We’re still recovering from another Arc weekend, but it was a great party and what an amazing race. Our paddock-side group grew to 28 people this year, as we gathered owners, potential owners and breeders from far and wide – a few Americans, plenty from England, a dash of Luxembourg, some Canadians (!) and even a couple of French people for good measure. We had a great corner table overlooking the parade ring, giving everyone a pretty close view of Treve, Orfevre, Intello and the rest.
We had a bit of racing of our own around the big day. Eternal Gift ran very well in the mile handicap on Saturday, settling for 5th (and another check) but giving us a good yell in any case when he hit the front just a little too far from the winning post. Hera Eria ran 2nd at Compiegne last week, rewarding a somewhat audacious try at a mile after usually running nearly double that. And King Driver had to settle for fourth at Chantilly on Monday, again a race he could have won easily with a better trip. This time we had the other extreme – rather than running too fast out front, he got stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out in time. With a decent trip, he will win, but it’s frustrating to not quite get there.
Hard Way goes to St. Cloud tomorrow for a 3,100-meter handicap. The competition is tough, but it is raining, and every drop helps his chances. He seems well, but Hard Way never really lets us know what he’s going to do until he does it, so we shall see. Gorki Park goes to Chantilly on Friday, and Gold Knight will race in Maisons-Laffitte on Saturday. We would very much like at least one of these guys to bump up the win column. Meanwhile, we’ve got Grey Falcon in the wings for next week.