Punters were celebrating as the heavily backed favourite Alpinista won the 2022 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
The popular grey, trained in Britain by Sir Mark Prescott, made light work of the wet conditions at Paris Longchamp. Travelling well in the straight for Luke Morris, Alpinista picked up pacesetter Titleholder on the bridle and bounded a couple of lengths clear.
Vadeni emerged from the pack under Christophe Soumillon, while last year's winner Torquator Tasso, the mount of Frankie Dettori, was the final challenger. However the post came in time for the 7-2 favourite and she passed it half-a-length ahead.
"It's absolutely marvellous," Prescott said. "It's an enormous relief. He [Morris] has ridden for us for 11 years, Miss (Kirsten) Rausing has had horses with me for 36. It's hard to think of a better day."
Owned and bred by Rausing, Alpinista stretched her winning run to eight in the Group 1 contest. The daughter of Frankel's last defeat was in the Group 3 Princess Royal Muhaarar Stakes at Newmarket in September 2020.
Racing fans supported Alpinista in their droves ahead of the race, while there was plenty of ante-post cash around for Torquator Tasso when it was confirmed conditions would be testing.
William Hill's representative Tony Kenny said: “Alphinista was a hugely popular winner of the Arc but she wasn’t for us and her sixth Group 1 in a row was a pretty costly result.
“Sir Mark Prescott’s mare had always been fancied for the race but the money really began to stream in today and she went off a well-backed favourite.
“It’s looking like she’ll be the worst result in the book since Enable and we’re just hoping a few of the other short-priced horses can be turned over to soften the blow.”
Paddy Power spokesman Paul Binfield said: "A 7-2 favourite grey mare winning the Arc might have been a fairytale result for punters but it was a poor result for us with backers not being able to get enough of her all the way to the off."
Alpinista's success was warmly welcomed by racing fans, as trainer Prescott has been in the business for 52 years. Prior to this year's contest, he only previously had one runner in it, Foreign Affairs, the tenth-placed horse in the 2001 renewal won by Sakhee.
Morris, riding at Wolverhampton the evening before, normally competes in more than 1,100 races a year, with his highest tally of 1,531 coming in 2012. One of Britain's busiest jockeys, he joined forces with the trainer when he was 22 and their fruitful partnership has continued ever since.
"It is the pinnacle of my career and it is a special day. I don't get emotional very often but I was holding back the tears," Morris said. "Sir Mark’s had an unbelievable effect on my career."
