
The Italian rider was his usual exuberant self after the race and said: “She’s the best filly I’ve ever ridden. Enable is tremendous and I’ve now won the Arc for a record five times after trying for 29 years.”
The Italian last won the Arc in 2015 with Golden Horn who was also trained by Gosden, who said: “That was very special. Frankie gave Enable a very clever ride and he made some fantastic manoeuvres. It would be a mistake to run her again this year. She’s been on the go for six months and it would be to hard on her if we decided to go for the Breeders’ Cup.”
FUTURE
Racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe will speak with Prince Abdullah in the fullness of time before deciding on the future of Enable. Cloth Of Stars answered any lingering stamina issues as he certainly stayed the mile and a half and Lisa-Jane Graffard, who represents Godolphin in France, reported: “He ran a superb race. No immediate plans but he could be given a break and aimed at the Dubai Sheema Classic.”
The second purse of €1.143 million picked up by Cloth Of Stars means that Andre Fabre will be champion trainer for the 28th time by the end of the season.
Jim Crowley rode a very astute race by keeping Ulysses in the slipstream of Dettori and Enable. Sir Michael Stoute said of the Arc third: “He is a much better horse on good ground but Enable is too good for him.”
The Niarchos family racing manager Alan Cooper added: “All being well, Ulysses will run for the last time in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar.”
The attendance at Chantilly last Sunday was 25,218 but it will be double that next year when the Arc returns to the rebuilt Longchamp which will host Europe’s richest race on October 7th.