It is a decade since the doors at Longchamp racecourse were thrown open on the first Sunday in October to reveal an excited queue of several thousand Japanese racing fans stretching back into the Bois de Boulogne. Deep Impact, the horse that had lured them across two continents, could finish only third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but the experience sparked a Japanese obsession with winning the Arc that Makahiki, a son of Deep Impact, may finally satisfy on Sunday.
If so, few will care that their dreams will come true in Chantilly, about 30 miles north of Paris, rather than the Arc’s traditional home. While you cannot see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, the chateau and the Grandes Écuries, built by an aristocrat who believed he would be re-incarnated as a horse, will provide a suitably impressive backdrop for one of sport’s most glamorous annual events. And at around 6-1, Makahiki is a very attractive price to succeed where his father and several other Japanese contenders have failed over the years.
What appeals most about Makahiki is that he seems to share the strengths of horses like Deep Impact and Orfevre, who finished runner-up in the Arc in 2012 and 2013, but not many of the weaknesses.
Like Deep Impact, he had the class to win the Japanese Derby. Unlike Deep Impact, he is a three-year-old, the generation that has supplied 17 of the last 22 Arc winners, and has a rider in Christophe Lemaire who knows his way around Chantilly. And unlike Orfevre, who veered sharply right and threw away his chance after hitting the front in 2012, Makahiki seems to have the no-nonsense attitude of a horse who will get the job done.
Makahiki improved for the step up to 12 furlongs in the Japanese Derby and held on with real determination in the closing stages to win by a nose. He did not have much to spare in the Prix Niel three weeks ago, having taken his time to get past Midterm, but that win was probably a lot better than it looked, as it was his first start since May and Makahiki has been prepared solely with Sunday’s race in mind.
A starting position in stall 14 is not ideal but nowhere near as problematic over 12 furlongs at Chantilly as it would be over 10. It is a big field, meanwhile, but this year’s Arc may not be quite as deep in terms of quality as several recent renewals. Two of the leading three-year-olds, Almanzor and La Cressonniere, are missing, while Harzand, the Derby winner in England and Ireland, needs to bounce back from his disappointing run in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Postponed, admittedly, is a horse of genuine quality with the tactical speed to take a good position from stall seven and he is a solid favourite at around 2-1.
However, he does not have as much in hand of the field as his odds might suggest, and as a lightly raced three-year-old who has been pointed towards Chantilly for many months, Makahiki’s profile makes far more appeal at the prices. At much bigger odds, meanwhile, Savoir Vivre, the Grand Prix de Deauville winner, could scrape into the frame and may be worth an additional (and small) each-way interest at 50-1.
The form of the Arc trials three weeks ago was boosted in Group Two events at Chantilly on Saturday as Doha Dream, a close third behind Makahiki in the Prix Niel, took the Prix Chaudenay, and The Juliet Rose, who finished third to Arc contender Left Hand in the Prix Vermeille, was an impressive front-running winner of the Prix de Royallieu.
Roger Charlton took the first Group One of Arc weekend when Quest For More got up in the closing strides under George Baker to win the Prix du Cadran, the gelding’s first success at the highest level.
Quest For More has been much improved this season by the use of front-running tactics, but the race did not unfold as planned for Baker. “That was the bottom of the alphabet plan and Mr Charlton was probably throwing things at the TV,” Baker said, “but he just was not going with the same fluency. I know if that’s the case with him, they are probably going too fast.”
At Newmarket, Alice Springs took her third Group One of the season with a three-quarter-length defeat of Always Smile, while at Ascot, last season’s top juvenile Shalaa made a belated three-year-old debut in the Group Three Bengough Stakes. John Gosden’s colt beat Mehronissa by a neck and is 6-1 (from 12-1) with William Hill to make a successful return to Group One level in the Champions Sprint at the same course in two weeks’ time.
