Ace Impact imperious in Arc romp
Gun three-year-old colt Ace Impact (3 c Cracksman – Absolutely Me by Anabaa Blue) produced a scintillating performance to land the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) at Longchamp yesterday, providing trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and jockey Cristian Demuro with their second wins in the time-honoured Group 1.
In winning yesterday’s coveted contest, the son of Darley’s Cracksman (Frankel) kept his unblemished record intact, with the triumph his second at the top-level, having secured his first in the Prix du Jockey Club (Gr 1, 2100m) in June.
Given his dominance this season, Ace Impact was sent off the well-fancied favourite yesterday and he did little to dent the confidence of his throngs of supporters, moving smoothly throughout the contest.
As the field entered the famous Longchamp straight, the colt began to pick off rivals one by one, eventually hitting top gear inside the final furlong, running away to a length-and-a-quarter victory over Westover, who is by Cracksman’s father Frankel (Galileo). Onesto, another son of Frankel, ran a brilliant race at long-odds, finishing a short-head away in third.
Japan’s quest for a winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe goes on, however Through Seven Seas (Dream Journey), their sole representative in this year’s contest, finished a credible fourth.
The retiring Frankie Dettori, a winner of a record six Arcs, was riding in the famous race for the final time, but could not find the dream farewell as he finished down the field on Free Wind (Galileo).
“I’m like a very backward horse – I’m just maturing now,” joked Rouget, a titan of European training who won the Arc for the first time with the now Coolmore Stud-based sire Sottsass (Siyouni) in 2020.
“I hope I have a few more good years in front of me. I started with jumpers and very bad Flat horses, but Millkom was the first sign of a Classic horse in 1994 and then we won with Le Havre, Stacelita and now we have a very strong stable.
“I thank my teams – in Pau and Deauville – as they put in a lot of work in a serious, serious way.”
Of Ace Impact, he added: “We always say they’re the best when a new horse comes along, but I think he’s got the strongest acceleration I’ve seen.”
In winning the race, Ace Impact became the first horse since Dalakhani (Darshaan) to land the Prix du Jockey Club / Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe double in the same season, but first since the three-year-old Classic’s distance was shortened to 2100 metres.
Ace Impact was a €75,000 Arqana yearling purchase for his trainer. The colt is the fifth foal out of the stakes-placed mare Absolutely Me (Anabaa Blue), making him a half-brother to stakes-placed duo Apollo Flight (Rock Of Gibraltar) and Alessandro (Australia).
Cracksman stood at Dalham Hall Stud in 2023 for a fee of £17,500 (approx. AU$33,000).