Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Group 1 race
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Location	Longchamp Racecourse Paris, France
Inaugurated	1920
Race type	Thoroughbred - Flat race
Sponsor	Qatar
Website	France-Galop.com
Race information
Distance	2,400 metres (1 mile 3 furlongs 205 yards)
Track	Turf, right-handed
Qualification	Three-years-old and up excluding geldings
Weight	56 kg (3yo); 59½ kg (4yo+) Allowances 1½ kg for fillies and mares
Purse	€4,000,000 (2008) Distribution 1st: 57.14%, 2nd: 22.86% 3rd: 11.43%, 4th: 5.71% 5th: 2.86%

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.

Popularly referred to as the "Arc", it is the most prestigious horse race in Europe, and one of the most renowned international events in any sport. Many winners of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe are subsequently regarded as champions, and its roll of honour features such highly acclaimed racehorses as Ribot, Sea-Bird, Mill Reef and Dancing Brave. With a prize fund of 4 million euros, it is presently the world's second richest horse race contested on turf, after the Japan Cup.

A slogan of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, first used on a promotional poster in 2003, describes the event as "Ce n'est pas une course, c'est un monument" – "Not so much a race as a monument".

1 History
2 Records
3 Winners
4 Miscellaneous information
5 References
6 See also

History

The former governing body of French racing, the Société d'Encouragement, had initially restricted its races to thoroughbreds which were born and bred in France. In 1863, however, it launched a new event, the Grand Prix de Paris, which was designed to bring together the best three-year-olds from any country. Thirty years later it introduced a second international event, the Prix du Conseil Municipal, which enabled the leading horses of different age groups to compete against each other. This race was run over 2,400 metres in October, and its conditions included "overweights and underweights", a handicap system based on the previous performances of the participating horses.

The creation of a third such race was proposed by the Société d'Encouragement at a committee meeting on January 24, 1920. The new event, like its predecessors, would take place at Longchamp Racecourse. It was to be an international race to complement the Grand Prix de Paris, and it would serve as a showcase for French thoroughbred breeding. It would have similar characteristics to the Prix du Conseil Municipal, but unlike that event it would use the weight for age system, with each horse competing on equal terms, unpenalised for previous victories.

Coming in the wake of World War I, it was decided that the race would be named after the Arc de Triomphe, a famous monument in Paris which had been the scene of a victory parade by the Allies in 1919. The title Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe had been previously assigned to a minor event at Longchamp, a race which had been known by this name since 1882. Another suggested title had been the Prix de la Victoire.

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was first run on Sunday October 3, 1920. The inaugural running was won by Comrade, a three-year-old colt owned by Evremond de Saint-Alary. The winner's prize was 150,000 francs, with 18,000 francs for the runner-up and 10,000 francs for the third-placed horse.

In 1935 the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe secured state funding by the means of a lottery, which awarded prizes according to the race result and the drawing of lots. The system was first used in 1936, and it continued until 1938. During World War II the "Arc" was cancelled in 1939 and 1940, and it was switched to Tremblay in 1943 and 1944. At this temporary venue the race was run over a distance of 2,300 metres. It has otherwise continually taken place at Longchamp.

Government funding of the race resumed in 1949, with money obtained through the Loterie Nationale. Offering an attractive jackpot of 50 million francs, this enabled a rapid increase of the prizes for both the "Arc" and its supporting races. By the 1970s, however, the assistance of the lottery had diminished, and the system was finally discontinued after the 1982 running. Since then the "Arc" has had several sponsors, including Trusthouse Forte, Ciga Hotels and Groupe Lucien Barrière.

The present sponsor of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC). The sponsorship agreement between France Galop and the QREC was signed in Doha in 2008, and it covers the five runnings of the "Arc" from 2008 to 2012. As a result of this deal the prize fund of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was doubled from €2 million to €4 million. It has thus become the world's second richest turf race (after the Japan Cup), and the third richest overall, behind the Dubai World Cup. The purse for the whole weekend of the "Arc" meeting now stands at €6.7 million (about USD $10 million). It includes seven races classed at the highest level, Group 1, and four with Group 2 status.

