On Sunday Europe's most valuable horse race will take place, but much more than the €5 million purse is at stake in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe courtesy of a bay mare named Treve.
Although American race fans may not know Treve's name, odds are they know her connections. The 5-year-old mare is trained by Criquette Head-Maarek, whose brother Freddy trained the mighty Goldikova and rode the equally impressive Miesque.
In 2010, Goldikova became the first horse ever win three Breeders' Cup races, as she dominated in the Mile. The French-based mare gained quite a following in the United States due to her exploits at the end of season championship.
Treve is trying to pull of an even harder feat -- win the Arc three times. The race, which was first held in 1920, has been won twice by seven horses, but no one has pulled off the hat-trick. In fact, Treve was the first horse since Alleged in 1978 to be able to win it twice. Her story is also one that blends one of racing's best known families with one of its relative newcomers.
The Heads are racing royalty, and for good reason. Criquette became the first (and to date only) female trainer to win the Arc when she saddled Three Troikas to victory in 1979. A true family affair, Freddy rode the horse, who was owned and bred by their mother, Ghislaine.
Willie Head, Criquette's grandfather, trained the winner of the 1947 Arc, while her father, Alec, trained four victors of the famed race. Now 91 years young, Alec will be at Longchamp to cheer on Treve. After all, he is why she is still in training.
Treve was born at the family's farm, Haras du Quesnay, in France and was offered at auction as a yearling but bought back for a mere €22,000. At the time, that was equal to about $30,000. To date, she has won nine of her 12 career starts and earned more than $9.1 million, but she is no longer owned by the Head family.
Treve won her first two starts before taking the Group 1 Prix de Diane Longines (the French Oaks) in her first attempt at stakes company. That prompted Sheikh Joaan's Al Shaqab Racing to buy her privately, but he opted to leave her in the care of the people who had raised her. Treve went on to win the Group 1Qatar Prix Vermeille before taking her first Arc over Japanese Hall of Famer Orfevre.
The undefeated filly returned to race as a 4-year-old, but injuries plagued her season. Although she never ran badly, and always ran in top company, when she lined up for last year's Arc, she had not visited the winner's circle in a year. Many questioned why she was even there, until she skipped away to an easy victory over the globe-trotting Flintshire.
Unsurprisingly, Treve was retired immediately after the race and plans called for her to be bred to Dubawi. Then, a week later, in a stunning turn of events, it was announced Sheikh Joaan had changed his mind. He had paid the Head family a visit and asked Alec what he would do in his position. Alec told him that if the horse was his still his, he would run her at 5.
And so Treve has raced on.
When she enters the starting gate on Sunday, Treve will be carrying with her another undefeated season. She made her comeback in the Group 2 Prix Corrida before defeating Flintshire yet again, this time in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint Cloud. In her final prep before the Arc, she won her second Prix Vermeille in devastating fashion on Sept. 13.
Meanwhile, Flintshire came back to the United States to win the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes with ease. He will line up against Treve on Sunday though, as will English Derby hero Golden Horn and French Derby winner New Bay, among others.
Fillies and mares take on the colts much more regularly in Europe than they do in America, but Treve's career has still been remarkable. While she has been dominant on the track, she is docile in her stall. As a result, Head has routinely let visitors from all over the world come watch the sweet-tempered mare train at her base in Chantilly.
Always a popular runner, the media campaign behind Treve has been even stronger this year. She has a website, FollowTreve.com/en/, and a Follow Treve area has been arranged at Longchamp for the Arc. For only €25, fans in that section will be seated just in front of the finish line and given a gift bag with Treve goodies inside. This special part of the grandstand sold out rapidly.
Although across an ocean, the race is still likely to have an impact on American racing. Horses that run in the Arc have a tendency of showing up in the Breeders' Cup Turf. Just last year Flintshire finished second in both contests, and in 2011 St Nicholas Abbey finished fifth in the Arc before taking the Turf. The last Arc winner to ship to the United States was Workforce in 2010, but he did not run in the Turf due to ground conditions.
Going slightly further back, one of the most memorable Breeders' Cup Classics in history involved 2001 Arc winner Sakhee, who gave Tiznow all he could handle when finishing second by a nose while racing on dirt for the first time.
The Arc is likely to be Treve's swan song, and in a way it is Longchamp's as well. The track will be closed for two years for a remodel, and the 2016 Arc will be held at nearby Chantilly. To help put the tracks' respective sizes in perspective, it would be a bit like if the Kentucky Derby was held at Keeneland instead of Churchill Downs for a year.
It is worth tuning into the Arc both to see Treve's attempt at history and to get a look at competitors who might be America-bound in just a few weeks.