TOP THREE ARC DE TRIOMPHE MOMENTS: We’ve seen some wonderful moments in Paris down through the years, but we’ve focused on recent years and picked our top three moments.
On the first Sunday in October, world racing turns its attention to Longchamp (Chantilly for a few years!) and Europe crowns it’s Champion. The Arc has grown and grown in recent years and is now seen as one of, if not the biggest, race in the world. Winning an Arc can cap off a brilliant season for a three-year-old, or coming back and winning it at four or five can cement a legacy.
3️⃣ 2018. Winner: Enable
The drama. What a finish. Enable was impressive when winning in 2017 at Chantilly, but she returned to regain her crown in 2018 when the race moved back to Longchamp. It looked all over one furlong down, only for Sea Of Class to rattle home and the winning line came just in time for Enable. She went on to win at the Breeders Cup afterwards and cap a wonderful late autumn campaign.
It was such a shame she couldn’t do the three-in-a-row last year, but who could forget that brilliant day in Longchamp when Enable and Frankie Dettori lit up the track. The Arc is always full of drama, but this was an incredible finish.
2️⃣ 2014. Winner: Treve
Another wonderful Mare who returned to regain her crown. This was an excellent performance from Treve, blowing her rivals away and surprising everyone. She was ultra-impressive when landing the Arc in 2013, but she hadn’t won a race since when she returned to try to defend her crown in 2014.
It’s fair to say that not many punters expected her to win on this day, but she travelled like a dream and blew her rivals away again. Like Enable, she was unable to land the three-in-a-row in 2015 when Golden Horn capped a wonderful three-year-old career but in 2014 she was electric and it was a performance to remember.
1️⃣ 2009. Winner: Sea The Stars
Who could look at recent Arc De Triomphe’s and not have Sea The Stars victory right at the very top? The build-up to this race was incredible. Sea The Stars had won a Grade one in every month during the English flat season and this was also his first try at 1M4F since landing the Epsom Derby after John Oxx decided to step back in trip to land the Eclipse and the Irish Champion Stakes.
This was crunch time for Sea The Stars and he put his rivals to bed, always just doing enough to win as he always did. Mick Kinane took the brave mans route and it paid off. The English commentary was excellent too “he’ll have to be a Champion.. he is a Champion!” Great memories. Perfection in equine form.
