Aventure, Byzantine Dream, Cualificar upstage favorites in Arc trials

Favorites were overturned in all three trials for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) at ParisLongchamp on Sunday, scrambling the antepost market for the Oct. 5 showpiece.

Whirl, who had been prominent in the Arc betting, trailed home last as the odds-on favorite in the Prix Vermeille (G1). The ultra-logical winner Aventure, runner-up in last year’s Vermeille and in the Arc itself, earned her first Group 1 laurel and propelled herself to the top of the Arc market.

Aventure’s Wertheimer et Frere colleague, Sosie, was the beaten favorite in the Prix Foy (G2). But he succumbed by only a half-length to Japan’s Byzantine Dream in the fastest of the course-and-distance preps. Might he be the one to give Japan a long-coveted Arc trophy? As noted below, there are other, possibly better, Japanese hopes in the wings. 

While the Prix Niel (G2) for sophomores turned out to be the slowest of the three trials, Godolphin’s Cualificar can be upgraded for overcoming traffic trouble. Favored Leffard failed to factor in sixth, but the race didn’t set up for him. 

The harbinger had come earlier in Britain on Saturday, when another former Arc favorite, Kalpana, was beaten by Giavellotto in the September (G3) at Kempton. 

The theme of beaten favorites extended to the milers in Sunday’s Prix du Moulin (G1), as Sahlan jumped up to put himself in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) picture. 

Prix Vermeille (G1)

Whirl was all the rage after her conquests of the Pretty Polly (G1) and Nassau (G1), but the Aidan O’Brien filly could not replicate her front-running heroics here. As she faded down the stretch, so did the likelihood of her being supplemented for the Arc. 

At the same time, it underscored that stablemate Minnie Hauk is now Ballydoyle's top prospect for the Arc. The streaking winner of the Epsom/Irish/Yorkshire Oaks (G1) treble was originally expected to bypass Paris and focus on the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1). Antepost bettors were already flocking on Sunday to back Minnie Hauk, who rivals Aventure in the reshuffled Arc market.

Yet Aventure has top-drawer form not only from last year’s Arc, but also this season, as the runner-up to Calandagan in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1). The daughter of 2009 Arc legend Sea the Stars ran right up to that lofty standard in the Vermeille, making her $7.80 payout as the second choice seem generous.  

Trained by Christophe Ferland and piloted by Maxime Guyon, Aventure traveled beautifully in fourth early and cruised to the fore in the lane. The Wertheimer homebred crossed the wire a comfortable 1 1/2 lengths clear of sophomore Gezora, who was not given a hard time in her tune-up.

Gezora had not raced since capturing the June 15 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) (G1). Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard was inclined to try the Peter Brant filly in the Arc. 

Bedtime Story, the French Oaks runner-up, rallied belatedly for third in the Vermeille. She just nipped Survie on the line. Ballydoyle’s second stringer here, Bedtime Story, clocked the fastest final sectional in :33.07, but not by much compared to Gezora’s :33.09 and Aventure’s :33.11 for the last 600 meters (about three furlongs). 

Aventure polished off about 1 1/2 miles in 2:29.34 on good-to-soft ground, advancing her record to 12-6-5-0. 

“She really deserved to win a Group 1,” Guyon said. “She had been knocking on the door, always beaten by top-class horses. Her trainer chose to skip the Prix Jean Romanet (G1) at Deauville to focus on the Vermeille, and it was the right call. Today, I won ‘à la mode’ (very easily)! She’s just fantastic!”

Prix Foy (G2)

Byzantine Dream’s top efforts have come over longer distances, implying that he could be outkicked in these conditions. But the Tomoyasu Sakaguchi trainee actually had the superior turn of foot. Quickening in a field-best :33.09 under Oisin Murphy, he denied Sosie in a strong final time of 2:28.32.

The Foy featured a more genuine tempo than the other trials, thanks to Ballydoyle pacemaker Mont St Michel, who was setting the stage for Los Angeles. Although Los Angeles picked up the baton and struck the front, he could not maintain his advantage and flattened out in fourth. This was arguably a step in the right direction, although Los Angeles must find more to match his third in last year’s Arc.

Kazumi Yoshida’s Byzantine Dream returned $24.40 while burnishing his Arc credentials. Unplaced in a trio of Japanese classics last season, the Epiphaneia colt has progressed at four. Byzantine Dream upset the about 1 7/8-mile Red Sea Turf H. (G2) on the Saudi Cup (G1) card and missed by a head in Kyoto’s Tenno Sho Spring (G1) over two metric miles on May 4. 

