Golden Horn On Top In the Arc; Treve Underperforms

With Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) unable to fire as she has on the last two occasions, Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe belonged to Anthony Oppenheimer’s Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), as he benefitted from an inspired Longchamp ride from Frankie Dettori, who was joining six other jockeys in steering a record fourth winner of the great race. Keen to keep the poorly drawn G1 Epsom Derby, G1 Eclipse S. and G1 Irish Champion S. winner away from the others to avoid over-racing for the first two furlongs, he was able to track across and use Treve’s pacemaker as a perfect target in second. Committed at the head of affairs with over two furlongs remaining as Thierry Jarnet struggled to keep Treve on an even keel out wide, the 5-1 shot dug in bravely to hold last year’s runner-up Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) at safe distance and win by two lengths, with New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) a neck away in third, a nose ahead of the 9-10 favorite, who was unable to provide the dream scenario. “He’s a fabulous horse with a gorgeous constitution and I’ve nothing but praise for him,” trainer John Gosden said after greeting his first Arc winner. “He’s taken a lot of training all year and he does stay a mile and a half–we are sure of that now. I was very happy with the ground and probably on soft, Treve would have blown us all away.” Gosden said Golden Horn is still in the frame for Keeneland at the end of the month. “The owner is keen on the Breeders’ Cup, which gives us a month and if he’s in good order next week there is no reason why he can’t go there.” Criquette Head-Maarek said of the vanquished triple-seeker, “I think she gave a good performance and there is no excuse–she was just beaten by better horses on the day. The ground is good, it’s not hard. She had two of the best 3-year-olds in Europe in front of her and this is the first time she has met members of that crop. She was very brave and will always have a special place in my heart.”

Sunday, Longchamp, France
QATAR PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE-G1, €5,000,000, LCP, 10-4, 3yo/up, c/f, 12fT, 2:27.23, gd.
1–GOLDEN HORN (GB), 123, c, 3, by Cape Cross (Ire)
1st Dam: Fleche d’Or (GB), by Dubai Destination
2nd Dam: Nuryana (GB), by Nureyev
3rd Dam: Loralane (GB), by Habitat
(190,000gns RNA Ylg ‘13 TAOCT). O-A E
Oppenheimer; B-Hascombe & Valiant Studs (GB);
T-John Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. €2,857,000.
Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Eng & G1SW-Ire, 8-7-1-0,
€5,270,281. *1/2 to Eastern Belle (GB) (Champs
Elysees {GB}), SW-Eng & MGSP-US, $229,831. Werk
Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
[bullet ad=”bba-ireland-dam-purchased-by-john-tyrrell”]
2–Flintshire (GB), 131, h, 5, Dansili (GB)–Dance
Routine (GB), by Sadler’s Wells. O-Khalid Abdullah;
B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Andre Fabre.
€1,143,000.
3–New Bay (GB), 123, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Cinnamon
Bay (GB), by Zamindar. O-Khalid Abdullah;
B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Andre Fabre.
€571,500.
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Margins: 2, NK, NO. Odds: 5.20, 18.60, 4.80.
Also Ran: Treve (Fr), Erupt (Ire), Free Eagle (Ire), Prince Gibraltar (Fr), Siljan’s Saga (Fr), Found (Ire), Silverwave (Fr), Manatee (GB), Spiritjim (Fr), Dolniya (Fr), Frine (Ire), Eagle Top (GB), Tapestry (Ire), Shahah (GB). Scratched: Meleagros (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result, the PMU PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Charting Golden Horn’s progress up to his surprise defeat in the G1 Juddmonte International was straightforward, with decisive wins in the championship events at Epsom June 6 and at Sandown July 4 lending him an air of invulnerability and encouraging comparison with the best of the recent blue riband winners. Where the benchmark figure Sea the Stars (Ire) had succeeded in diverting from the King George to York’s premier contest six years earlier, the Oppenheimer homebred stalled as the unlikely heroine Arabian Queen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) dealt him an inexplicable blow there Aug. 19. Sent to Leopardstown with a point to prove for the first time, he put his previous debacle firmly behind him when playing with Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) under more positive tactics in the showpiece of the Irish Champions weekend Sept. 12. As the ground dried sufficiently from the testing surface that prevailed at the warm-up meeting here three weeks ago, connections took the plunge and forewent Champions Day and were met with a potentially disastrous berth in 14. With the need to spare as much energy as possible early on, a plan was hatched between Gosden and Dettori based on a precedent, as another past Gosden trainee, Duncan (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), had been kept separate from the field in the 2010 G2 Prix Foy. Easing over gradually into the slipstream of Treve’s rabbit, Shahah (GB) (Motivator {GB}), to enjoy an uncomplicated stalking trip on a day when the winners were all racing prominently, Golden Horn tanked along with the Juddmonte duo Flintshire and New Bay in close attendance. Full of run turning for home, he was asked to grind there and responded generously to open a gap on the recent Sword Dancer scorer as Treve hung down to her right instead of surging forward. Out of reach as Dettori put down his whip with just over 100 meters remaining, he freewheeled to the line with the 2013 and 2014 heroine unable to engage her customary turbo. For the winning jockey, it was a performance in the saddle on a par with his similarly positive ride on Lammtarra 20 years ago, and he was able to join Jacques Doyasbere, Freddy Head, Yves Saint-Martin, Pat Eddery, Olivier Peslier and Thierry Jarnet and tie for the coveted record. “I really believed in the horse,” he said after emulating his feat of guiding another drawn in double figures to glory in Sakhee in 2001. “He put a great Arc to bed like a superstar. I was going that fast in the last 300 I thought it was impossible for another horse to pass me. I’ve been scratching my head all week. Everyone was determined to make me sit behind and I said ‘Why? We’ve got the best horse. Let me get him up there and show the world how good he is’. The only blip he had was at York, but his record is unbelievable. He’s probably the best horse I’ve ridden.”

