Treve’s jockey Thierry Jarnet has dismissed claims from Golden Horn’s owner Anthony Oppenheimer his star colt can easily beat the mare in her bid for a third Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Speaking to At The Races, Oppenheimer was confident his Derby, Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes winner Golden Horn would triumph if his favoured conditions prevail.
“If we had good to firm ground, I think we’d win easily. I think we’ve got a great chance,” Oppenheimer said.
“Treve is not that mad on really good ground and is not that brilliant.
“I would be very surprised if we couldn’t beat her and beat her quite well – that’s on good ground, not soft.”
Treve is the odds-on favourite to become the first horse in history to win the Longchamp showpiece three times in Paris on Sunday and Jarnet could not have been happier with her work-out on Tuesday morning.
“When I saw his last race, I was not that impressed,” Jarnet said when told of the comments.
“Yes, he wins like a good horse, like a tough horse, but now he has run many times already this season and we will see if the Arc might not be one race too many for him. However, he is a very good horse.”
Treve followed her lead horse on the grass track of Les Aigles before quickening clear in her usual exuberant style.
Treve’s trainer Criquette Head-Maarek gave her seal of approval to the morning blow-out.
“My impression is good. She is well, she was not pulling, she was very relaxed,” she said.
“Thierry thinks she is in top form, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
Leading owner Khalid Abdullah has won the Arc four times with Rainbow Quest (1985), Dancing Brave (1986), Rail Link (2006) and Workforce (2010) and could yet fire a twin assault at this year’s renewal.
Andre Fabre’s French Derby winner New Bay is widely regarded as Treve’s biggest threat from her own country.
Abdullah’s racing manager, Teddy Grimthorpe, admits the three-year-old will need to take his game to another level to deny Treve the hat-trick.
“We’ve got to find more than we’ve ever found,” Grimthorpe said.
“It depends on Treve and how she performs on the day, but on the whole, to win an Arc, most horses have to produce a lifetime best.”