Cutting back in trip off the layoff was no problem in the Foy, but softer going in the Arc might be. 

“The jockey rode a perfect race,” Sakaguchi said of Murphy. “It’s a beautiful victory. He still has room for improvement. He will be at the peak of his condition for the Arc. Today was just a prep race, and he still has something in hand. The question will be the ground, but the main goal is to have the horse ready for the Arc, and then we’ll see how the ground turns out on the day.”

Byzantine Dream is the second Japanese hopeful to win his 2025 Arc prep on French soil, following three-year-old Alohi Alii in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (G2). Both buttress the claims of Japan’s leading Arc contender, Croix du Nord, who is slated for next Sunday’s Prix du Prince d’Orange (G3). Shin Emperor can also put himself right back in the hunt in Saturday’s Irish Champion (G1). 

Prix Niel (G2)

Cualificar was a less-than-cranked third behind Alohi Alii at Deauville, but the Andre Fabre pupil reaped the benefits of that prep. A close runner-up in the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) (G1) two back, the Lope de Vega colt was stepping up to about 1 1/2 miles for the first time here. His dam, Qualify, surprised the 2015 Oaks at Epsom as a 50-1 shot, and she has apparently contributed her stamina.

If the Niel’s slower pace and lack of star power may leave a smidgeon of uncertainty, there’s no doubting Cualificar’s attitude. British outsider Bay City Roller swept to the front as Cualificar was still strung up on the inside. Yet once Buick bulled a way through, Cualificar lengthened stride and nabbed Bay City Roller in 2:30.56.

Leffard, last seen landing a much faster Grand Prix de Paris at this track and trip, was done no favors by the race shape. The sixth-placer nevertheless still delivered the fastest final sectional in :34, a whisker better than Bay City Roller’s :34.01 and Cualificar’s :34.09.

Cualificar, who paid $6.80 as the second choice, sports a mark of 8-4-1-2. 

Prix du Moulin (G1)

Ninth behind Henri Matisse in the May 11 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) (G1), Sahlan not only had to reverse the classic form. The Al Shaqab homebred also had to step up to beat older divisional mainstays, chief among them the unlucky Rosallion. 

Moreover, Sahlan wasn’t even engaged in the Moulin initially, and his connections had to supplement him. Yet the progressive three-year-old justified their investment by springing the $34.20 upset. He was part of a Group 1 double for Graffard, who also won Sunday’s Grosser Preis von Baden (G1) with Goliath.

Well handled by Mickael Barzalona, Sahlan was covered up from his plum post 6 and settled off the pace served up by Ballydoyle’s Serengeti. When favored Henri Matisse tried to make a short-lived move, Sahlan followed him through, angled into the seam, and gradually asserted.

Rosallion, held up further back from the disadvantageous post 11, came rolling late, but the wire came in time for Sahlan. The margin was a short head in a final time of 1:35.39. 

The Lion in Winter was a further neck away in third, a vastly improved performance that puts him squarely back in the divisional picture for O’Brien. Stablemate Henri Matisse didn’t find as much as expected in fifth. 

A Wootton Bassett colt like Henri Matisse, Sahlan was coming off his first Group victory in the Aug. 10 Prix Daphnis (G3). His resume now reads 6-3-1-0.

“It’s fantastic,” Graffard said. “He’s a horse I’ve always liked. We’ve had some tricky moments with him, but when things don’t go right, you have to know how to sit tight. 

“By supplementing him today, I took a risk, especially since his owners had already turned down some big offers. But I told them we would win a Group 1 with him, even if maybe not this year…I insisted they keep him and not sell him right away…Sometimes you have to take risks. 

“I’m over the moon! He has such a powerful turn of foot! Not long ago, if I had said I’d win the Moulin, people would have thought I was crazy…but the owners’ trust really helped. I also want to congratulate my team, who have done an extraordinary job. 

“Now, I’m thinking of the Breeders’ Cup Mile for him. But I need to discuss it with his owners.”

The Moulin was yet another agonizing defeat for Rosallion, who flew his last sectional in :33.15, by far the fastest in the field. Sahlan was the next-best at :33.47. Trainer Richard Hannon has mentioned the Breeders’ Cup before as a good spot for Rosallion, raising the possibility of a fascinating rematch at Del Mar.