Events / Geoffrey Riddle / 04 October 2009 / 1 Comments

Ooh la la! What a day of racing on offer in Paris ... five Group Ones, Sea The Stars' bid for undoubted greatness, old stager Yeats ... what more could a Flat fan want? 'The Riddler' is in France to bring you all the betting talk on yet another massive day of racing

5.10pm
John Oxx finally comes to the play. He looks a nervous wreck. The great trainer must be completely drained. He was leaving the parade ring after the Cadran, probably off to have a lie down.

He too was non-committal about Sea The Stars' racing prospects, but he once again didn't rule out the colt carrying on next year. "He's never been heavier, never been fitter and never been in such good form," Oxx surmised. " He was pulling after the finish, and Mick [Kinane] said it was his easiest win so far.

"We'll have to wait a week or two, let the dust settle, and go from there. He could race at four, but his trainer has had enough."

I don't think it gets much better than that display, though. It was a complete performance by something that resembles close to a Ferrari. He has an iron constitution, he has speed and the perfect blend of stamina and agility. Forget poor old Dubai Millennium. Sheikh Mohammed must surely be reaching for his cheque book to bag this one. Or even a portion of this one.

That's your lot then folks. I hope you invested in a piece of thoroughbred history and backed Sea the Stars. If not, you at least bore witness to one of the most dramatic equine performances of the age.

See you next time at the Champions Meeting at Newmarket, where, hopefully, the internet will be firing on all cylinders and I can publish your e-mails.Bon Nuit.

4.45pm result - Prix Du Cadran
1: Alandi
2: Kasbah Bliss
3: Yeats
A bold bid by Yeats, but ultimately he was worn down inside the final quarter by Alandi, who in turn was almost pipped at the post by Kasbah Bliss. In-running carnage I'd imagine.

Christopher Tsui, the owner of Sea The Stars was not going to confirm, nor deny, whether he would run his superstar in the Breeders' Cup Classic next month.

Sea The Stars has been cut by the high street layers to around 4-6 for the Santa Anita feature, but Tsui was non-committal. "We'll have to see how the next few days go," said the Hong Kong nightclub owner. "I'm not the owner, my whole family is the owner, so we'll all have to have a big discussion and speak to John Oxx as well."

So there you have it then. Little Christopher is not actually in charge at all. Like all good boys, his mother holds sway. It was madam Tsui who decided to breed Sea the Stars out of Cape Cross and Urban Sea, the 1993 Arc winner. Christopher was here 16 years ago when Sea The Stars' dam won. "It was a very different experience this time around," recounted Tsui. "I was here as a 12-year-old to watch Urban Sea run and win."

Like most in-running punters, Tsui thought also at one point that Sea the Stars might get beat. He said: "I got a bit worried in the straight. He began to drop back. But then all of a sudden, he surged forward to the front and won readily."

He also revealed that he was a very superstitious person. "You may have noticed that I have worn the same suit," he exclaimed. "I've also worn the same tie and watch every time he runs."

Two questions arise from this. How many watches has Christopher Tsui got, and is he wearing the same pants?

4.35pm
Yeats trades at [4.3] over here. Aidan O'Brien is keen to stress how special Yeats is. Perhaps he's feeling a bit left out, with Sea the Stars hogging all the limelight and all.

"He's a very special horse. I'm very privileged to have anything to do with him," said O'Brien. "He's very well, and he stays the trip."

4.15pm
I've been waiting to get a word with John Oxx for 20 minutes. I'm not sure, but something tells me he's got better things to do.

Will Yeats bow out in style in the Cadran? As one great is ushered in, the stage is set for the bowing out of another. Except, there doesn't seem to be the greatest of confidence in the old boy. He has failed twice in this race before. The Seagull has gone for Askar Thau in his Pricewise column, while Incanto Dream went close last year and looks a big price on that effort.

3.40pm
You've got to hand it to Youmzain, too. Beaten by Sea The Stars, Zarkava and Dylan Thomas in succession. What a tremendous effort.

Kieren Fallon had said in the lead up to the race that he thought he was in with a chance, and although that proved slightly wide of the mark, he threaded his way through at the same time as Kinane, but was found wanting.