Records

Leading jockey (4 wins):

Jacques Doyasbère – Djebel (1942), Ardan (1944), Tantieme (1950, 1951)
Freddy Head – Bon Mot (1966), San San (1972), Ivanjica (1976), Three Troikas (1979)
Yves Saint-Martin – Sassafras (1970), Allez France (1974), Akiyda (1982), Sagace (1984)
Pat Eddery – Detroit (1980), Rainbow Quest (1985), Dancing Brave (1986), Trempolino (1987)

Leading trainer (7 wins):

André Fabre – Trempolino (1987), Subotica (1992), Carnegie (1994), Peintre Celebre (1997), Sagamix (1998), Hurricane Run (2005), Rail Link (2006)

Leading owner (6 wins):

Marcel Boussac – Corrida (1936, 1937), Djebel (1942), Ardan (1944), Caracalla (1946), Coronation (1949)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1920	Comrade	3	Frank Bullock	Peter Gilpin	Evremond de Saint-Alary	2:39.0
1921	Ksar	3	George Stern	Walter R. Walton	Mrs Edmond Blanc	2:34.8
1922	Ksar	4	Frank Bullock	Walter R. Walton	Mrs Edmond Blanc	2:38.8
1923	Parth	3	Frank O'Neill	James H. Crawford	A. Kingsley Macomber	2:38.2
1924	Massine	4	Albert Sharpe	Elijah Cunnington	Henry Ternynck	2:40.8
1925	Priori ^[1]	3	Marcel Allemand	Percy Carter	Gérard de Chavagnac	2:33.8
1926	Biribi	3	Domingo Torterolo	Juan Torterolo	Simon Guthmann	2:32.8
1927	Mon Talisman	3	Charles Semblat	Frank Carter	Edouard Martinez de Hoz	2:32.8
1928	Kantar	3	Arthur Esling	Richard Carver	Ogden L. Mills	2:38.8
1929	Ortello	3	Paolo Caprioli	Willy Carter	Giuseppe del Montel	2:42.8
1930	Motrico	5	Marcel Fruhinsholtz	Maurice d'Okhuysen	Max de Rivaud	2:44.8
1931	Pearl Cap	3	Charles Semblat	Frank Carter	Diana Esmond	2:38.8
1932	Motrico	7	Charles Semblat	Maurice d'Okhuysen	Max de Rivaud	2:44.6
1933	Crapom	3	Paolo Caprioli	Frederico Regoli	Mario Crespi	2:41.6
1934	Brantome	3	Charles Bouillon	Lucien Robert	Edouard A. de Rothschild	2:41.8
1935	Samos	3	Walter Sibbritt	Frank Carter	Evremond de Saint-Alary	2:42.6
1936	Corrida	4	Charlie Elliott	John E. Watts	Marcel Boussac	2:38.6
1937	Corrida	5	Charlie Elliott	John E. Watts	Marcel Boussac	2:33.9
1938	Eclair au Chocolat	3	Charles Bouillon	Lucien Robert	Edouard A. de Rothschild	2:39.8
1939	no race 1939–40
1941	Le Pacha	3	Paul Francolon	John Cunnington	Philippe Gund	2:36.2
1942	Djebel	5	Jacques Doyasbère	Charles Semblat	Marcel Boussac	2:37.9
1943	Verso II ^[2]	3	Guy Duforez	Charles Clout	Hubert de Chambure	2:33.4
1944	Ardan ^[2]	3	Jacques Doyasbère	Charles Semblat	Marcel Boussac	2:35.0
1945	Nikellora	3	Rae Johnstone	René Pelat	Mrs Robert Patureau	2:34.8
1946	Caracalla	4	Charlie Elliott	Charles Semblat	Marcel Boussac	2:33.3
1947	Le Paillon	5	Fernand Rochetti	William Head	Lucienne Aurousseau	2:33.4
1948	Migoli	4	Charles Smirke	Frank Butters	HH Aga Khan III	2:31.6
1949	Coronation	3	Roger Poincelet	Charles Semblat	Marcel Boussac	2:33.2
1950	Tantieme	3	Jacques Doyasbère	François Mathet	François Dupré	2:34.2
1951	Tantieme	4	Jacques Doyasbère	François Mathet	François Dupré	2:32.8
1952	Nuccio	4	Roger Poincelet	Alec Head	HH Aga Khan III	2:39.8
1953	La Sorellina	3	Maurice Larraun	Etienne Pollet	Paul Duboscq	2:31.8
1954	Sica Boy	3	Rae Johnstone	Pierre Pelat	Mrs Jean Cochery	2:36.3
1955	Ribot	3	Enrico Camici	Ugo Penco	Mario della Rocchetta	2:35.6
1956	Ribot	4	Enrico Camici	Ugo Penco	Mario della Rocchetta	2:34.8
1957	Oroso	4	Serge Boullenger	Daniel Lescalle	Raoul Meyer	2:33.4
1958	Ballymoss	4	Scobie Breasley	Vincent O'Brien	John McShain	2:37.9
1959	Saint Crespin ^[3]	3	George Moore	Alec Head	Prince Aly Khan	2:33.3
1960	Puissant Chef	3	Maxime Garcia	C. W. Bartholomew	Henry Aubert	2:44.0
