Dettori goes for historic fifth Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
Frankie Dettori has the opportunity to create history today if he is successful on the John Gosden-trained Enable in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly Racecourse.
The Italian jockey has won the race four times in the past, a feat achieved by six other jockeys, but another success would put him out front on his own as the most successful rider in the event’s history.
Dettori’s mount Enable is on a roll going into the race, which has a prize fund of €5 million (Dh4.4m).
She has won her past five races, the past four of which were Group 1 category events.
However, her handler Gosden said he will still have a few nerves as the race will be run at Chantilly, where the race will be run for the second successive year as Longchamp undergoes an €130m revamp.
“I’d have a lot more confidence if the race was run at Longchamp,” Gosden told reporters.
“Longchamp has a long backstraight. They tend to roll on down the hill into the false straight and when you straighten up you have got a lovely long run to the finish line.
“Chantilly is so different. It’s narrow. You go out an elbow to the left then you start turning back to the right and back downhill past the royal stables to a very tight hairpin bend.
“We’ve got a very nice filly and a brilliant jockey who knows the track awfully well, but I would be a lot more confident if it was held at Longchamp.”
Ryan Moore, who rode the Aidan O’Brien-trained Found to victory 12 months ago, has chosen Winter from the five entered from the stables.
The Galileo filly is also a winner of four successive Group 1 races, both the English and Irish 1000 Guineas, Coronation and Nassua Stakes, but did lose in a photo finish to Hydrangea in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in her most recent start three weeks ago.
Carrying the Godolphin hopes will be Cloth Of Stars.
The colt, trained in France by Andre Farbre and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, had an encouraging return to the track after a gap of four months when he finished second behind Dschingis Secret, who also races on Sunday, at Chantilly.
He is expected to build on that run after previous three successive victories prior to his summer break.
The Michael Stoute-trained Ulysses and O’Brien’s Order Of St George are among the other challengers to Dettori and Enable.
Elsewhere, O’Brien bagged both the Cheveley Park and Middle Park with Clemmie and US Navy Flag respectively at Newmarket yesterday to take his Group 1 prizes to 20 and five short of the record for a season in 2003 held by American trainer Bobby Frankel.
Moore was atop the filly Clemmie and Seamie Heffernan rode the colt US Navy Flag.
I’d have a lot more confidence if the race was run at Longchamp JOHN GOSDEN Trainer to Enable