Treve: back in action at Saint-Cloud afternoon

 PICTURE: Frank Sorge

Treve revved up for first step towards Arc defence

THE target is an unprecedented third Arc victory and a place in racing history as Treve returns to action at Saint-Cloud today.

The first step of a season-long journey that could end with her wreathed in racing legend begins in the Group 2 Prix Corrida as Treve competes for the first time since winning a second Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October.

Prix de l’Opera winner We Are heads seven challengers in the 1m2½f contest and will provide a good indicator of how far along  Treve is on the road to the Arc, which is scheduled to take in  next month’s Grand Prix de  Saint-Cloud as well as the Prix Vermeille three weeks before D-day itself.

Seated in front of a giant Treve hoarding and flanked by jockey Thierry Jarnet and owner  Al Shaqab Racing’s representative Rupert Pritchard-Gordon, Criquette Head-Maarek said yesterday she still treats her star “just like any other horse”.

But the trainer must have known even as she uttered those words that, in all respects other than her own long-tested training methods, the start of a historic campaign to try to win a third Arc is anything but ordinary.

“We have prepared her well and she’ll win if she can,” said Head-Maarek about today’s mission. “It’s an easier comeback race than something like the Ganay or the Ispahan and we decided on it as a means of preparing for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. 

“So it’s not the main spring objective but it’s an important race and she will be trying to win.

“I’ve put Silvaplana in to try to ensure a good pace. I’m not sure how deep into the race she will be able to take them, but I wanted to make sure there was an even pace and we had no excuses.”

Treve’s two Arc-winning campaigns could hardly have been more different. The unbeaten filly of 2013 gave way to a four-year-old with a list of physical ailments that seemed to grow rather than shrink as the year progressed.

“At four she had physical problems but I always tried to seek solutions ahead of the Arc because she is quite seasonal  and I knew she would be a lot better in October than at the beginning of the year,” said  Head-Maarek.

“I told [owner] Sheikh Joaan not to be disappointed, even  when she was third in England and had all those physical problems. When you have an objective that you think is achievable you do everything you can. That is our job and it is the same with Treve as with any other horse.”

She added: “Racing is a fight and each combat takes its toll. She has spent three months on the farm and she hasn’t run since last October, so this will be a preparation for tougher races ahead in the Group 1s. She takes every race the same and that is her great strength.”

Trained by Head-Maarek’s brother Freddy, We Are has the advantage of having run  this season, although she did not live up to expectations behind Cirrus Des Aigles in the Prix Ganay.

“I was a bit disappointed although she probably had excuses,” said Head. “It was heavy ground and she saw too much daylight and was very free. But it wasn’t her best run. 

“Much like after her comeback run last autumn, I expect her to improve a lot here. She wore blinkers when she made her debut and we’ve put them back to sharpen her up.”

The third-placed effort of Sparkling Beam in last Sunday’s Prix d’Ispahan gave a timely boost to Mayhem, who defeated George Strawbridge’s mare by a nose in the Prix Allez France at Chantilly last month.

Trainer Philippe Sogorb said: “She is a really tough mare  who continues to improve and on top of that she is in really  good form at the moment. I definitely think she is in better condition than before her win in the Group 3.”

Groundstaff at Saint-Cloud have applied 20 millimetres of water during the week in order to maintain good ground, while the rail will be pushed out by ten metres around the course and 18 in the straight to provide fresh racing ground.

fonte : RacingPost