The Arc is a case of what might have been...

French Racing / La Casaque Noire / 03 October 2007 / Leave a Comment

La Casque Noire ponders on why fillies are missing from the Arc field this weekend...

As I mentioned just a few weeks ago, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe has been won just six times by a filly or mare in the last thirty years and only once in the last twenty - Urban Sea back in '93.

This seems to be pretty hard evidence to support my theory that the fairer sex are no match for colts, even in receipt of their allowance. In France, this is a measly 1.5 kgs or around three and half pounds.

This year's field is likely to include the grand total of one mare (Mandesha) in a field that will number around a dozen. So on the face of it, the trend of colts winning is likely to continue.

However, it needn't have been so straightforward. What about the three Group One fillies West Wind, Passage Of Time and Peeping Fawn?

West Wind dispelled any doubts about her stamina when a strong-finishing (and unlucky) second in her Arc trial, the Prix Vermeille. After the race her trainer Henri-Alex Pantall was diplomatic about whether she'd run in the Arc next, but it was pretty obvious that this would be his advice to the Sheikh (Mohammed).
Passage Of Time finished a creditable third in that trial, having had a long lay-off due to a throat abscess. This was supposed to be a fact-finding mission to see if she was ready for the Arc - she clearly is.
Then we have Peeping Fawn, a fast-improving filly who has thrashed anything put in her path (including the winner) since finishing second in the Oaks. She'd have been disputing favouritism, especially with the unsettled weather forecast.

Alas, none of these talented girls are likely to be in the line-up, and all for the same reason.

It's a sad reality that these days racing is not about running the best against the best anymore. It's about making stallions - colts that have over-achieved by "fudging" big race results on the back of missing stable-mates and absent fillies.

Although not running in his silks, Sheikh Mohammed "owns" Authorized, Coolmore have Soldier Of Fortune and Dylan Thomas and Khalid Abdullah has Zambezi Sun - all are likely to be covering mares next year. Were any one of these to add the Arc to his CV, it would probably see their stud-fee double, and at 100 plus mares a year for the next two decades, that's huge money in anyone's currency.

This means it's a no-go for West Wind. She's off for a winter holiday in the sun (must be exhausted after a six-race campaign).
Peeping Fawn bypasses the biggest race in Europe for a lesser contest somewhere else and Passage Of Time heads for the Breeders' Cup.

I know you're thinking that why would the Sheikh be bothered about a few million quid here or there? Maybe not, but he is fiercely competitive (especially when it comes to beating Coolmore) so in his case it's about getting one over on his old rivals.
Money, power, prestige - it all amounts to the same.
Khalid Abdullah isn't short of a few bob either - but he's in the stallion business too, albeit to a lesser extent than the big-two.

The fact remains that if you, me and Joe Bloggs owned those three fillies, they'd all be lining up this Sunday. So it's one in the eye for those that say competition isn't a good thing. At the moment we have a near duopoly and it clearly isn't good for the game.