The result of this year’s Arc de Triomphe was…..”almost.”
Because the race, the day, in fact the season, became all about Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire)}, and if the mare could win the most important single race in the world for the third consecutive year. The answer was…almost.
A furlong from the line, I thought she was home free. Then Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) moved as the finish neared. He was alongside, and with only five strides left of the mile and a half, he outfinished her and the 10 others to win by a length and three-quarters.
The post race on the apron, in the stands, in the luxury boxes and in the press box was subdued. Moving through the crowd I felt a pale over a sunlight windy Paris afternoon. More frowns than smiles. In some cases, despair.
The 73 year-old trainer Andre Fabre knows how to win the big ones on either side of the Atlantic. He won the 1993 G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic with Arcangues at 133-1. Sunday he took the Arc for a record eighth time.
With a perfectly timed ride, 26 year-old Pierre-Charles Boudot has moved into the spotlight, but not to answer questions. Both trainer and jockey did not even attend the post race press conference.
In the Media Center, the questions and attitude for co-owners Gestut Ammerland and Dietrich von Boetticher were celebratory, but after the toast, and without Fabre or Boudot, it was a quick wrap-up and who do you like in the 5th race?
So in this aftermath, a few impertinent questions followed:
1. When did the celebratory explosion of winning a race (major or minor) become the cue for a jockey to show the feeling of success, like the end-zone football performances or the baseball curtain call? Mickael Barzalona began pumping his fist so furiously in the air before the finish line of Sunday’s G1 Gran Criterium, he almost lost his balance! After The Arc, Boudot waved and threw kisses for more than half a mile! Was Jean Cruguet the first rider in America to be such a showman after he won the GI Belmont Stakes?
2. Has Paris, specifically ParisLongchamp, become a new destination for the Far East? Prior to the running of the feature race, on the rail through the home stretch, the percentage of racing fans from Japan far outnumbered the locals and tourists from other parts of the world. They did not come to see a horse named Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). He was bred in Great Britain, and is owned by the English/Irish partnership of Smith, Magnier and Tabor. The three Japanese-bred horses finished 7th, 10th and 11th.
3. Is the “now” jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot? He won four races on the day before he won The Arc.
4. The condition of the ground after heavy rain, was very soft. Was that the reason Enable lost?
5. How much longer will the talented Donnacha O’Brien, 21 year-old son of trainer Aidan O’Brien, be able to make the weight? Forget the jockey group photographs. This guy towers over owners and trainers in the walking ring. His brother, Joseph, as a jockey won the Breeders’ Cup Turf in 2011 on St. Nicholas Abbey (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) before the scale forced him to turn to training. Wonder which O’Briens will be at Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup in November?
6. What happened to the blades of the ancient monastery windmill on the backstretch of ParisLongchamp?
7. Is there any trophy in racing more beautiful, symbolic, or stunning than the silver masterpiece for winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe?
Finally, congratulations to Khalid Abdullah. It is possible to win the Arc three times, but only if you try. She is one of the great racehorses in history. Even if she did not win The Arc three times, she was spectacular winning 10 Group 1 races with elegance, style, stamina and speed. Thank you for trying.
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