Major upset in Arc
NZPA-Reuter Paris The English champion jockey, Pat Eddery, rid* ing Trempolino, won the Prix de i’Arc de Triomphe for the third successive year on Sunday. The hot favourite, Reference Point, was eighth of the 11 runners. Trempolino easily held off the Italian challenger, Tony Bln, ridden by Cash Asmussen, to win by two lengths in a record time.
The chief French hope, Triptych, ridden by Tony Cruz, made late headway to finish three lengths away in third place, the same position she filled last year when Eddery won on Dancing Brave. The large British contingent could hardly believe their eyes. As usual Reference Point, winner of the English Derby, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and the St Leger, set out to make all the running. All looked well turning into the straight where Reference Point and his. American jockey, Steve Cauthen, still held the lead from the Aga Khan’s duo of Sharaniya, and the French Derby winner, Natroun. Then, suddenly, 3Hm from home, Reference Point folded. Trempolino
quickly went three lengths clear and Tony Bln, running the race of his life, could not catch him.
A one-time invalid, Reference Point had been aiming to bring the curtain down on a remarkable career with a history-making triumph.
He would have been the first horse to win the St Leger and the Arc in the same season, overshadowing his maternal grandsire, Nijinsky, which failed here 17 years ago after winning the Leger.
The colt was also trying to follow in the footsteps of his sire, Mill Reef, the last horse to achieve the English Derby-Arc double, in 1971. Reference Point now goes to stud. The 11-strong field was the smallest since 1948, but as usual it was full of quality and a worthy one to present before the French president, Francois Mitterrand, making his first visit to the Arc.
It was a disappointing end for the French veteran, Yves Saint-Martin, having his final ride in the Arc before retiring at the end of the season. Saint-Martin, who has won the race four times, was on the French Derby winner, Natroun, which finished ninth.
The winning time of 2:26.3 broke the record set 12 months ago when Dancing Brave recorded 2:27.7.
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Press, 6 October 1987, Page 53
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376Major upset in Arc Press, 6 October 1987, Page 53
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