ENGLISH TEXTS
to be no different. Only a field of four lined up for the 2 400 meter contest, including another possible‘ Arc’ candidate in Estrange, and it was Aidan O’ Brien’ s dual Oaks winning heroine Minnie Hauk who proved much the best with a threeand-a-half length success. Whilst the conditions of the contest may not have suited Estrange, Minnie Hauk’ s dominance over her three rivals immediately sparked ParisLongchamp dreams. In the immediate aftermath, O’ Brien said:“ There’ s probably more to come and more to see when the pace is strong. She’ s strong and isn’ t made like a typical mile and a half filly. She’ s made like a miler, round and strong and is a good mover with a good mind. She gets to the line well too. She obviously could go to the Arc. She could go to a Breeders’ Cup Turf, but the Arc has to be very much on her agenda. A mile and a half doesn’ t worry her and ease in the ground doesn’ t worry her either. When you get a filly progress at this time of the year, anything can happen.” It is little surprise that Aidan O’ Brien deems Minnie Hauk to be one of his favoured chances for the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe( Gr. 1), despite hold numerous competitive entries including last year’ s third place, Los Angeles. Since 2010, the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe( Gr. 1) has been dominated by the fillies, with nine of the last fifteen renewals taken by the fairer sex. It has also been an opportunity for older fillies to make their mark before retiring to stud. Enable was the last three-year-old filly to win the race in 2017, with seven of those nine female victories attributed to four or five-year-olds. The Yorkshire Oaks( Gr. 1) has played a significant role, with dual‘ Arc’ heroine Enable using the race as a stepping stone to Longchamp glory in 2017 and Alpinista following the same path for Sir Mark Prescott in 2022. Yet winners of the Yorkshire Oaks have also run well in the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe without succeeding on Europe’ s biggest stage. In recent years, Sea Of Class( 2018) took the Yorkshire Oaks before placing second behind Enable at ParisLongchamp and Snowfall was not disgraced when sixth in the 2021 renewal. In fact, both Warm Heart( 2023) and Bluestocking( 2024) demonstrated the importance of York’ s Ebor Festival as a preparation for ParisLongchamp in a wider context. Warm Heart put together back-to-back victories in the Yorkshire Oaks( Gr. 1) and the Prix Vermeille( Gr. 1) whilst Bluestocking used a fourth in the Juddmonte International( Gr. 1) as a launch pad for dual Paris- Longchamp glory, winning both the Prix Vermeille( Gr. 1) and the Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe( Gr. 1). With the statistics in her favour, all roads lead to ParisLongchamp for Minnie Hauk – can she add another win for the girls in Europe’ s most prestigious race?
BACK TO THE ARTICLE �
GLOBAL ECONOMY
� PAGE 80
IGOR DE MAACKS CHRONICLE
ADJUSTING THE REINS
After Mario Draghi’ s famous“ Whatever it takes!”, then President of the ECB, France, like a rider taking back control of his mount, embarked on a program of budget cuts to reassure its European partners and financial investors in its public debt. Elimination of public holidays, freezing of the pension index, reduction in the number of civil servants, or trimmed tax benefits, altogether € 43.8 billion( i. e. 1.4 % of GDP) are expected to be saved if the said program were to be approved by the National Assembly in the autumn. This announcement inevitably stirs fears for consumers( the middle class) and for substantial wealth holders, who will likely be the next targets. The latter are increasingly reconsidering Switzerland as an investment destination, given the stability of its institutional framework( indeed, the Swiss franc has appreciated by 15 % against the euro). The second candidate for exile turns out to be Italy, which offers a comfortable fiscal saddle for the rides of new expatriates. On
# 12 148