Last three winners of the Prix de la Forêt
With the Arc weekend coming and going in a flash, the majority of the talk will be dominated by Torquator Tasso’s miraculous victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe —Europe’s richest race. While the outsider winning at 80/1 is certainly a great story, upsetting all the horse racing betting odds, it has meant that the Prix de la Forêt has slipped under everyone’s radar.
Longchamp has always been a courteous host for the Group One races and with spectators finally allowed back into racetracks with coronavirus restrictions changing, there was always likely to be entertainment in the French capital. With the race celebrating a new champion, we thought it would be appropriate to run through the last three winners of the Arc weekend’s secondary race.
Space Blues (2021)
While it was disappointment for Charlie Appleby in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, he can take some comfort in Space Blues victory this year — a dominant performance from the five-year-old. Just over a year on from his win in the Maurice de Gheest, which was viewed as a shock at the time, Space Blues was back in France and with strong performances in Saudi Arabia early this year, he came in as a well-backed favourite.
Fortunately for Appleby, his horse lived up to expectations, sweeping into the lead in the final furlong. While it is still unclear what the future holds for Space Blues, with some thinking he will be suited for the Breeder’s Cup Mile next month, for now he can revel in victory as can jockey William Buick.
One Master (2018-2020)
With the unpredictable nature of flat racing, it is rare to see a horse control a race so frequently as One Master did in the late 2010s, finishing the decade with a trio of consecutive victories between 2018 and 2020. While her final performance was ran behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, victory would have tasted just as sweet for trainer William Haggas. The Yorkshireman was especially impressed with his mare’s most recent victory, saying: “We’re really proud of her,
“She’s a fantastic filly and she seems to come good over this track and trip. She’s particularly good on soft ground and was given another brilliant ride by Pierre-Charles. She wants to win.
“These 6-year-olds have had a remarkable year, and if you look after them when they’re young, they’ll look after you when they’re older.”
Aclaim (2017)
Before One Master’s extended period of domination, the race was much more hotly contested. 2017 saw a first Group One victory for Martyn Meade’s Aclaim, seeing off the likes of So Beloved, trained by the vastly experienced David O’Meara, and Karar to claim top spot. It was a solid weekend of work from the Brits abroad, with four of the six Group One races that afternoon going to British challengers.
Meade was reduced to tears at the end of the race, shocked and overcome with pride at his horse’s performance: “He’s a tough little horse. He tries so hard that he reduces me to tears. He comes to his best form at this time of year”. He said:
“Winning a Group One was something we had to do this year and now we’ve done it.