Parisian feast promises so much

I’ve never been to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and that won’t be changing this year – but I sure as hell wish it was. The famous Parisian autumn highlight is always a race to savour, but this year’s renewal has the potential to join that elite group that are talked about for years to come, not just for the spectacle it promises to produce but for what the mighty Sea The Stars will have achieved if he manages to make it six Group 1 wins out of six for the season. Anybody who is old enough will remember Dancing Brave’s extraordinary burst from the back of the field to score in 1986, and while Mick Kinane is unlikely to be attempting a repeat of that dramatic late swoop it should be no less exciting to watch. Like that epic, this has the potential to be race spoken of in hushed tones the best part of 25 years later and indeed beyond.

Little remains to be said about what is undoubtedly the best horse since the time of the ’Brave’, and quite possibly the best since the legendary Nijinsky. His flawless campaign has been supervised with typically polished poise by John Oxx, and even though the decision to swerve a triple crown bid in the St Leger was not to everybody’s liking it is impossible to criticise what has been little short of perfection. There have been brilliant winners of the ’Arc since Guy Harwood’s star strutted his stuff to such devastating effect – Peintre Celebre and Zarkava in particular stand out – but neither of those equine giants was tested consistently at the top level time and again like the horse who is sure to start a short-priced favourite on Sunday.

Nobody is going to get rich backing him – and he certainly doesn’t represent anything like the value that was on offer on the morning of his Irish Champion Stakes romp – but this is another of those occasions where there is no need for a financial involvement. Simply watch, enjoy and hopefully marvel.
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The Irish challenge at Longchamp will as usual extend well beyond the weekend’s showpiece, and one horse in particular worth watching out for is Dermot Weld’s Chinese White. The daughter of Dalakhani has won her last three starts, in Listed, Group 3 and most recently Group 2 company, in tremendously impressive fashion and no horse will go into the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera on the Arc undercard in better form.

Having seemingly been knocked sideways by the Epsom experience in last year’s Oaks, she was given sufficient time to recover once it became clear that task had left its mark and has steadily returned to her best during a confidence-boosting campaign this time around. Sunday’s 1m2f contest represents the sternest test yet for the Lady O’Reilly-owned filly but she gives the impression that, despite a strong field which contains several previous winners at this level, this step back into the big league is well within her compass now.

Categories: Horse racing