The most unforgettable runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe tend to be defined by the name of the winner: Dancing Brave in 1986, Sea The Stars in 2009 and the unbeaten Zarkava’s retirement run the year before. But for anyone who was lucky enough to be there, Arc day in 2006 was as memorable as any of recent decades, and it was all thanks to the horse that crossed the line in third.
Deep Impact was not the first runner from Japan in Europe’s most prestigious all-aged race. But he was, by a long way, the most popular, and the combination of a horse with an aura of invincibility and his superstar jockey, Yutaka Take, persuaded tens of thousands of fans to make the 12,500-mile round trip to Paris for a two-and-a-half minute horse race.
