G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Sunday's G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) result represented a lot of firsts, with Juryoku Pierrot (Orfevre) claiming Classic laurels. Seina Imamura, Japan's Best Newcomer Jockey in 2022, became the first Japanese female jockey to win a JRA Group 1--it was her third attempt--as well as the first to ride in and win a Japanese Classic race. She follows in the footsteps of jockey Rachel King, who claimed the G1 February Stakes aboard Costa Nova (Lord Kanaloa) in 2025 and was the first woman to win a top tier race in...

Breeders' Cup Classic hero Forever Young heads a seven-strong entry for Japan in the 2026 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Trained by Yoshito Yahagi, Forever Young became the first Japanese runner to win the Breeders' Cup Classic. He has also won back-to-back editions of the Saudi Cup and boasts career earnings in excess of €25 million. Yahagi has also entered Shin Emperor, who was well-beaten in the 2024 edition of the race.  Byzantine Dream and Alohi Alii are also no strangers to ParisLongchamp. In September 2025, Byzantine Dream lifted...

In 2026, the draw for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will be unveiled on the evening of Thursday, October 1 when France Galop hosts the official launch ceremony of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend. As with all Flat races in France, starting gates will be drawn electronically on the morning of Thursday, October 1, under the supervision of a Commissioner of Justice. However, the result of the draw will not be released until the evening ceremony as part of a new initiative being introduced by...

Japanese and American champion Forever Young will target either the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on dirt in September or the G1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on turf that same month, according to connections. Depending on which path the son of Real Steel takes, his long-term goal is either an attempt to win the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for a second time and become the second dual winner after Tiznow, or take in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in early October. No Japanese horse...

Is there an adequate Japanese proverb that conveys the nation's unflinching endeavour to win the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe? Perhaps "Ishi no ue ni mo san nen", to sit patiently on a cold stone for three years which relates to the power of perseverance, or "Nana korobi ya oki", to fall seven times and get up eight, or "Mateba kairo no hiyori ari". The latter points to waiting out the unpredictable to choose the right route and ultimately prevail. Since the country's first real go in 1999...

Trainer Takashi Saito is eager to use the experience of an unsuccessful Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe bid as he puts the finishing touches to Croix Du Nord's preparation for Sunday's ParisLongchamp showpiece. Back in 2021, Saito saddled his first runner in the Arc in the shape of Chrono Genesis, a four-time Group 1 winner in her native Japan. At ParisLongchamp, however, she could manage only seventh in a race run on very soft ground, with the daughter of Bago tiring late on after more than three months on...

Nine years since Aidan O'Brien gained the most recent of his two victories in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Ballydoyle trainer has emphasised the importance of Europe's richest race and its standing in the sport as he prepares a two-pronged assault on the 2025 edition at ParisLongchamp on Sunday. Coincidentally, O'Brien endured a nine-year wait to double his Arc tally after Dylan Thomas overcame Youmzain and a prelonged stewards' enquiry to deliver the breakthrough on that nerve-jangling afternoon back in 2007. By contrast, in 2016, when the...

Aidan O'Brien looks set to saddle Los Angeles (Camelot) and Minnie Hauk (Frankel) in Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp, with the latter expected to be supplemented later this week to join the current cast of 17 contenders for Europe's richest race. Minnie Hauk has enjoyed a faultless campaign so far and will make her first trip to France following three consecutive Group 1 wins in the Oaks at Epsom, Irish Oaks at the Curragh and Yorkshire Oaks at York. Coral make her the 4/1 joint-favourite...

Group 1 winner Giavellotto will be ridden by Andrea Atzeni in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on October 5. The son of Mastercraftsman, who is trained by fellow Italian Marco Botti, won the G2 Yorkshire Cup under Atzeni in 2023. Successful in the G1 Hong Kong Vase in December, the six-year-old entire ran with credit to be fifth in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in April. Third in the G1 Coronation Cup in June, the Scuderia la Tesa and Vaibhav Shah-owned chestnut defeated likely Arc favourite Kalpana (Study...

Sunday Racing Company's G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) hero Croix Du Nord (Kitasan Black), not seen since annexing that Classic in June, became the latest Japanese nominee to lay down a marker for next month's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with a narrow victory in Sunday's G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange at ParisLongchamp. "I knew the horse needed the race and I am very happy with the result," said trainer Takashi Saito. "Earlier this week he had not worked so well at Chantilly, so I didn't get much sleep...

Juddmonte homebred Kalpana (Study Of Man) will follow the path of dual G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Enable (Nathaniel) when she lines up in the G3 September Stakes at Kempton next month before a start at ParisLongchamp. Already a winner of the 2024 edition, the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes second was also under consideration for the G1 Prix Vermeille. Trained by Andrew Balding, the 2024 G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes heroine has placed in all three 2025 starts, with a third in...

Champion Croix Du Nord, freshened since winning the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), has resumed training at Ritto Training Centre in advance of a start in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October. Trainer Takashi Saito told Net Keiba, "We have brought him back into training, working backwards from the two planned races in France. It's still hot, but from here we will make sure to get him into peak condition before heading to France." A winner of the G1 Hopeful Stakes during a three-for-three juvenile season, the...