Treve: The weight of history

Ben Linfoot looks ahead to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and how other odds-on favourites have fared in the last 25 years as Treve bids to make history by winning the race for the third time.

Treve is special. Obviously, she's special - that electric turn of foot, those two magical Arc wins, her perfect record either side of those three runs in 2014 when she was suffering from foot and back problems. She's special.

But the Motivator filly is special in the unique sense of the word too, as on October 4 she will make history, one way or another, when she sets hoof on the Parisian turf with all eyes of the racing world upon her.

For no horse has ever before lined up at Longchamp carrying the unique weight of expectation that will come with going for a third success in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Six other horses have won Europe's most prestigious race twice, but none of that sextet went for a third. Ksar retired at four, Motrico at five after his second win, the filly Corrida was the same, Tantieme retired at four as did Ribot and Alleged.

But Treve, the Arc angel, stayed in training following her second triumph in the great race and since then she hasn't put a foot wrong.

Bookmakers all over Europe have been scurrying for cover as Criquette Head-Maarek has orchestrated a perfect five-year-old campaign that has seen Treve take in victories in the Prix Corrida, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and, most spectacularly, in the Prix Vermeille.

That latest win has set things up perfectly for the 2015 Arc. All her good traits were there; she travelled like a demon, burst clear once unleashed by Thierry Jarnet and then kept going until her pilot decided to, reluctantly presumably, apply the brakes.

If there was a chink of light for her rivals she did slightly hang right towards the rail, but that's being extremely picky. She simply looks in fantastic shape and her physical problems from last year are a fading memory, hence the general odds-on quotes.

Her credentials are rock solid. But, while she's the first horse to go for a third Arc win, she's the fifth horse in the last 25 years that will go off as odds-on favourite, should she maintain her market dominance.

Here's how the others fared.

1990 - Salsabil 3/5 favourite. Finished 10th.

When Taghrooda turned up at the Arc last year following wins in the Oaks and the King George she evoked memories of another Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum-owned filly that went for glory at Longchamp: Salsabil. The John Dunlop-trained daughter of Sadler's Wells burst onto the scene when romping away with the Prix Marcel Boussac as a juvenile and that was the springboard for a six-race winning streak that took in the 1000 Guineas, the Oaks, the Irish Derby and the Prix Vermeille. No wonder she was a hot favourite for Arc glory, sent off as 3/5 jolly in a field of 21. Yet she didn't fare well in the all-important draw stakes when handed box 21, and she was surrounded by a wall of horses throughout before eventually finishing 10th in a race won by Saumarez.

1991 - Generous 9/10 favourite. Finished 8th.

Just a year after Salsabil's reverse up popped Paul Cole's Generous, another that looked an Arc winner in waiting. Fourth in the 2000 Guineas on his seasonal reappearance, he took off once upped in trip to a mile-and-a-half, winning the Derby at Epsom by five lengths, the Irish Derby by three lengths and the King George by seven lengths. The dominant middle-distance colt in Europe, proven emphatically amongst his peers and the older generation, his odds-on quotes were justifiable even though he had a wide draw in 14 to overcome. But overcome it he couldn't, fading in the straight, as the horse he had beaten at the Curragh, Suave Dancer, swept past him and the rest of the field to win by an impressive two lengths.

2000 - Montjeu 4/5 favourite. Finished 4th.

Montjeu went for back-to-back Arc victories on October 1 2000 and he was sent off the odds-on favourite on the back of a scintillating summer campaign. The Michael Tabor-owned colt already had a couple of Group Ones under his belt for the year when he turned up at Ascot for the King George in July, where his facile demolition job of Fantastic Light became his iconic performance, even though he'd already won a plethora of Group Ones by then including a French Derby, an Irish Derby and an Arc. Following on from the King George he won his trial without fuss when accounting for the Prix Foy field at odds of 1/10 and he went off the biggest price he had been all year when sent off at 4/5 at Longchamp. However, he couldn't give weight away to a trio of three-year-olds headed by John Oxx's Sinndar, who was clear second best in the market following victories in the English and Irish Derbies.

2009 - Sea The Stars 4/6 favourite. Finished 1st.

While John Oxx had already won the Arc with Sinndar, this time the boot was on the other foot as he had to deal with the pressures of training the odds-on favourite when Sea The Stars rolled into Paris back in 2009. The son of Cape Cross had navigated through his three-year-old season perfectly, winning the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, the Coral-Eclipse, the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes and he was fully expected to add the Arc to that roll of honour. Sent off the 4/6 favourite, nothing went right for Sea The Stars during the contest as he raced keenly and got shuffled back early, but he overcame adversity by sluicing through the pack to beat perennial Arc bridesmaid Youmzain by an impressive two lengths.

2015 - Treve odds-on favourite? Finished ?

Those beaten favourites mentioned above had some things in common. All of them had a wide draw, although it should be remembered that was no barrier to success for Treve in 2013 when she won from stall 15. A more likely reason for defeat is the weight she has to give to some classy three-year-old colts, namely New Bay, and possibly Jack Hobbs and/or Golden Horn. But Treve has lit up Longchamp several times before and an expectant crowd will be hoping to see that trademark turn of foot again. It's all very exciting. Treve is special.