The place is absolutely buzzing. The French like a to whoop up an occasion, and they've completely gone to town here. It's no surprise to witness that 27-year-old owner of Sea the Stars, Christopher Tsui can speak French. You can't really get that far in life so quickly without a whole stable of skills and attributes. He interviewed a lot better than John Oxx did immediately post race. He didn't pass out like he did at Epsom this time though.

3.15pm result- Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe result
1: Sea The stars
2: Youmzain
3: Cavalryman
4: Conduit
Simply stunning. Sea The Stars promised so much, but never can such a performance have been expected. Mick Kinane had Sea the Stars positioned on the inner and just after they had entered the straight he looked boxed in. All those who had opposed the champion must have thought their luck had landed but then Kinane started to motor up the far side, dodging as he went. This is some horse, filled with pace and stamina. But here we saw another side, as he deftly went through the field and won with any amount in hand.

The crowd stood up as he swept by on his gallop to glory, and they clapped and cheered a true champion.

John Oxx looked a relieved man, and as the French television interviewer hounded him for an interview, she had to wait for her producer to tell her that the channel was ready. So nervous was Oxx, that in the wait, which seemed everlasting, he got impatient with his interviewer and said to her: "Can you say something to me? Anything at all?"

2.55pm
If you are not near a television. Get up after you have read this post, and go and stand near one. You are about to witness one of the great Arcs. If anything has the temerity to beat Sea The Stars this afternoon I will be amazed. The question is though, is the champ value?

I see only two potential weaknesses. I'm not sure he fully stays 1m4f, despite winning the Derby. Aidan O'Brien's hordes failed to test STS that day, preferring to ride the race that would suit neither Fame And Glory, nor Rip Van Winkle. They won't want to get that wrong again, but will any jockey really take any notice of Grand Ducal and Set Sail?

The other hurdle that stands in the way of complete greatness is that Sea the Stars has been on the go since May, running and winning. Now there have been critics out to crab the champ's ability to put in another breath-taking performance here, but John Oxx has gone on record to say that this horse has an exceptional constitution. All of those stats really mean nothing, because this is not an ordinary horse and thefore they are not applicable to him.

The only other issue maybe that there are 18 other runners. All week there have been a few tipsters who said Sea The Stars should not possibly be the price he is due to the number of runners, which is fine. But then they have tipped up something else, which is ridiculous when you think about it.

Personally, I reckon Sea The Stars is about a 1-10 shot to encounter traffic problems, and about 1-3 to stay the trip. I'm on. Are you a backer or a layer?

2.30pm result - Prix L'Opera
1: Shalanaya
2: Midday
3: Board Meeting
Maxime Guyon poaches the Prix L'Opera from the centre of the track aboard Shalanaya. Parisians have been put on red alert. Anyone who sees Christophe Lemaire loitering near the edge of any train platforms, high buildings or cliffs has been instructed to call the police immediately. I mean the jockey must be absolutely gutted. Tom Peacock from the PA tells me that Shalanaya is the eighth ride that Lemaire has missed here over the past two days. Shocker.

The internet is so slow here that I have no idea what price Night Magic traded in-running. I'm not sure it would have been low enough to warrant a profit from my back-to-lay tactic.

1.55pm result
1: Siyouni
2: Pounced
3: Buzzword
Christophe Lemaire must be tearing his hair out as another of his lost rides goes in, this time under the stylish old warrior Gerald Mosse.

How good must that Special Duty be? Siyouni went down by a length and a half to Friday's Cheveley Park winner, but the Pivotal colt was far too good for the field here.

I can't see why Crystal Capella is such a big price in the Prix L'Opera, up next. She beat Dar Re Mi fair and square earlier in the season, and she was giving Dar Re Mi weight as well. The other one who might be worth looking at is Night Magic.

The German Oaks winner looks the real deal here. She smashed Soberina in the German Classic, and that runner-up ran so well in the Prix Vermeille behind Dar Re Mi. She is also likely to make all, so for those of you who are not so convinced, she looks a tremendous pre-race trade, with a view to laying off her in-running.

