One of the myths that has developed over time in the Breeders’ Cup is that European turf horses cannot beat the Americans on dirt and this is why City Of Troy’s performance in the $7 million Classic is the only talking point in the city is under construction. until Saturday’s race.
The Classic is known to have only been won once by a European horse when riding on dirt tracks, and that was in 1993, when Arcangues pulled off one of the biggest shocks in racing history when he triumphed under the legendary American Hall of Famer jockey Jerry Bailey with odds of 133. 1.
At the time, the European adventurous spirit for having a crack in the ground was at its peak and the difficulty of switching from grass to that surface was not, as it is today, marked by a series of near misses, high-profile failures and the fact it is Aidan O’Brien’s main blank with no winners from 17 tries.
At Churchill Downs, just two years before Arcangues’ success, Arazi cut through the field to win the Juvenile for France and Alex Scott also won the Sprint with Sheikh Albadou on the sand.
A year earlier, Paul Cole’s Ibn Bey had only found Unbridled too good in the Classic at Belmont and had Dayjur not jumped into the shadow of the winning post he would have won the Sprint.
Arcangues had worked remarkably well
Arcangues was not a serial winner. He won five times from 18 starts in his career and his only previous top success before moving to Santa Anita was the Prix d’Ispahan in May.
But by July he had worked remarkably well enough on a new all-weather gallop with similar properties to dirt for Andre Fabre to get him a Classic entry, and the trainer remained so optimistic that a national racing correspondent gave him a gave a tip.
“I didn’t get the mount until four days before the race,” recalls Bailey, who won the Classic five times before retiring to become an analyst for NBC. “I had no idea what to expect. I was a huge strategist while driving. It was all preparation and knowing what to expect based on the form.
“There were very few videos at the time, so I had to rely on the form and knowledge of people around the horse. But the form for Arcangues only contained slogan and no details, so I relied on Fabre to fill me in.”
What happened next was a comedy of errors. “I went into the paddock at Santa Anita and there were about 1,000 people there and Andre Fabre is about my height,” Bailey continues. ‘So I couldn’t find him. I thought, ‘I’ll just go to the horse.’
‘They told me everything – but in French – so I had no idea’
“Fabre wasn’t there, but his assistants were very helpful and told me everything I needed to know – but in French – so I had no idea. I was on the horse about to walk through the tunnel when Fabre overtook him and all he said to me was: ‘good luck’. That’s all he said.
“I looked at the boards, the horse was 99-1. I figured European horses run from the back, I’ll ease him back and try to get him to finish in the middle, just to avoid embarrassment.
“But he jumped, I took him back and as he walked up the back area he started taking me with him. I didn’t ask him anything early.
“It picked up all the dirt just fine, no problem. I knew he would be on the board in the far corner [placed]didn’t win, but I was confident he would run well.
“But by the time we went home, I knew he was going to win. All I needed was a place to run and he went through a very small opening.
“There was never any hesitation on his part and never any adjustment when I thought he was getting used to the surface. You have to assume that such a trainer does not take such a horse to embarrass himself.”
And that’s what Bailey thinks about City Of Troy. “I realize it [owners] Coolmore are sportsmen and race horses to support the event, not always because they think they will win, but Aidan does [O’Brien]He’s a pretty smart kid and I don’t think he would take him if he didn’t have a chance.
“The city of Troy is small. Looking like a turf horse, he is longer built and smaller than Arcangues, who was a large, strong and beefy horse. City Of Troy has taken a big step and herein lies the big question mark; it’s clear from Aidan’s statements that once he gets to that step, he’ll keep going forever. It’s taking that step comfortably and not rushing early in the race to keep up.
“He not only has to be ready physically, but also with the [dirt] kick-back, he has to be mentally ready for it. That’s where it comes into play. If they are mentally strong, he may be able to take a few steps, but after that they will be fine. But if they are mentally weak, they suffer more.
“It’s not a Flightline-style race if there’s a monster [last year’s easy winner] there, but there are some really good horses running close to the pace. Arthur’s ride [an almost white horse] is not slowness and fierceness. They’ll set the pace even if Fierceness breaks slowly, which has been his downfall, but he gets the stalking-style trip he wants.
‘City Of Troy will dictate to Ryan how he rides him’
Bailey is still giving advice to Ballydoyle’s jockeys on the eve of the Breeders’ Cup. What will he tell Ryan Moore then?
“I’ll tell him what he already knows: that the two horses that will be one and two are the horses he has to beat. It’s not that you don’t have to worry about it. They won’t dictate how he rides City Of Troy.
“City Of Troy will dictate to Ryan how he rides him. At Arcangues I didn’t have to make too many decisions, he took me into the race. Whatever race, if the horse is willing and takes you, they make it easier.
What about Fabre? What is he thinking? “Arcangues was a good horse, but he was not yet three years old [he was aged five when he won],” he says. “But I think it’s all a lot of fuss about grass and dirt, it’s all nonsense. I don’t think you need anything else to win those races, it’s just about the ability of the horse.”
Was Arcangues Fabre’s greatest training achievement? “Not really,” he says modestly, “but it was a good day.”
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