Murphy And Demuro Outline Arc Ambitions
Cristian Demuro has won the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice but he’s not done yet with Europe’s great autumn feature. The Italian’s ambition is to turn two into three on Sunday, although his mount this time, Leffard, has a bit to prove.
But if the third win doesn’t come Demuro’s way this weekend, his quest for another Arc triumph will go on into next year and the next; he’s tasted victory and like any good competitor, he’s not satisfied.
“Every jockey in Europe, when they start being a jockey, they dream to win this race, so when you win, it’s something special. Winning twice is even more special and I’ve been lucky to win the Arc on two good horses,” Demuro told Idol Horse.
“It’s one of the biggest races in the world: when you die, your name will be in the records, your name is there with one of the best races in the world.”
Oisin Murphy and the whole of Japanese racing want to be in those records, too. Japan has three horses going into the Arc off the back of trial wins and Murphy will ride the surprise bundle, Byzantine Dream.
Murphy’s ambition is clear: “The Arc is the one race I’d like to win more than any other, so it’s very, very important to me,” he told Idol Horse this week and he could just as well have been speaking for Japan’s racing fans.
If he wins Sunday’s big race on the Tomoyasu Sakaguchi-trained four-year-old, he will become those fans’ number one poster boy, known forever as the rider who ended the long wait to win the race a Japanese horse first contested in 1969.
Since Speed Symboli was 11th behind Levmoss all those years ago, 35 Japanese-trained horses have attempted to win the Arc. Thirty-one of those have tried since 1999 when El Condor Pasa kicked on only to be mown down late by the brilliant French champion Montjeu.
Japan’s past raiders have included some of the best horses the country has produced, including the great Deep Impact and his fellow Triple Crown winner Orfevre.
Demuro, a regular winter competitor in the JRA (Japan Racing Association), believes Murphy could be riding the best of the Japanese: the raiding trio also features Alohi Alii, impressive winning the G2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano in August, and the G1 Tokyo Yushun winner Croix Du Nord, successful in the G3 Prix du Prince d’Orange last time.
“In terms of pure class Croix Du Nord is the best of the Japanese, but Byzantine Dream showed on the track and the distance in the Prix Foy that if you’re going to take one horse that is with a Japanese trainer, you would take Byzantine Dream this year,” Demuro said.
“I don’t think Croix du Nord showed much in the Group 3 at Longchamp and maybe good ground is better for him. Byzantine Dream, he goes everywhere, so for me he’s the best chance for the Japanese.”
Murphy hopes Demuro is right. Britain’s four-time champion jockey believes the horse he rode to victory over almost two miles in Saudi Arabia in February will relish the mile and a half distance. But he also takes a different view to Demuro about Croix Du Nord.
“Byzantine Dream won the Foy nicely, I was delighted with the turn-of-foot he showed at the time; I thought Sosie was a good benchmark,” Murphy said.
“I really don’t think he’s a strong stayer at those extreme distances. I even thought when he won in Riyadh, he went to kick clear then shut down late and that was a very sharp track on very fast ground. I think a mile and a half is probably a very good distance for him.
“I also think the other Japanese horses that won their trials as well, Croix Du Nord and Alohi Alii, both were quite impressive. I thought Croix du Nord was particularly impressive considering it was a mile and a quarter and it was a false-run race. I love the way that he relaxed and the way he galloped through the line.”
Demuro’s own mount Leffard was impressive when winning the G1 Grand Prix du Paris in July, but last time in the G2 Prix Niel at Longchamp he was an outpaced sixth, beaten two and three-quarter lengths behind Godolphin’s Arc contender, Cualificar.
“Leffard was impressive in the Grand Prix de Paris, so if he can repeat that performance, he has a chance, but in the last race I didn’t find he was the same horse,” Demuro said.
“He had a good break after the Grand Prix de Paris and I think he wasn’t 100 per cent last time. With a bad draw, I rode him from behind and he didn’t have the good turn-of-foot; he came on at the end a little bit and I think he will improve after that race but I think it will be difficult this year for him.”
As for the rest of the field, Murphy takes the view that the fillies are the ones to beat.
“Aventure and Minnie Hauk deserve to be at the top of the market,” he added. Aventure has had a faultless prep and Aiden O’Brien has a great record in the race so Minnie Hauk deserves an awful lot of respect.”
