Crackman's Ace Impact Remains Undefeated Following Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Mark Smith - Monday October 2

Idling along at the rear of the field for a large part of the race, the freak Crackman colt Ace Impact needed little more than a shake of the reins from Cristian Demuro to pick off runner after runner in Sunday’s Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and stretch his unbeaten sequence to six.

Ace Impact is a freak (image Racing TV)

With a Dancing Brave-like performance, Jean-Claude Rouget’s Prix du Jockey Club hero defeated the admirably honest Westover (Frankel) by one and three-quarter lengths with a short-head back to the fast-finishing Onesto (Frankel), making it a trifecta for the Frankel clan.

The Japanese raider Through Seven Seas covered herself in glory with a fast-finishing fourth.

Advertisement

Twelve months previously, the Arc was won by Frankel’s daughter Alpinista.

“I won with Sottsass three years ago, it was incredible because I started in Pau a long time ago,”  Jean-Claude Rouget said.

“It’s a long way and two Arcs in four years is fantastic.

“I am like a very backward horse and I am just maturing now. So I hope I have a few good years again in front of me.

“I know how I started with jumpers and very bad Flat horses. With Millkom it was the first sign of a Classic career in 1994 and after we won with Le Havre and Stacelita and now we have a very strong stable.

“Thank you to all of my team. I have two teams now, one in Pau and one in Deauville. There is a lot of work always in a serious, serious way.

“We always say they are the best when they win, I think it is his strong acceleration. It is something I have never seen.

“I don’t know if he will go straight to the stud or run next year. It will be decided between the two owners and me, but I don’t know yet.”

A €75,000 Arqana August yearling, Ace Impact is the lone Group 1 winner for Darley Stud’s 4-time Group 1 winning Frankel stallion Cracksman.

A half-brother to stakes-placegetters Apollo Flight (Rock Of Gibraltar) and Alessandro (Australia), Ace Impact is the best of five winners from as many to race for the stakes-placed dam Absolutly Me (Anabaa Blue). 

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Saturday June 28
Here is the full list of 109 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Unbeaten So You Think 3YO WA's New Excitement Machine
One month to the day since he first set foot on a racecourse, So You Think’s three year old son  Opportunistic remains undefeated from three starts, is a dual stakes winner with earnings of $200,250 to his name, and is WA's new rising star of the turf.
How Much for a Snitzel Colt from Winx?
The record price for a yearling by the late champion sire Snitzel stands at $2.8million, but that benchmark looks set to be smashed at Inglis Easter next year.
Better Than Ready’s Metalart Wins Group 3 W J Healy Stakes
Improving off a third in the Listed Lightning Handicap at Eagle Farm recently, 4yo Better Than Ready gelding Metalart stepped up to 1200m to record his first black type success, winning the Group 3 W J Healy Stakes.
Wootton Bassett Winning Whirl
It was a red letter day for Wootton Bassett (GB) at The Curragh overnight with a treble of winners highlighted by top class filly Whirl, who captured the Group I Pretty Polly Stakes (1m2f), a race won by the mighty Via Sistina in 2023.
Big Pedigrees Don’t Always Spell Black Type
The breeding of thoroughbreds is a very inexact science which is why we saw siblings to a pair of Group I winners fighting out the finish of a very pedestrian 1100m maiden at Ballarat on Sunday.
Another Aussie SW Sourced from Aga Khan Studs
When Australian investors buy tried horses out of Europe from Aga Khan Studs they know they are getting quality, but the good ones don’t come cheap with Elamaz (IRE) sourced from their draft at the Arqana Arc Sale last year for €480,000.
Aussie 2YO SW for Tivaci
New Zealand-bred colt Matahga stamped himself as an exciting spring three-year-old prospect with a hard-fought victory in the A$120,000 Listed David Peacock Oaklands Plate (1400m) at Morphettville on Saturday.
Sires With Winners - Sunday June 29
Here is the full list of 53 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
$3million Won Through Inglis Xtra Bonus
A staggering $3m has now been won as part of the Inglis Xtra Bonus Series following today’s victory by the Cody Morgan-trained 3YO Considered at Dubbo.