International Flavour To Arc Day
- Monday, 07 October 2013 01:59
Not content with winning Europe's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Thierry Jarnet also partnered the prolific Moonlight Cloud to victory in the Group One Prix de la Foret at Longchamp on Sunday.
The 46-year-old jockey, who recorded his third Arc win on Treve, brought the remarkable five-year-old mare with a stunning burst of speed from last to first for her third Group One win in two months.
It was the sixth Group One victory in a career that includes a famous second to Black Caviar in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, the closest the Australian champion came to defeat in 25 starts.
Moonlight Cloud is trained by Freddie Head, the brother of Treve's trainer Criquette Head-Maarek.
"She just has an extraordinary ability to accelerate, an extra gear that none of her rivals have," Jarnet said.
The Japanese may have been once again frustrated in their quest of winning the Arc - Orfevre finishing second like last year and Kizuna fourth - but they had a Group One winner of sorts earlier on Sunday.
The Japanese-bred Karamontie won the Group One Prix Jean Luc Lagardere for two-year-old colts, Stephane Pasquier bringing him with a well-timed run to beat Spanish colt Noozoh Canarias.
Karamontie is trained in Chantilly by Englishman Jonathan Pease for Greek owners and the horse's breeders, the Niarchos Family.
"It is a truly international victory this, bred in Japan, trained in France by an Englishman. It is absolutely fabulous," racing manager Alan Cooper said.
The Aga Khan didn't go home empty-handed as his filly Dalkala got up in the last few yards under Christophe Soumillon to beat the Andre Fabre-trained Tasaday on the line in the Group One Prix de L'Opera for the Belgian-born jockey's third win in the race.
Young jockey Flavian Prat gave another indication of his talent.
A day after winning his first Group race, he captured his first Group One with outsider Indonesienne in the Prix Marcel Boussac.
The first Group One race, the Prix de L'Abbaye, went to Ireland as Maarek got up on the line to edge out French runner Catcall and give jockey Declan McDonogh his first Group One winner.
"To break one's maiden at this level on Arc day is what dreams are made of," he said.
For trainer Barry Lalor, who only took over training the winner earlier this year, it made all the hard work worth it.
"This is the reason that all of us, trainers, jockeys and work riders get up early in the morning, and that owners invest their money in, this is the moment they cherish," he said.
Germany rounded off the proceedings in terms of Group One fare when Andreas Wohler gained some compensation for his star Novellist not being able to run in the Arc, because of a fever, when his stayer Altano won the Prix du Cadran.