This Week In Horse Racing History
The great Secretariat suffered the fourth and final defeat of his career in the Woodward Stakes over a mile and a half on September 29, 1973. Prove Out was the horse that defeated him, by four and a half lengths on a muddy track. Secretariat would wind out his career with impressive wins on turf in the Man O’ War Stakes and the Canadian International.
Jockey Club stewards in England took the sensational action of warning off and withdrawing the riding licence of the previous season’s champion jockey Lester Reiff on October 2, 1902. Reiff was one of a number of American riders dominating the top of the jockey ranks in Britain at that time. Talk of skulduggery and betting coups followed Reiff around, though, and after the running of the New Barns Plate at Manchester in September, the local stewards judged that Reiff, that year’s Derby-wining jockey, had ‘stopped’ De Lacy.
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was first run on October 3, 1920 for a winner’s prize of 150,000 francs. Comrade, a three-year-old colt owned by Evremond de Saint-Alary, trained in Britain by Peter Gilpin and ridden by Frank Bullock, won the race by a length from the six-year-old King’s Cross.
Racing Photo Of The Week
Eyes on the prize? Final Arc preparations for Japanese Derby winner Croix du Nord.
Date
1 October, 2025
Photographer
Scoopdyga
Location
Coye-la-Foret
CLOSE
Eyes on the prize? Final Arc preparations for Japanese Derby winner Croix du Nord.
Idol Horse Reads Of The Week
With the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe front and centre this week, now would be a great time to revisit Jim McGrath’s memories of the brilliant Sea The Stars who cemented his legacy in the Paris showpiece. Read his comments and listen to the full podcast here.
Superstar
Jim McGrath And Sea The Stars’ Iconic Arc
Adam Pengilly was on course at Rosehill last weekend to see the Chris Waller machine roll on with Darren Beadman as part of backroom team and questions: “Is there any way to get people back?” to the track that “stands as a monument of indecision.”
Golden Rose Day
No Sale, No Spectators, and Waller’s New, Familiar Lieutenant
Gerald Mosse won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1990 during a stellar career that saw hom win major races all around the world. David Morgan spoke to the Frenchman last summer as he shifted from jockey to trainer and recalled great races, champion horses and countless childhood hours riding his pony everywhere he went.
David Morgan
Gerald Mosse: Always A Horseman
The Aga Khan’s passing at age 88 last February brought tributes from many across the sport, including Christophe Lemaire who spoke to Idol Horse at the time. The Aga Khan was a prominent face at Longchamp across several decades as one of the sport’s most high profile owner-breeders, winning the Arc four times, so it’s natural that there will be poignancy when his silks are carried to post by Daryz for this year’s Arc.
Tribute
Aga Khan’s “Charisma” And “Aura” Will Be Missed: Lemaire
Global Blackbook
There was Group 1 action at Newmarket, England last weekend with Godolphin’s colt Wise Approach winning the G1 Middle Park Stakes and Coolmore’s filly True Love taking the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes. But 24 hours earlier on the Rowley Mile course another filly caught the eye as a candidate for Classic consideration next spring, the G2 Rockfel Stakes winner Zanthos, trained by Simon and Ed Crisford.
Zanthos won her maiden easily at Newmarket in July but was a well-beaten second at Leicester at the start of September behind Touleen. That filly was the warm favourite for the Rockfel with Zanthos a 15/2 chance, but the Crisfords’ prospect showed class and toughness as she made all down the stands side rail.
Zanthos makes most to land the G2 @BoyleSports Home Of Early Payout Rockfel Stakes 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xsSgkbm8Nl
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) September 26, 2025
Recent Rockfel winners have gone on to perform at a high level without winning a coveted Group 1, but look past the last decade and Musical Bliss went on to win the G1 1,000 Guineas in 1989, as did Lahan in 1999, Speciosa in 2006, and Finsceal Beo won the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas in 2007; the 1998 Rockfel winner Hula Angel also won the Irish 1,000 Guineas as did the 2012 heroine Just The Judge, while Maid’s Causeway, successful in 2004, went on to win the G1 Coronation Stakes.
World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up
🇫🇷 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Day
5 October
G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (IHFA-rated equal 5th), G1 Prix de la Foret (rated equal 98th)
A field of 18 will contest the feature, the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, led by three-time Oaks winner Minnie Hauk, last year’s runner-up Aventure and a Japanese trio headlined by Tokyo Yushun hero Croix du Nord. Elsewhere on the card, among six Group 1 features, G1 French 1,000 Guineas winner Zarigana tackles G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest hero Sajir and G1 Sussex Stakes victor Qirat in the G1 Prix de la Foret and speedy mare Asfoora will attempt to become the first Australian-trained winner in France in the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye.
