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German outsider denies Weld in Arc

Jockey Rene Piechulek celebrates on Torquator Tasso after winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris yesterday. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP Expand

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Jockey Rene Piechulek celebrates on Torquator Tasso after winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris yesterday. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP

Jockey Rene Piechulek celebrates on Torquator Tasso after winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris yesterday. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP

Jockey Rene Piechulek celebrates on Torquator Tasso after winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris yesterday. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP

Marcus Armytage

Rarely has a racecourse been stunned into silence quite like it was at Longchamp yesterday when the German outsider Torquator Tasso (80/1) swept down the outside to pass Dermot Weld’s Tarnawa and 5/2 favourite Hurricane Lane to win the 100th Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Greeted by the sound of pins dropping, people asking “who?” and TV interviewers desperately scrabbling for the Christian names of trainer M (Marcel) Weiss and jockey R (Rene) Piechulek, there was, however, nothing to suggest the Mulheim-trained winner was anything but a worthy one.

From a once-great racing nation which is on its uppers, Torquator Tasso was dismissed in the build-up even though he was one of only four horses coming into the race on the back of a Group One win – in the Grosser Preis Von Baden, a race with a good record of producing Arc winners – and having won his other Group One on testing ground.

The four-year-old beat all the right horses in pretty much the right order and came home three parts of a length in front of Tarnawa and Hurricane Lane, with the Derby winner Adayar three lengths further away in fourth.

It was a more fitting outcome to the 100th running of the race than it might have appeared. The biggest shock in the 99 previous editions was provided by the first German winner, Star Appeal, a 118/1 shot in 1975.

Danedream was also a generous 20/1 shot in 2011 so German horses have always been slightly underrated and just because Torquator Tasso had been available at 100/1 in the morning, the race should not be downgraded.

When Piechulek (34) arrived as an apprentice with leading German trainer Christian von der Recke he could barely ride and could not lift a bucket of water. But he went on to become champion apprentice, strong and cool. Undaunted by the big names around him, he gave Torquator Tasso a terrific ride and sat in sixth, three off the rail, as Adayar made the running at a married man’s pace.

William Buick sent Adayar a couple of lengths clear two out but, on the heavy ground, he was swallowed up at the furlong marker by Tarnawa, his stablemate Hurricane Lane and, slightly wider, the winner, which galloped strongly home.

“I’m very honoured to ride in such a race,” said Piechulek. “I’d like to thank the owner and trainer for trusting me. I tried to get a position towards the leading horses so I could launch him turning in - I wanted to make the most of the straight.”

Weiss (44) is in his second season having been an assistant to Jens Hirschberger for the previous 20 years. “Two years ago the owners said, ‘Take the reins’ and I am happy I got the opportunity and that they refused an offer for the horse,” he said.

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“It was already the plan last winter to bring him to the Arc. He was a dual Group One winner and even though I thought it was the strongest Arc of the last few years, I thought he deserved to be here. But we’d have considered third, fourth, fifth or sixth a success. Winning was a bonus.”

Weld was delighted with Tarnawa. “She ran a wonderful race, but you saw the stamina today, not the speed. If it hadn’t rained she’d have won.”

Charlie Appleby was pleased with both his horses. “Adayar hated the ground yet he still showed his class. Hurricane Lane got shuffled back a bit but was doing his best work late. He ran well to the line. Exciting for next year.”

Racegoers in France might struggle to remember the name of the 100th Arc winner in a week’s time but, in Germany, the name Torquator Tasso will be celebrated when run for the 200th.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]

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