The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe can be relied on to deliver an outstanding race and Sunday’s contest was memorable on so many levels, with Enable just holding Sea Of Class in a wonderful finish.
Enable joined a very select group in becoming only the eighth horse to win two Arcs, while Frankie Dettori now has an amazing six Arc trophies in his trophy cabinet.
It will be fascinating to see if Enable tries to become the first horse ever to win three Arcs next year but I was also hugely impressed by the runner-up Sea Of Class, who produced a fantastic run from the rear to come so close to extending the Tsui family’s wonderful record in Europe’s biggest race.
Horses who run well in the Arc have a long and rich tradition of doing well in LONGINES HKIR so I am happy to report that the master French trainer Andre Fabre has told me that that both Cloth Of Stars and Waldgeist, who finished third and fourth behind Enable, will target at the Hong Kong Vase in December.
The fact that Aidan O’Brien has won the Vase twice with Highland Reel suggests that Capri could be an interesting contender after his good fifth on Sunday and I am sure that further HKIR contenders from Europe will emerge over the next few weeks.
Of course, the other significant event in Paris over the weekend was the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities Conference.
The Executive Council re-elected Chairman Louis Romanet, along with myself as one of three Vice Chairmen, and it was great to hear confirmation that the IFHA will continue to strive for a strong and unified stance against doping in racing.
It is vital that we continue in our efforts to bring global uniformity through the implementation of our strategic plan which centres around the need for robust integrity measures.
And central to this plan is the worldwide adoption of Article 6E of the International Agreement, which calls for out-of-competition testing for prohibited substances at any time in the career of any horse.
This Wednesday’s Cup race at Happy Valley is the Citi Sprint Challenge Cup Handicap over 1200m with Victory Machine likely to go forward along with Attention and possibly My Chance from his wide barrier to set a good pace.
Victory Machine ended last season on a high and also won first up last season. He has trained well for his return and is a place chance.
Double Valentine should benefit from a box seat trip and is a win and place chance in his current form. This is his course and distance, he is well drawn and appears ready to fire his best shot.
Fairy Twins had a long time between runs as he overcame some issues from last season and looked good in his return last month. He is a place chance along with Jade Theatre as both horses look to be main contenders travelling from midfield.
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