Frankie’s Fantastic Four Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe wins relived
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Ask our racing ambassador Frankie Dettori about the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and his eyes will immediately light up. And no wonder, because with four previous wins to his name he only needs one more success to become the outright leading jockey in this famous race.
Having announced he’ll be onboard Order of St George in the 2016 renewal it appears there’s every chance that Frankie can further write himself into sporting folklore.
And ahead of the Italian’s latest bid we’re remembering his Fantastic Four Arc triumphs.
Here they are relived…
1995 – Lammtarra
This Nijinsky colt’s four-race career proved rich in success and sentiment, as Lammtarra’s trainer Adam Scott was fatally shot at Newmarket during his stable star’s juvenile campaign.
Having won his one race as a two-year-old, Lammtarra took the Epsom Derby as a 14/1 outsider and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Ascot as 9/4 favourite, the latter with Dettori on board.
After hitting the front at Longchamp in his final race, Lammtarra held off all challengers to land victory as the 21/10 jolly, leading his jockey to suggest that he was ‘possibly’ the best horse he’d ever ridden.
2001 – Sakhee
Dettori’s second Arc triumph was also aboard a Godolphin favourite, with Sakhee’s six wins from his last eight runs, plus a 1l loss to Sinndar in the Derby, seeing the son of Bahri go off 11/5 favourite in Paris.
With eight other runners priced up at 12/1 or less before the off, including Aidan O’Brien’s joint-second favourite Saddler’s Creek and previously unbeaten French runner Aquarelliste, a tight affair was expected.
That wasn’t to be the case, with Dettori making his move on the approach to the straight, hitting the front 2f out and eventually winning by a whopping 6l.
2002 – Marienbard
The Milanese was back in the Arc winners’ enclosure just 12 months later thanks to this late-developing Irish colt.
In what proved to be Marienbard’s last race, the four-year-old defied odds of almost 16/1 to triumph ahead of Sulamani and joint-favourite High Chaparral, having only stepped back in trip from staying contests at the start of the 2002 Flat campaign.
2015 – Golden Horn
Last year’s win aboard John Gosden’s superhorse, who won seven of his nine races between 2014-2015 – finishing second in the other two – was Dettori’s first outside of Godolphin’s colours, though no less impressive for it.
A plunge on Criquette Head-Maarek’s Treve winning his third Arc in a row saw the favourite go off an even-money shot, pushing Golden Horn’s odds out to backable territory at 9/2, and he duly obliged with a comfortable 2l triumph.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
