France: As he prepares to partner Japanese Derby winner Do Deuce at ParisLonggchamp on Sunday, legendary jockey Yutaka Take has cited the challenge of winning the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as one of the reasons he is still riding at the age of 53.
The Japanese superstar is set to ride in Europe’s richest race for the tenth time on the Tokyo Yushun victor, thereby continuing a pursuit that has long obsessed the rider almost as much as his country’s owners and trainers.
With four horses set to line up in the €5m Arc, Japan is mounting its biggest challenge on a prize that has proved notoriously elusive since Speed Symboli became the nation’s first runner in 1969.
Titleholder, Do Deuce, Deep Bond and Stay Foolish are the quartet who will try to make history by ending a sequence in which Japanese horses have finished second four times with El Condor Pasa (1999), Nakayama Festa (2010) and Orfevre (2012 and 2013).
Take has ridden more than 4,300 winners in Japan in a 36-season career. Facing the media in Paris on Wednesday, he said: “To win the Arc has always been a dream and always been an objective of mine. The fact I am still riding shows it remains very high on my agenda for my career.”
He added: “Do Deuce won the Derby and after that victory we decided to come to France and run him in the Arc. I think he is the right horse for the race.
“He ran three weeks ago [fourth in the Prix Niel] when at the start he felt fine, but then I also felt that he was tired when we came to the final furlong. He hadn’t run for quite some time.
“I didn’t ride him in his work this morning but I saw him and thought he moved really well and had improved since that last run. I’ve ridden very good horses in the Arc and Do Deuce is going to be one of them. He is only three years old and is still improving.”
Japan’s main hopes are carried by Titleholder, who is unbeaten in 2022 after three victories including a pair of prestigious G1 events victories in the the Tenno Sho (Spring) and the Takarazuka Kinen in June, the last time he had a race. Regular jockey Kazuo Yokoyamo has travelled over to ride the colt.
Trainer Toru Kurita commented: “It’s a dream for everyone. Many prestigious Japanese horses have tried and haven’t won. For me it’s already a dream just to be at the start of this race but we will do as much as we can to win it.
“Everyone would be super happy if we could do it,” he added. “Every year horses come to Longchamp who have a lot of Japanese followers so we will try not to disappoint them.
“I can feel that the horse is getting better and better. He is improving and coming right for the race.”
Deep Bond, who finished last in the 2021 Arc, has another crack having finished second and fourth behind Titleholder this year. Stay Foolish was ninth in the Takarazuka Kinen but won in Saudi Arabia and Dubai; he will be ridden by French expat Christophe Lemaire.
“I hope it could be the year of the Japanese,” said Lemaire, Japan’s champion jockey for the last five seasons. “Stay Foolish has a different profile to the horses who have won Derbys and big G1s in Japan.
“He has improved a lot with age, especially over longer trips. He may not be as strong as a Derby winner but he has a lot of experience which will hold him in good stead.”
Lemaire went on: “We all know how difficult it is to win this race but we come with quality horses. We’ve seen in the past true champions like Orfevre have been unable to deliver because there are a lot of things that come into play in this race. If these horses are in form they have the quality, including Deep Bond. We have come here hoping to win the race.
“It’s not a question of being frustrated. Perhaps so straight after the race, but it’s not good to be frustrated for a long time because then you won’t achieve anything.
“Obviously the Arc is one of the biggest races every year. It’s a date that is very much on my calendar, especially because I am a French jockey. I live in Japan and if I can win the Arc, knowing what the race represents to the Japanese, with a Japanese horse that would be incredible.”
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