Alpinista wins Arc; see who may go from Paris to Breeders’ Cup

On a very soft track, 5-year-old mare Alpinista (3-1), the betting favorite, dominated for the sixth consecutive time at Group 1 level to win the $4.9 million Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe run in a heavy downpour. It was one of five Breeders’ Cup qualifiers run Sunday at ParisLongchamp.

The Frankel mare trained by 74-year-old Sir Mark Prescott and ridden by Luke Morris won the 1 1/2-mile race despite the remarkable finish by France 3-year-old champion Vadeni (7-1), who closed from ninth to finish second, missing the win by a half-length.

The victory qualified Alpinista for the Nov. 5 running of the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. There was no immediate indication that the oldest mare to win the Arc since 1937 would be considered for a trip to America.

Vadeni finished a neck ahead of the defending champion Torquator Tasso (8-1) from Germany. Then in fourth came a courageous Al Hakeem (20-1) followed by the mare Grand Glory (53-1), who came from far back to take fifth.

The race was led with a fast pace set by Japan shipper Titleholder (9-1) followed early by Broome (87-1) and Deep Bond (52-1) with Al Hakeem in their wake.

Alpinista had moved up to fourth at the top of the stretch. Her jockey Luke Morris was able to approach the front line effortlessly. He still waited, even as Vadeni, coming from the middle of the pack, was launched to attack.

The eventually victorious gray mare seemed to control the race until the end, when Vadeni would not let go. Torquator Tasso, close enough early on the outside, maintained his effort until the end, like last year, and finally finished a good third.

Alpinista’s winning time was 2:35.71, the fastest in three years. The last four runnings of the Arc have been run on a course labeled very soft or heavy.

Previously a winner in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1), Alpinista had raced twice before this year in France. She finished fourth in the Prix d’Aumale (G3) in 2019 and fourth in the Prix Madame Jean Couturié in July 2020.

Alpinista is undefeated in eight races since her comeback in 2021, when she won a listed stakes at Goodwood in April. She since has won the Lancashire Oaks (G2), the Berlin Grand Prix (G1), the Prix d’Europe (G1), the Bavarian Grand Prix (G1) and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

Bred in Great Britain by her owner Kirsten Rausing, Alpinista is out of the Hernando mare Alwilda.

Four other Breeders’ Cup Challenge Races were on the Arc undercard.

Prix de l’Opêra (G1)

Place du Carrousel (41-1) was victorious in the 1 1/4-mile Prix de l’Opêra to earn a place in the Filly & Mare Turf, which trainer André Fabre said might be the next stop for the 3-year-old by Lope De Vega.

“She’s a big, scopey filly with a pedigree that suggests she will train on,” Fabre told Racing Post. “The Breeders’ Cup could be an option for her next. If not, she will probably stay in training and run over a mile-and-a-half next season.”

After post-time favorite Nashwa (3-2) was caught late and left to finish second, her co-trainer John Gosden would not commit to another race this year. Above The Curve (7-2), who finished third, may join Place du Carrousel at the Breeders’ Cup, according to her trainer Joseph O’Brien.

Prix Marcel Boussac (G1)

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf was no better than a maybe for Blue Rose Cen (9-2), a five-length winner in the one-mile Boussac.

“We have plenty of options if we want to run again this year, including, of course, the Breeders’ Cup, for which she’s now qualified.” fourth-generation trainer Christopher Head told Racing Post. “I need to talk to the owner, because she is clearly a filly who will stay (1 1/4 miles) next year.

Blue Rose Cen, who was sired by Churchill, is owned by Leopoldo Fernández Pujals of Spain.

Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (G1)

Belbek (17-1) won by a neck over Gamestop (12-1) in the seven-furlong Lagardère, but it looked like he would not take the Breeders’ Cup up on its invitation to the Juvenile Turf.

“We will think about Doncaster next,” winning trainer Fabre told Racing Post, referring to the one-mile Futurity Trophy on Oct. 22, a race that is on the Europe Road to the Kentucky Derby. “We’ll see how he comes out of this first.”

A colt by England stallion Showcasing, Belbek is owned by Kazakhstan investor Nurlan Bizakov.

Prix de l’Abbaye (G1)

Post-time favorite The Platinum Queen (7-5) finished first in the Abbaye (G1). Because she is only 2, she is ineligible to take the automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint for 3-year-olds and up.

Ridden by Hollie Doyle for trainer Richard Fahey, the Cotai Glory filly owned by the Middleham Park Racing syndicate was the first juvenile since Sigy in 1978 to win the Abbaye.