CHANTILLY // The 95th Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was always going to be unique as the first to be run here at the home of French racing, but Aidan O’Brien put his own stamp on Europe’s most valuable race when Found led home her stablemates Highland Reel and Order Of St George.
Ryan Moore pulled out of his box of tricks a ride that relied firstly on stealth, and then when Found produced her trademark burst of speed he coaxed her home to win by one and three-quarter lengths.
All three of O’Brien’s trio were sired by Galileo, the foundation stallion of Coolmore Stud’s breeding empire.
Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s Postponed was never competitive and finished a distant fifth, while the Derby winners Harzand and Makahiki were ninth and 14th respectively.
This was Found’s eighth race of the season, but such is her constitution that she could well kick on to Santa Anita to defend her crown in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, a race in which she defeated Arc hero Golden Horn last year.
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Highland Reel is another battle-hardened campaigner, having started his season in Dubai in March, and it ranks as some achievement to keep these horses going all year at the top level.
O’Brien admitted that this latest success would probably be the highlight of his career.
“How can you see anything higher than this?,” he said. “It is a great feeling to saddle the first three home, there’s not much to beat it.
“I couldn’t dream this would happen. You know how difficult the Arc is.”
If there is any doubt about that, O’Brien has had an uneasy relationship with the €5 million (Dh20.6m) event, having run some of his best horses in the 2,400-metre contest with only Dylan Thomas in 2007 to show for his best efforts.
It was also a second success for Moore, having guided Workforce to the win in 2010. The English rider is not known for a genial outlook but as the four-year-old mare swept in to the winners’ enclosure the grin on his face told the story.
When asked to put O’Brien’s achievement in to context, Moore replied: “This is the hardest race in Europe to win every year and to do that is just unbelievable.”
Found faced 10 individual Group 1 winners and when the gates flew open, Frankie Dettori coaxed out Order Of St George from stall 16 and tried to replicate his ride on Golden Horn 12 months ago.
He was detached from the main pack, led by Harzand’s pacemaker Vedevani, but slowly edged across to take up a prominent position.
Postponed was placed behind the leaders by Andrea Atzeni, but Moore was happy to sit at the back and work his way across from the early left-hand bend to secure a rail position behind former Dubai Turf runner-up The Grey Gatsby when the field entered Chantilly’s sweeping right-hand curve.
With The Grey Gatsby and James Doyle and Order Of St George on the inside, Atzeni struggled for cover and was three-wide for the whole turn.
In the straight Moore angled for a run between Postponed and Order Of St George with 400 metres to go, and her turn of foot carried her to the front almost immediately and she quickly settled the issue.
Roger Varian, Postponed’s trainer, was beaten, but unbowed.
“That’s racing, we’ll take it on the chin,” he said. “Andrea [Atzeni, the jockey] said he broke well but was trapped wide early on.
“He said he went into the big bend on the bottom on the wrong lead and took a while to switch on to the right lead. He didn’t pick up the way he usually can in the straight.
“It’s a feeling of disappointment as we went in hoping we would win, but the main thing is we still have a horse to go to war with and we can take him home and see how he comes out of it.”
Al Mourtajez dominates Arabian World Cup
Al Mourtajez swept to his eighth Group 1 win when he produced yet another performance of total dominance in the Arabian World Cup.
Al Shaqab’s Purebred Arabian flag-bearer once again proved he is the best horse of his breed in the world by not having the run of the race but still pulled out victory by four and a half lengths under Julien Auge.
Mehdaaf Athbah and Tayf followed home the champion under Pierre-Charles Boudot and Olivier Peslier.
“They tried their best to give him a hard time, but he really is much the best Purebred Arabian in the world,” Rupert Pritchard-Gordon, French racing manager for Al Shaqab said.
“That is the only way he has ever been beaten but he just showed what a champion he is.”
Auge has a close relationship with Al Mourtajez, having ridden him in all of his starts and believes that the six year old has reached full maturity.
“He settled very quickly during his race despite being taken on for the lead — he is a different horse now,” he said.
Pritchard-Gordon did not rule out a tilt at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Jewel Crown next month but regaining the Emir’s Sword in Qatar in February, which he lost to Gazwan last year, remains the top priority.
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