ENGLISH TEXTS
omphe, France Galop has introduced a new system: the Arc Races. What are they and which paths lead to the flagship event of the first weekend in October?
A quick test in between We were already familiar with the Qatar Arc Trials: the Qatar Prix Vermeille, the Qatar Prix Niel, and the Qatar Prix Foy, the final prep races before the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe, held one month later. But then, what are the Arc Races? Presented on May 14, 2025, by France Galop during a press conference marking the close of entries for the“ Arc,” the concept of the Arc Races is to grant winners of five qualifying events, the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, Prix de Diane Longines, Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Cygames Grand Prix de Paris, and the Sumbe Prix Jean Romanet, along with the three Arc Trials mentioned above, an automatic ticket to the big race. These winners, receiving what France Galop calls a“ Wild Card,” are also given priority in case of oversubscription and will be exempt from elimination. Finally, France Galop has pledged to refund entry fees and extend the deadline by 15 days for owners wishing to enter a horse after the cut-off date. If these races are“ qualifiers,” do they necessarily produce future winners of the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe? Or are there other“ routes” to one of the world’ s most prestigious Group 1 races?
Qatar Prix Vermeille, a clear path? Looking at the last ten editions of the Group 1 run on the first Sunday in October, from 2014 to 2024, mares have won six times compared to five wins for colts. Four 4-year-old fillies have taken the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe: Bluestocking, Enable, Found, and Trêve. Two of these four winners, Bluestocking, last year’ s heroine, and Sheikh Joaan Al Thani’ s champion Trêve, had both finished in the top four of the Qatar Prix Vermeille earlier the same year. Trêve had even completed the Vermeille – Arc double at the age of three. We should also note that the winning exacta of Bluestocking – Aventure in the 2024 Vermeille went on to provide the one-two in the Arc itself. This year, Wertheimer & Frère’ s filly faced no opposition in her trial; will it finally be her turn to be crowned? If the Qatar Prix Vermeille seems to serve as a“ launchpad to success” for fillies, what about the colts?
The French and British Derbies Among 3-year-old colts, only two have triumphed in the Arc over the past decade: Jean-Claude Rouget’ s unbeaten French colt Ace Impact in 2023, and Britain’ s Golden Horn in 2015. Both took the Classic route: Ace Impact via the Prix du Jockey Club, Golden Horn through the Derby at Epsom. This year, the French Classic will not provide the Arc win- ner, as Camille Pissarro has retired. But his runner-up, Cualificar, only third in the Prix Guillaume d’ Ornano( Gr. 2) but winner of the recent Qatar Prix Niel( Gr. 1), has followed the same road Ace Impact blazed in 2023 … As for the Epsom Derby, while it produced four Arc winners between 2000 and 2015, there has been nothing since Golden Horn. The John Gosden-trained colt went on to capture the coveted Irish Champion Stakes( Gr. 1), beating none other than Found.
The Irish Champion Stakes: a springboard Golden Horn pulled off the Irish Champion Stakes – Arc double, beating Found in the Irish Group 1. Aidan O’ Brien’ s filly, though beaten again in 2016, returned the following year to win the Arc at four. Sottsass, another French Group 1 winner, made his mark in the Irish race in 2020, even if he managed only fourth. Vadeni, third there in 2022, went on to be runner-up in the Arc the same year. A year earlier, Tarnawa had finished second in both contests. This season, Delacroix, trained by the local master Aidan O’ Brien and ridden by Christophe Soumillon, made a strong impression. Since the Belgian jockey replaced the unlucky Ryan Moore, the partnership has been flying, and dreams of Arc glory are alive.
From the“ King George” to the Arc What better path to French
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