1.45pm
Carrying on with French sensibilities, the home scribes cannot see defeat for Loup De Vega , the unbeaten son of Sharmadal. Andre Fabre's colt bids to reproduce the victory of Loup Solitaire, Fabre's last winner of this juvenile event in 1995.

Given that Aidan O'Brien has virtually farmed this since Second Empire first won this in 1997, you would have thought the French might take the challenge Beethoven a bit more seriously. Realistically though, why can't they accept that Dick Turpin is going to have this race at his mercy and will deliver?

1.20pm result:
1: Rosanara
2: Wedding March
3: Joanna
To the chants in the stands of "Soumi, Soumi!" the red-hot favourite Rosanara picks up this field easily and coasts home under a beautiful ride from Christophe Soumillon. You've got to feel for Christophe Lemaire, who was down to ride the winner, haven't you?

Trainer Alain Royer-Dupre won this race two years ago with the mighty Zarkava, and comparisons are already being made with last year's Arc winner. Surely it's too early for that.

Wedding March looked beautiful in the paddock, something which I couldn't tell you because the internet here is appalling. It's amazing really. This is the biggest race meet in Europe and they can't sort out something so simple as the internet. And to think, the lunch here was sublime. These French have very different priorities don't they?

12.45pm
1: Total Gallery
2: Fleeting Spirit
3: War Artist
4: Benbaun
A sprinter who hasn't really shone in the big Group races goes on to win the Abbaye. Total Gallery has improved with virtually every run this season and Murtagh found enough in the tank to hold off Fleeting Spirit.
The favourite was checked at least twice by my count, so those who backed her must feel unlucky. The television broadcast here has helmet cam. I'm serious. I've just watched the race from the perspective of Dominique Boeuf, who was on Atlantic Wave, the Russian horse. What is it with Russians and cutting edge technology, eh?

12.35pm
"Why can't Monsieur Chevalier win the Abbaye?", muses George.

Well George, if you look at the post earlier, it seems that a lightly-raced sort generally prevails in this race. Trainer Richard Hannon has sent his two-year-old out nine times this season, so he won't exactly be bucking to run in this.

He is best over five furlongs though, and he gets a hell of a lot of weight. As he is a hold-up horse, I'd wait to back him in-running if I were you.

Does anyone know anything at all about this Russian horse, Atlantic Wave? Can those pesky Ruskies be hiding another Overdose?

12.15pm
I'm sat beside the great Graham Cunningham in the press room. Betting.betfair's extremely capable tipster reckons War Artist is a good thing in the Prix L'Abbaye. He thinks the mount of Olivier Peslier is the freshest in the line up, which is important because during the last ten years, no winner has raced more than five times that season.

If you look at the trends of this race it often goes to a horse that has not shone in Group company in the past as well.

Paul Kealy, the betting editor for the Racing Post, reckons that Fleeting Spirit should be odds-on, and has smashed into the [2.88] that he got on Betfair.

Midday.
We've got pretty slow bandwidth here team, so it's gonna be a sloooow day.

The front page of Paris Turf the French equivalent of The Racing Post, is "Rendez-vous de Sea the Stars", and they give John Oxx's runner 96 out of 100 on their idiosyncratic Arc scale, with Fame And glory next on 93, and Vision D'Etat third.

I've polled 24 French racing correspondents on this afternoon's big one, and only one, yes one, envisaged defeat for Sea The Stars this afternoon. That was Monsieur Vidal of Le Republicain Lorrain, who sees Conduit as the most likely winner, Fame and Glory next, and STS only third. Don't ask me why though, because my French wasn't up to discussing the finer details of thoroughbred capabilities, merely good enough to get him to write it on a napkin.

11.15am
Bonjour mes amis, and welcome to Paris for the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe beamed live from an overcast Longchamp. The Grands Boulevards of Paris are littered with the crushed hopes and dreams of beaten favourites, but Sea The Stars promises to go where the likes of Nijinsky and Deep Impact could not.

All those risible arguments about there being too many horses, all those detractors about the champ's stamina may be blown away by a scorching performance of pace, power and grandeur. We are here to witness something great, and with a magnificent undercard, Paris is really the place to be this afternoon.

Comments (1)

1. eric | 04 October 2009

   Hey Geoffrey,
   What is the condition of the turf today?

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