Gosden was unable to hide his delight at reaching another landmark in his career. “To win the Arc is a great achievement and I rank that personally as high as winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Epsom Derby,” he commented. “Frankie was able to float down the outside and watch where he wanted to slot in and the pacemaker set an even gallop for him to switch off. I knew he was going to kick relatively early, as he had said earlier that the problem with the Arc is they come at your back with arrows.”

Anthony Oppenheimer added, “What a fantastic day. John Gosden is truly a remarkable trainer with a great feeling for horses. Maybe the Breeders’ Cup is a possibility, but the horse will tell us. What is for certain is he will not race next year. He will stand with Darley and Sheikh Mohammed will have a half share and I will retain the other.”

Sam Bullard, Darley’s director of stallions, later said in a statement, “It is wonderful that Darley has bought into this great champion and we are thrilled that Mr. Oppenheimer has decided that Dalham Hall Stud is where Golden Horn will get the best opportunity of becoming the great stallion we believe he can be.”

Darley stands Golden Horn’s sire, Cape Cross, at its Kildangan Stud in Ireland, and also stood his broodmare sire, Dubai Destination, at Dalham Hall from 2004 to 2009.

Juddmonte were left content that they have confirmation that they have a pair of high-class horses on their hands, and racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said of the second and third, “The two horses ran great races and had good positions and quickened well in the straight. We have no complaints and we were beaten by a true champion on the day. We will talk with Andre Fabre and the Breeders’ Cup is a possibility for Flintshire, while we have to decide what happens next with New Bay.”

Golden Horn’s elder half-sister, the 4-year-old filly Eastern Belle (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), won a listed race at Newbury last year for the Oppenheimers before being sent Stateside to trainer Graham Motion. She has been second in her last four starts, including Saratoga’s GII New York S. and the GIII Waya S. and GIII Glens Falls S. at Belmont Aug. 8 and Sept. 5, respectively.