Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Odds

What is the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe?

The Arc is a Group 1 contest run over a trip of mile and a half at the world-famous Paris Longchamp racecourse in the French capital. The Arc is widely considered to be the premier middle-distance race for older horses in Europe, and tends to attract some of the best equine stars from the UK, France, Ireland and Japan among others. The Arc takes place on the first Sunday in October and with the revamped Longchamp racecourse now looking better than ever, it is a race that is surely going to grow even further. Arc weekend itself is a remarkable weekend of racing, with multiple Group 1 races for punters to enjoy, but the Arc is the clear highlight - with the superstars of the sport clashing for the crown of being the best middle-distance horse in the world.

What happened in the 2022 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe? 

Sir Mark Prescott's Alpinista was a fine winner of the 2022 Arc, as the 7/2 favourite outclassed the second placed Vadeni, with Torquator Tasso back in third.

The history of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe

The Arc was first run in 1920, when Comrade won the race, with 150,000 Francs being awarded to winning connections that day. Since then the race has grown out of all recognition, with some legendary names winning at Longchamp during the last century. In total there have been eight horses to have won the race twice at the time of writing, with Ksar the first of those back in 1921 and 1922. 

The race moved away from Longchamp in 2016 and 2017 due to renovations at the famous venue, with nearby Chantilly taking its place on a temporary basis. 

There have been some iconic winners of the Arc in modern times, with Mill Reef (1971), Dancing Brave (1986) and Zarkava (2008) just three of the legendary horses to have picked up the Arc during their illustrious careers. The race continues to grow in stature, with the monster prize money on offer ensuring it is currently the world’s second richest turf race behind The Everest - which is held at Randwick in Australia.

Who is the most iconic winners of the Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe? 

Picking just one horse from the Arc roll of honour is next to impossible with few races having the number of superstar winners. The best horses in living memory have triumphed in Paris in the Autumn with Enable and Treve perhaps the two stand out names in the last decade with both fillies hitting the headlines in France.

On balance though it is Sea The Stars who can rightly be called the most iconic Arc winner in recent memory.

The John Oxx trained legend finished his career in Paris with a win that remains scarcely believable even to this day. The three-year-old had already marked himself out as a legend with a host of big wins back in 2009 but it was in Paris that he truly cemented his legacy. The 4/6F on the day met all sorts of trouble in running, trapped on the inside and looking beaten when they turned for home, but Mick Kinane found that gap just in time and the horse did the rest. Stunning.

Are there any trials for the Arc De Triomphe? 

The Arc is the end of season showpiece that features the best horses in training, and it is relatively straightforward to assess the potential runners as they progress through the season.

The first place to start is with the previous years Arc with plenty of runners likely to have a second tilt at the race, track form at Longchamp is also worth keeping a close eye on. 

Elsewhere, the English, Irish and French versions of the Derby will always throw up an arc runner or two from the younger generations with Workforce a good example of an Epsom Derby winner who went on to win the Arc the same season.

Finally, the Prix Niel on Arc trials day is where we are likely to see the French contenders stake their claims with Rail Link one horse to have won the double during his career.

Who is the most successful jockey in the Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe? 

There is no more iconic a jockey than Frankie Dettori, and the Italian jockey has dominated the Arc during his stunning career. The Italian rider has ridden the winner of the Arc on six occasions at the time of writing with Lammtarra (1995), Sakhee (2001), Marienbard (2002), Golden Horn (2015) and Enable (2017, 2018).

Who is the most successful trainer in the Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe? 

Andre Fabre is the king of Longchamp with no less than seven Arc winners to his name so far during his career. The French trainer has saddled Trempolino (1987), Subotica (1992), Carnegie (1994), Peintre Celebre (1997), Sagamix (1998), Hurricane Run (2005) and Rail Link (2006) to victory.