Five fantastic winners of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
Published:
David Metcalf | September 28, 2016
British raider Postponed is currently 15/8 favourite with Coral to win the Gorup 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly on Sunday, October 2nd.
Roger Varian’s charge colt is bidding to make it seven wins on the bounce and become the first five-year-old to win the arce since Marienbard back in 2002.
Our horse racing experts look at some of the truly modern great winners of the 1m 4f contest that have their names etched in racing history…
Alleged (1977 and 1978)
Trained by the legendary Vincent O’Brien, Alleged became the sixth double winner of the Arc when securing victories in 1977 and 1978 under Lester Piggott.
The colt was beaten just once in his career, when finishing runner-up in the 1977 St Leger, and was one of the very best horses to career the famous green, blue and white colours of the late Robert Sangster.
Alleged’s achievements saw him rated the highest in Europe in both 1977 and 1978. Relive the first of his two Arc triumphs below:
Dancing Brave (1986)
Guy Harwood trained Dancing Brave put in a truly breathtaking performance when beating one the the strongest fields ever assembled. His rivals included the brilliant french colt Bering and super filly Triptych, and he made them look very ordinary.
After being held-up well off the pace by jockey Pat Eddery, Dancing Brave showed a blistering turn of foot to swoop down the outside and pass 10 horses in the last 200 meters to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths. It was a performance which had to be seen to be believed:
Sea The Stars (2009)
Sea The Stars wrote himself into horse racing record books when overcoming all sorts of trouble in-running to quicken clear inside the final furlong and win impressively by two lengths.
This John Oxx trained colt became the first to win the 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and Arc in the same season, and his win in Paris capped an unbelievable three-year-old career which saw him capture six Group 1 races in a row.
Truly one of the best horses ever seen having won Group 1 contests over 1m, 1m 2f and 1m 4f. Remind yourselves of Sea The Stars’ 2009 Arc success:
Treve (2013 and 2014)
After winning her only race as a two-year-old, Treve was unbeaten in four races in 2013, including the Prix de Diane, Prix Vermeille, and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
As a four-year-old, she was beaten in her first three races before being produced in prime condition by trainer Criquette Maarek-Head to win the Arc for a second time, showing a devastating turn of foot to shoot clear and score by two lengths.
Treve attempted to become the first horse to win the Arc for a third time in 2015, but could finish only fourth. However, she had already established herself as one of the best mares of all-time and lost little in defeat.
Here’s Treve becoming just the seventh horse in history to scoop a second Arc:
Zarkava (2008)
Owned by the Aga Khan and trained by Alain De Royer-Dupre, Zarkava ended her career with a stunning victory in the Arc.
After being held-up at the rear and still 10th entering the straight, she made smooth headway two from home before be angled out to stretch effortlessly clear and beat Youmzain by two lengths.
It was her fourth Group 1 on the bounce, having earlier beaten the brilliant Goldikova by two lengths in the Poule d’Eassai de Pouliches over 1m at Longchamp, and Zarkava went to the paddocks unbeaten in eight starts.
Related
You’ll find more Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe pieces on the Coral news horse racing page.
Which of these great Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winners is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!
