Adam McNamara on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

We are heading in to the twilight of the 2022 flat season, and most of the major racing festivals have come and gone. The UK has treated us to some outstanding individuals again this year, both equine and human, but it’s across the channel where our attention will be focused this weekend. 

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is steeped in racing history. The horses who have won it are woven into the fabric of an immortal tapestry. Many a great has risen to the challenge, overcome the odds and earned their rightful place on that very tapestry. Many a potential great has fallen just short, been overwhelmed on that storied stage and missed out on eternal greatness. Think of Sea the Stars under Mick Kinane, pinned to the rail down the inside. He either needed to jump over his opponent’s or sprout wings when the gaps came. Either way he had to embody Pegasus and pull off the unthinkable.  He did, hence his name is still on our lips so many years on. This year Torquator Tasso will try to emulate those rare handful who have managed to pull off the unthinkable and win two Arcs, but he’s going to have some serious competition.

Luxembourg currently heads the market for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore who are of course no strangers to winning Arcs. His performance last time out in the Champion Stakes makes him a justifiable favourite here. He is re opposed by the horse the finished a half length behind him that day, Onesto and the third horse Vadeni. Both of those will be capable of running him close again and each of them have the advantage of course form. I didn’t side with Alpanista on her last run and she went and proved me wrong, so I’m not going to go against her here. Whether she’s beaten horses of the same calibre as the likes of Luxembourg is up for debate, but she manages to pull it out of the bag every time so it’s hard to really fancy something else when you know she’s going to be there looming with a challenge. Of the remaining runners you can give chances to plenty, and the Arc has never been short of surprises. Will this be a historic renewal? Possibly not. It may lack the “superstar” or the history maker, and we would have loved to see Baeed have a go, but it’s sure to be a hell of a race none the less. 

Harrowells offers specialist legal support to trainers, breeders, racecourses, owners and jockeys. We first came into contact with Adam in 2016 when we sponsored him under the apprentice jockey scheme we were running at that time. In the same year, he went on to win the prestigious Ebor Race at York and posted a number of well received blogs on horse racing. We have asked him to return as a regular guest commentator and to offer up some insights into racing life.

Adam is not an employee of Harrowells Limited. The views he expresses in his blogs and on his social media accounts are his own.