1961	Molvedo	3	Enrico Camici	Armando Maggi	Egidio Verga	2:38.4
1962	Soltikoff	3	Marcel Depalmas	René Pelat	Simone Del Duca	2:30.9
1963	Exbury	4	Jean Deforge	Geoffroy Watson	Guy de Rothschild	2:35.0
1964	Prince Royal	3	Roger Poincelet	Georges Bridgland	Rex C. Ellsworth	2:35.5
1965	Sea-Bird	3	Pat Glennon	Etienne Pollet	Jean Ternynck	2:35.5
1966	Bon Mot	3	Freddy Head	William Head	Walter Burmann	2:39.8
1967	Topyo	3	Bill Pyers	C. W. Bartholomew	Suzy Volterra	2:38.2
1968	Vaguely Noble	3	Bill Williamson	Etienne Pollet	Wilma Franklyn	2:35.2
1969	Levmoss	4	Bill Williamson	Seamus McGrath	Seamus McGrath	2:29.0
1970	Sassafras	3	Yves Saint-Martin	François Mathet	Arpad Plesch	2:29.7
1971	Mill Reef	3	Geoff Lewis	Ian Balding	Paul Mellon	2:28.3
1972	San San	3	Freddy Head	Angel Penna, Sr.	Countess Batthyany	2:28.3
1973	Rheingold	4	Lester Piggott	Barry Hills	Henry Zeisel	2:35.8
1974	Allez France	4	Yves Saint-Martin	Angel Penna, Sr.	Daniel Wildenstein	2:36.9
1975	Star Appeal	5	Greville Starkey	Theo Grieper	Waldemar Zeitelhack	2:33.6
1976	Ivanjica	4	Freddy Head	Alec Head	Jacques Wertheimer	2:39.4
1977	Alleged	3	Lester Piggott	Vincent O'Brien	Robert Sangster	2:30.6
1978	Alleged	4	Lester Piggott	Vincent O'Brien	Robert Sangster	2:36.5
1979	Three Troikas	3	Freddy Head	Criquette Head	Ghislaine Head	2:28.9
1980	Detroit	3	Pat Eddery	Olivier Douieb	Robert Sangster	2:28.0
1981	Gold River	4	Gary W. Moore	Alec Head	Jacques Wertheimer	2:35.2
1982	Akiyda	3	Yves Saint-Martin	François Mathet	HH Aga Khan IV	2:37.0
1983	All Along	4	Walter Swinburn	Patrick Biancone	Daniel Wildenstein	2:28.1
1984	Sagace	4	Yves Saint-Martin	Patrick Biancone	Daniel Wildenstein	2:39.1
1985	Rainbow Quest ^[4]	4	Pat Eddery	Jeremy Tree	Khalid Abdullah	2:29.5
1986	Dancing Brave	3	Pat Eddery	Guy Harwood	Khalid Abdullah	2:27.7
1987	Trempolino	3	Pat Eddery	André Fabre	Moussac / McNall	2:26.3
1988	Tony Bin	5	John Reid	Luigi Camici	Veronica del Bono Gaucci	2:27.3
1989	Carroll House	4	Michael Kinane	Michael Jarvis	Antonio Balzarini	2:30.8
1990	Saumarez	3	Gérald Mossé	Nicolas Clément	McNall / Gretzky	2:29.8
1991	Suave Dancer	3	Cash Asmussen	John Hammond	Henri Chalhoub	2:31.4
1992	Subotica	4	Thierry Jarnet	André Fabre	Olivier Lecerf	2:39.0
1993	Urban Sea	4	Eric Saint-Martin	Jean Lesbordes	David Tsui	2:37.9
1994	Carnegie	3	Thierry Jarnet	André Fabre	Sheikh Mohammed	2:31.1
1995	Lammtarra	3	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Saeed bin M. Al Maktoum	2:31.8
1996	Helissio	3	Olivier Peslier	Elie Lellouche	Enrique Sarasola	2:29.9
1997	Peintre Celebre	3	Olivier Peslier	André Fabre	Daniel Wildenstein	2:24.6
1998	Sagamix	3	Olivier Peslier	André Fabre	Jean-Luc Lagardère	2:34.5
1999	Montjeu	3	Michael Kinane	John Hammond	Michael Tabor	2:38.5
2000	Sinndar	3	Johnny Murtagh	John Oxx	HH Aga Khan IV	2:25.8
2001	Sakhee	4	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:36.1
2002	Marienbard	5	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:26.7
2003	Dalakhani	3	Christophe Soumillon	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:32.3
2004	Bago	3	Thierry Gillet	Jonathan Pease	Niarchos Family	2:25.0
2005	Hurricane Run	3	Kieren Fallon	André Fabre	Michael Tabor	2:27.4
2006	Rail Link	3	Stéphane Pasquier	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	2:26.3
2007	Dylan Thomas	4	Kieren Fallon	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier / Tabor	2:28.5
2008	Zarkava	3	Christophe Soumillon	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:28.8

