Dettori rides Camelot but O’Brien has awful three-year-old Arc record
Published:It may take a lot more than having Frankie Dettori on board to help Camelot win the Arc de Triomphe, given the record of trainer Aidan O’Brien in the race with his three-year-old entrants.
Since Camelot’s father Montjeu won the Arc in 1999, O’Brien has sent 16 three-year-olds to Longchamp in the hope of landing the prestigious prize.
Only one has even managed to finish in the each-way money, when High Chaparral took third behind Marienbard in 2002.
And it is not as if all of the others were complete no hopers, as Milan, St Leger winner Scorpion and Fame And Glory have been among his team of runners.
Camelot’s confirmation as a runner in this year’s Arc has seen him cut to 3/1 for victory and the jockey booking of Frankie Dettori could even see the Epsom Derby winner go off favourite come race day.
He obviously has history to overcome, but will be buoyed by the fact that three-year-old runners have triumphed in eight of the last nine Arc renewals and all of the last four.
Meanwhile, there is no jockey riding today that can better Dettori’s record of three previous Arc winners and his experience in terms of the course and typical run of the race will be invaluable.
The spare ride on Camelot means that Dettori has a runner in the Arc for the 25th successive year.
It initially seemed that his lengthy streak was going to end with Godolphin having no runner and then Snow Fairy being removed, on whom it seemed he would have been asked to ride for Ed Dunlop.
Given Dettori’s retainer with Godolphin, he rarely rides for O’Brien, but the pair do have history in big-race victories together.
Dettori guided Scorpion to victory in the 2005 St Leger.
All odds and markets correct as of publication
