Paris // As the buses sat end-to-end outside Longchamp racecourse to take more than 2,000 Japanese racegoers into the night late on Sunday, Christophe Soumillon delivered a lengthy mea culpa to the world's media.
Hours before the Belgian rider had made an audacious bid to hand Japan its first win in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe from 13 attempts.
He had taken the lead 300 metres from the line in what he felt was going to be his third victory in Europe's middle distance championship after Dalakhani (2003) and Zarkava (2008). When it mattered most, however, one of the most capable jockeys of his generation suffered for a split-second mistake that resulted in Orfevre finishing behind Olivier Peslier and Solemia, who now heads to the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita next month.
"He ran the perfect race," Soumillon said, trying in vain to pull the wool over the eyes of the assembled Japanese reporters, of which there were over 100 accredited.
"The horse was going well and when a horse goes well in the Arc you can't just sit there and wait."
Orfevre passed 12 horses in a single furlong such was the pace and power of his electrifying burst and there can be little doubt had Soumillon waited to press the accelerator, even for a split-second, then his mount would have bottomed out after the line, rather than before it.
Throughout the afternoon in the build-up to the Arc, vanquished trainers had told anyone who would listen that the going was tough.
"I don't want to repeat what Richard Hughes said but in the cleanest possible way it is very soft out there," Richard Hannon said after his Olympic Glory had won the Prix Jean-Luc Lagadere with Hughes in the saddle.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Hughes, whose ability to ride hold-up horses has attracted the nickname "The Head Waiter", appeared to criticise Soumillon on Twitter afterwards. "If you are going well, stay going well is my motto," he wrote.
The amount of excuses Soumillon came up with during a monologue that stretched into minutes suggested that deep down the 31 year old knew he had made a mistake.
"The sort of race that he had is unprecedented in the Arc," Soumillon said. "Once I had the lead, no one could have imagined that we'd be beaten. It needed one or two better horses in the race because they were all tired. He pulled on the reins a lot. The overconfidence in him defeated us.
"He stopped because the ground was so heavy and as everyone knows he is too clever and cheeky sometimes.
"If he had stayed straight he would have won the Arc by three or four lengths. I am sorry but I have no regrets."
Last season, Soumillon rode Cirrus Des Aigles to victory in the Champion Stakes at Ascot.
He was on Princess Haya's Colombian, who finished fourth, when the six year old powered to a nine-length success in the Prix Dollar with Peslier aboard here on Saturday.
Cirrus Des Aigles is set to defend his title against Frankel in a two weeks but Soumillon would prefer to be on another runner.
"For me it was a great moment to ride a horse like him. He is honestly the best horse I have ever ridden, even [than] Zarkava. I have never seen a horse have such a turn of foot that kills everyone in a few strides like that.
"The Yoshida family [the owners] are a great sporting family and I thank them for bringing the horse to the Arc. His career is not over and he is a horse that will always be remembered.
"It's sad because he's got huge potential. I hope he'll run against Frankel in the Champion Stakes, or else in the Japan Cup."
sports@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Easter%20Sunday
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Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
