Wonder mare Treve has begun the road to an unprecedented third Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with an impressive victory in the Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud.
The Group Two race over a mile-and-a-quarter (2000m) was her first public appearance since her resounding second success in the Longchamp showpiece in October.
After a smart start, Treve was reined back by Thierry Jarnet as rank outsider and stablemate Silvaplana adopted a pacesetting role.
Having travelled strongly throughout, Treve moved closer to the front on the home turn and bounded clear.
Jarnet only had to keep riding Sheikh Joaan’s mare with hands and heels to pull clear of last season’s Prix de l’Opera winner We Are and win by four lengths.
“I am delighted. I have to be, she’s done everything I thought she would, and she will improve a lot from the run because she spent three months on the farm during the winter and hadn’t run since last October,” trainer Criquette Head-Maarek said.
“Thierry said she was very relaxed throughout the race and I could tell from the look on his face when he came back in that he is as thrilled as I am.”
Treve was scheduled to be retired after the Arc but Sheikh Joaan decided to bring her back for another campaign in the hope she can become the first horse to win Europe’s premier middle-distance event three times.
The trainer confirmed the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on June 28 would be next on the agenda.
“It was important that she ran well but it was a preparation for tougher races ahead and now our attention is set on the Grand Prix De Saint-Cloud at the end of next month,” she said.
“She will appreciate moving up to a mile and a half.
“To see a five-year-old mare do what she did today is quite something, and tells us we might have much to look forward to in her build-up to the Arc.”
