Andre Fabre against proposal to allow geldings to run in the Arc
French trainer Andre Fabre. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire.
Leading French trainer Andre Fabre is “firmly against” the proposal to open up the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to geldings from 2027.
Board members at France Galop “overwhelmingly approved” the change at a meeting on Monday. The European Pattern Committee will now need to approve the change for it to be ratified.
Fabre, who has won Europe’s premier middle-distance contest a record eight times – most recently in 2019 with Waldgeist – is not a fan of the proposed change to the race conditions.
“I am firmly against it,” Fabre told the Press Association. “It is just a proposition at this stage, but I cannot see any benefit.
“It is true that the last few winners have not gone on to be successful stallions, apart from Sea The Stars (2009), but we need more stallions not less.
“The Arc is always a big field so that is not the reason and will agree that a gelding is much easier to train than a colt – it is an advantage.
“It is a bit like the Derby at Epsom. Some of the (Derby winning) sires have not been the greatest recently, but it is all cycles.
“I’m a big fan of tradition and do not like to break it without a serious reason. Just because there are one or two horses horses who are better gelded, it would be a shame.”
A statement issued by France Galop on Tuesday read: “Following yesterday’s meeting of the France Galop board of directors, the board overwhelmingly approved a proposal from President Guillaume de Saint-Seine to allow geldings to compete in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
“This landmark decision marks a new step in France Galop’s ambition to establish the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as the undisputed global benchmark in Flat racing. By expanding the field of eligible runners, France Galop is pursuing a clear objective: to strengthen the sporting contest, increase the event’s appeal and make it an even more compelling spectacle at the heart of its sportainment strategy.
“The aim is to offer spectators at ParisLongchamp and television viewers around the world a simple but powerful promise: the opportunity to see, without exception, the world’s best three-year-olds and older horses compete over Flat racing’s most prestigious distance, 2,400 metres.
“As with the decision taken during Edouard de Rothschild’s presidency to shorten the distance of the Prix du Jockey Club, the full effects of this change will only be seen over time. The proposal must now be approved by the European Pattern Committee, which is expected to review it in the first quarter of 2027.”
High-profile recent examples of top-class geldings who may have run in the race had they been allowed include Francis-Henri Graffard’s pair of Goliath and Calandagan, with the latter ending last year as the world’s highest rated racehorse after winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, the King George and the Champion Stakes at Ascot and becoming the first overseas runner in 20 years to lift the Japan Cup.
In theory, Calandagan could therefore belatedly get his shot at Arc glory as a six-year-old for owners Aga Khan Studs, who despite his ineligibility won last year’s Arc anyway with the brilliant colt Daryz.
“As the owners of Calandagan, obviously it was a bit frustrating that the big race he would go for in France wasn’t open to him, but as it turned out we won the race with Daryz and it meant Calandagan went to international targets, so in a global sense it wasn’t something that impacted us too much,” said Nemone Routh, French racing manager and director for the Aga Khan Studs.
“The 2027 Arc is a long way off and he has shown he doesn’t really like testing ground. If he’s still in great form and happy and he’s thriving obviously it would have to come into consideration, but it is a long way away.”
