Breeders' Cup Memories: Arazi

A snappy, well-timed line of commentary can augment even the greatest sporting moments. We all have our favourites, and horseracing does them better than most: whether it's Peter O'Sullevan exclaiming "And the mare's beginning to get up!" with less than 100 yards to go in the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup or Graham Goode bellowing "Dancing Brave starting to motor; but oh so much to do!" two furlongs out in the same year's Derby.

As the field paraded before the 1991 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, NBC race-caller Tom Durkin quietly set the scene for European champion two-year-old Arazi's bid to conquer America. Minutes later, he would unwittingly take a hand in the birth of a legend, his disbelieving squeal of "and Arazi runs right by him!" as François Boutin's colt did just that past long-time leader Bertrando becoming an integral part of one of the Breeders' Cup's most unforgettable moments.

Arazi's saunter into the lead was just a culmination of a truly breath-taking path through the race. Drawn wide and dropped out one from last, he initially seemed reluctant to face kickback (it was, after all, his first start on dirt) but found his stride near the end of the back straight, picking his way through rivals as though they weren't there and breezing past Bertrando without jockey Pat Valenzuela having to make any effort whatsoever. Valenzuela was only a little more animated as Arazi drew clear, cantering past the post six and a half lengths ahead of Bertrando.

Arazi's two-year-old season will go down as one of the greats. He won seven of his eight races in 1991, under an impressively diverse set of conditions: A Group 2 (and a Group 3) over five furlongs, the Group 1 Prix Morny over six, the Prix Salamandre over seven and the Gran Criterium over a mile before the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, which was staged over an extended mile on dirt.

It was anticipated that Arazi would sweep all before him as a three-year-old, but it wasn't to be. He would win only two races, his reappearance at Saint-Cloud and the race now known as the Prix Daniel Wildenstein at Longchamp in October, with flops in the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Mile along the way, despite starting favourite for both. As if that wasn't tantalising enough, his Juvenile victim Bertrando would win both the Woodward Stakes and Pacific Classic later in his career, ultimately earning an Eclipse Award in 1993.

Usually the unrealised potential of a star two-year-old would make for a sad story, but not really so in this case. Timeform's 'Racehorses of 1991' said that "Whatever the future holds for Arazi, his name seems certain to be recalled as long as racing is talked about". Or, to put it in Tom Durkin's words as Arazi crossed the line in the Juvenile: "Here, indeed, is a superstar".