¹ Cadum finished first in 1925 but was relegated to second place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
² The 1943 and 1944 races were run at Tremblay over a distance of 2,300 metres.
³ Midnight Sun dead-heated for first place in 1959 but was relegated to second following a Stewards' Inquiry.
⁴ Sagace finished first in 1985 but was relegated to second place following a Stewards' Inquiry.

Miscellaneous information

Fastest winning time – 2m 24.6s – Peintre Celebre (1997)
Widest margin of victory – 6 lengths – Ribot (1956), Sea-Bird (1965), Sakhee (2001)
Multiple winners – six horses have won the race twice:

Ksar (1921, 1922), Tantieme (1950, 1951), Motrico (1930, 1932), Ribot (1955, 1956), Corrida (1936, 1937), Alleged (1977, 1978)

Oldest winning horse – 7-years-old – Motrico (1932)
Leading sire of Arc winners – Bruleur (4 wins) – Ksar (1921, 1922), Priori (1925), Samos (1935)
Most runners – 30 in 1967 (the present maximum is 20)
Fewest runners – 7 in 1941
Fillies and mares – seventeen wins – Pearl Cap (1931), Samos (1935), Corrida (1936, 1937), Nikellora (1945), Coronation (1949), La Sorellina (1953), San San (1972), Allez France (1974), Ivanjica (1976), Three Troikas (1979), Detroit (1980), Gold River (1981), Akiyda (1982), All Along (1983), Urban Sea (1993), Zarkava (2008)

The 1947 winner, Le Paillon, was a top class hurdler who was runner-up in that year's Champion Hurdle.
Criquette Head-Maarek, the trainer of the 1979 winner Three Troikas, remains the only woman to have trained an Arc winner.
The third-placed horse in 2006, Deep Impact, was later disqualified after testing positive for the banned substance ipratropium.

Wins by country trained

France – (64 wins)

Great Britain – (10) – Parth (1923), Migoli (1948), Mill Reef (1971), Rheingold (1973), Rainbow Quest (1985), Dancing Brave (1986), Carroll House (1989), Lammtarra (1995), Sakhee (2001), Marienbard (2002)

Ireland – (6) – Ballymoss (1958), Levmoss (1969), Alleged (1977, 1978), Sinndar (2000), Dylan Thomas (2007)

Italy – (6) – Ortello (1929), Crapom (1933), Ribot (1955, 1956), Molvedo (1961), Tony Bin (1988)

Germany – (1) – Star Appeal (1975)

Wins by country foaled

France – (44 wins)

Ireland – (16) – Parth (1923), Migoli (1948), Vaguely Noble (1968), Levmoss (1969), Rheingold (1973), Star Appeal (1975), Tony Bin (1988), Carroll House (1989), Carnegie (1994), Montjeu (1999), Sinndar (2000), Marienbard (2002), Dalakhani (2003), Hurricane Run (2005), Dylan Thomas (2007), Zarkava (2008)

United States – (14) – Mill Reef (1971), San San (1972), Allez France (1974), Ivanjica (1976), Alleged (1977, 1978), Rainbow Quest (1985), Dancing Brave (1986), Trempolino (1987), Suave Dancer (1991), Urban Sea (1993), Lammtarra (1995), Peintre Celebre (1997), Sakhee (2001)

Great Britain – (7) – Comrade (1920), Ballymoss (1958), Saint Crespin (1959), Prince Royal (1964), Akiyda (1982), Saumarez (1990), Rail Link (2006)

Italy – (6) – Ortello (1929), Crapom (1933), Nuccio (1952), Ribot (1955, 1956), Molvedo (1961)