Glory for Sir Mark Prescott as Alpinista reigns in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 

At the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Sir Mark Prescott described previous experiences of disappointing, lost trips to France as his ‘Dunkirk’.

On Sunday, Alpinista, Newmarket’s longest-serving trainer, delivered his VE Day with a stunning half-win in Paris in Europe’s most prestigious race. Prescott described it as “the best day of my racing life.”

The 20-rider race looked devilishly competitive and was preceded by a cloudburst that turned Longchamp into a swamp, but it went like clockwork for the well-supported 7-2 favorite under jockey Luke Morris.

Alpinista sat out for a long time, beating Vadeni half a length, with 2021 winner Torquator Tasso a neck further back in third. Alpinista never looks like she would be overhauled.

Alpinista, bred and owned by Kirsten Rausing, has now won her last eight races – six at Group 1 level – in a series dating back to April 2021.

Prescott, 74, is known as one of the sport’s brightest planners thanks to horses like Spindrifter, who then won a record 13 races as a two-year-old in 1990, and Masafi, who took seven wins in 18 days in 2004. , but Alpinista’s effort surpasses it all.

Resisting the temptation to run the mare in last year’s Arc, Prescott said, “It’s the best day of my racing life. I always thought it was when I got a winner on my first ride when I was 16 when it supposedly didn’t stand a chance. I thought these were the best 10 minutes of my life, but this is just as good.

“Alpinista has improved every run for the past two years. She has been faultless and the jockey has also been faultless.

Sir Mark Prescott (left) described the win in Paris as the best day of his racing life

“The race went like a dream. If she hadn’t been mine I’d have thought she’d win every inch of the road, but if it’s yours, it’s a nightmare. If you’re a racehorse trainer, you can’t imagine a better day.”

Morris, 33, has now won eight group races but admitted he had to hold back tears after his win. Riding his first Arc, Morris said, “In the past week or so I must have watched the last 25 Arcs and I’ve never seen a jockey sitting still at the furlong pole. Alpinista is very special.’

The early pace was set by the Japan title holder, who faded to eleventh, four places behind Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg, who never threatened.

Christophe Soumillon took an unpopular win, 48 hours after shocking the racing world by pushing fellow rider Rossa Ryan out of the saddle, nearly ran off as his horse Vadeni rode into second place. Soumillon came under scrutiny and his near miss seemed to overcome the 10-time French champion jockey and he was in tears afterwards.

The early pace on Sunday was set by the Japanese title holder, who faded to 11th

Frankie Dettori, chasing a seventh Arc win, said Torquator hadn’t helped Tasso, the third-seeded player, in stable 18, but admitted the first two were ‘too strong’. The consolation prize for Dettori was the victory over Ralph Beckett’s Kinross in the Prix de la Foret.

Hollie Doyle also won her first race at the Arc Meeting when she landed the Prix de l’Abbaye on The Platinum Queen.

But yesterday was all about entertaining storyteller Prescott, one of the sharpest students in the history of the sport. The trainer, who says he would have liked to become a criminal lawyer if he hadn’t taken up racing, has a wide range of interests, including boxing, movies and bullfighting.

Coincidentally, Alpinista, who now went for the Japan Cup in November, became the first five-year-old mare to win the Arc since Corrida in 1937. Corrida is what the Spaniards call a bullfight.

Alpinista became the first five-year-old mare to win the Arc since Corrida in 1937

Having had to fend off questions about retirement in recent years, Prescott admitted that Alpinista’s win could be bad news for longtime assistant William Butler, who will eventually take over his stable.

Prescott said, “Poor William will view this victory with mixed feelings. It’ll probably make me stagger a little longer.’

Butler will no doubt forgive the boss, who once said he would swim across the Channel if he thought he could win the Arc. He probably walked over it last night to return to his beloved Newmarket.