🇦🇺 Might And Power Day
11 October
G1 Might And Power Stakes
The G1 Caulfield Guineas picture remains murky after key lead-ups last weekend. Likely favourite Autumn Boy disappointed in the G1 Golden Rose but appeared in need of a mile, while Group 1 winner Vinrock missed the start in the G2 Stutt Stakes and could only manage fifth. Stutt victor West Of Swindon emerged as a contender, as did Sandown handicap winner Navy Pilot, while Golden Rose runner-up Wodeton has been rerouted from The Everest to the Guineas. Treasurethe Moment remains the leading contender for the G1 Might And Power Stakes despite finishing second to Pride of Jenni in the G2 Feehan Stakes last weekend, while the card also features the G1 Toorak Handicap at a mile.
🇬🇧 Dewhurst Stakes Day
11 October
G1 Dewhurst Stakes
A rematch between G1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes quinella Zavateri and Gstaad is set to take place at Newmarket. A head separated the pair at the Curragh and their return bout, this time on Zavateri’s home turf, is eagerly anticipated. Last week’s G3 Tattersalls Stakes winner Distant Storm may add further spice to the contest. The Dewhurst meeting will also feature three Group 3 races and the historic Cesarewitch Handicap, which dates back to 1839.
🇦🇺 The Everest Day
18 October
G1 The Everest (IHFA-rated equal 29th), G1 King Charles III Stakes (rated equal 59th)
Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising is already attracting plenty of attention at Canterbury Racecourse ahead of his quest for the world’s richest turf race, the A$20 million G1 The Everest, and that will only skyrocket when he barrier trials next Tuesday at Randwick. This weekend’s G2 Premiere Stakes at Randwick and a pair of sprints at Flemington, the G2 Danehill Stakes for three-year-olds and the G2 Gilgai Stakes, serve as the final opportunities to press claims for one of the few remaining slots.
🇦🇺 Caulfield Cup Day
18 October
G1 Caulfield Cup
The Caulfield Cup market will be shaped by this weekend’s action at Flemington and Randwick. Of the last 10 Australian and New Zealand-trained winners of the Caulfield Cup, seven raced in either the G1 Turnbull Stakes or the G1 Metropolitan. The G3 Bart Cummings also features Caulfield Cup contenders. Four of the first six in antepost markets – Half Yours, Aeliana, Birdman and Land Legend – are entered for this weekend’s races. International runners Meydaan, Golden Snap, Presage Nocturne and Absurde also landed in Melbourne earlier this week.
🇬🇧 British Champions Day
18 October
G1 Champion Stakes (IHFA-rated equal 16th), G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (rated equal 29th)
There’s a feast of top-class action at Ascot with five Group 1 races, headed by the G1 Champion Stakes. That contest could feature an exciting rematch between Irish Champion Stakes and Eclipse Stakes winner Delacroix and his Juddmonte International Stakes conqueror Ombudsman, while Calandagan is likely to return to 10 furlongs too. In the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile, Field Of Gold will attempt to atone for his defeat in the G1 Sussex Stakes last time in an open division.
🇧🇷 Gran Premio Latinoamericano Day
18 October
G1 Gran Premio Latinoamericano
South America’s championship race, the G1 Gran Premio Latinoamericano, returns to Brazil and to Gavea for the first time since 2016. The 16 runners have already been confirmed and will feature two Argentineans, three Chileans, six Peruvians and a Uruguayan to tackle four Brazilians. Joao Moreira will return from Japan to continue his association with Sao Paulo hero Obataye.
🇦🇺 Cox Plate Day
25 October
G1 Cox Plate (IHFA-rated equal 10th)
A bittersweet day as Moonee Valley, which has hosted racing around its tight circuit since 1883, stages its final meeting in its current configuration. As soon as its most famous race, the G1 Cox Plate, is held for the 104th year, the track will close and the course reconfigured with the grandstand moved to the current 800m mark. The milestone Cox Plate will be headlined by Via Sistina, who is aiming to become the 14th horse to win the race on multiple occasions, but she will face a strong field that includes top four-year-old mares Aeliana and Treasurethe Moment, French import Sir Delius and older Group 1 winners Antino and Buckaroo. ∎
Jockey Profile
Oisin Murphy’s Journey To The Top Of Flat Racing
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AloJapan.com