Ah, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe: the one day when Europe’s finest thoroughbreds gather at ParisLongchamp to make us all feel inadequate about our own cardio. This year’s edition delivered drama, dynasties, and a sobering reminder that horse racing is a sport where the athletes have no say in their careers and the humans get all the glory.
The day’s feel-good story came in the Prix de l’Abbaye, where 20-year-old Jack Nicholls upheld family tradition by winning his first Group One aboard the supplemented Miss Yechance. Nicholls is the grandson of David “Dandy” Nicholls, who won this race in 2002 with Continent and was renowned as a master trainer of sprinters, and the son of Adrian, a former jockey turned trainer. So yes, the name Nicholls is basically the horse racing equivalent of the Kennedys, minus the tragic overtones and plus a lot more hay.
Riding in his first top-level contest, Nicholls found himself up alongside Ryan Moore on Mission Central inside the final furlong but timed it all to perfection for a famous success aboard the Karl Burke-trained filly. Shiri flashed home to claim second ahead of Mission Central. Nicholls said: “I’ve never had a feeling like that, there’s no words to describe it really. I can’t take much credit, she does everything herself and I’m just the lucky lad that gets to sit on top of her. I just try to keep her as happy as I can and she does the rest for me. I didn’t think I would get a chance in a Group One and I’ll be forever grateful to the owners and Karl for putting their trust in me and to let me ride her.”
Meanwhile, the main event - the Arc itself - was a puzzle for bettors. Three-year-olds, and three-year-old fillies in particular, are favoured by the race conditions, and a single-figure draw is a big advantage when the ground at Longchamp is riding fast, because the contours and turns give closers so much to do in the straight. But the only place to start for betting purposes is Daryz, last year’s winner, who will be the first colt to follow up for nearly 50 years if he registers a second success this afternoon. For our money, he is poor value at around 7-4 - or possibly shorter on the local PMU - despite a favourable draw for the second year running. The last three colts to attempt a repeat have been beaten (all behind three-year-olds, as it happens), he was comfortably beaten by Kalapana in the King George and while his three other races this season have been Group One wins here at Longchamp, there has been no real sense of his form going up a notch at four.
Maltese Cross would have been a happy bet at around 5-1 had he not ended up with a double-figure draw, but Tom Marquand may need a big dollop of luck from stall 11 and another couple of points on his price may not fully account for the extent to which his chance has been compromised. That leaves Kalapana, Thundering On and Varandir as the obvious contenders. Thundering On is the one that ticks every box for age, gender and draw, but at around 14-1 with the UK bookmakers, an each-way bet on Varandir could be the best way to go. Daryz’s year-younger stable-companion arrives with a similar profile to last year’s winner, having been unraced at two before winning the same maiden at Longchamp in April that launched Daryz’s career in 2025. He has just five races under his belt, considerable scope for improvement at a well-run one-and-a-half miles and his sole defeat thus far was by less than half a length in the Group One Grand Prix de Paris.
Earlier in the day, Amusingly looked all class in beating the colts to land the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp. Francis-Henri Graffard surprised many when switching his Juddmonte-owned filly from the Prix Marcel Boussac against her own sex, but the decision was well and truly vindicated. Graffard said: “She beat the filly that finished second in the Marcel Boussac (Data) very easily, so I was hoping I didn’t make a mistake. She shows a lot of speed this filly, so I said to Barry Mahon [Juddmonte racing manager] she’s more of a Commonwealth Cup filly than a Guineas filly for next year. I’ve no idea if she’ll go to the Breeders’ Cup, I need to speak to the team. Today is a big win so I just want to enjoy that and winter well and we have a lovely filly for next year, but what she has done today is wonderful.”
The day was not without tragedy. Social media reports suggest that Spirit Tango, who ran in the first race at ParisLongchamp today, has had to be put down. A very sad postscript to the Prix Marcel Boussac and news which follows the death of another horse on Arc weekend after the demise of another British runner in Fallen Angel on Saturday. Because nothing says “sport of kings” like a body count.
In the Prix Marcel Boussac, Green Empress provided trainer Joseph O’Brien with another big-race success in a stellar year when narrowly holding off Data to win. O’Brien said: “It’s really special for us to have a Group One winner on this day and she has been progressive - she’s only ever been beaten by Sun Goddess all year. She has a super pedigree, being by Saxon Warrior out of a Sea The Stars mare. We see her as a miler that might go 10 furlongs at some stage. We’ll see how she comes out of today and discuss with the owners whether she’ll go to America [for the Breeders’ Cup] or whether we wait for next year. We’re very lucky to have the support of some great people and a wide variety of owners. For us it’s about performing and executing at big meetings. It’s fantastic to have a big winner on Arc day.”
So there you have it: another Arc weekend in the books, full of triumph, heartbreak, and the eternal question of why we let large animals run in circles for our amusement. But hey, at least the jockeys get to wear silks.