Solemia rallies to stunning upset in Arc de Triomphe

40-1 shot Solemia, a four-year-old filly that had never previously won a group I race, rallied past Orfevre in the final strides to win the $5,167,600 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) at Longchamp on Sunday by a neck.

Ridden to victory by Olivier Peslier, Solemia was forwardly placed during the early stages of the twelve-furlong turf race, but several lengths behind pace-setting Ernest Hemingway. Fellow pacesetter Robin Hood was also right near the front early, as were Mikhail Glinka and Haya Landa. Camelot was tucked in toward the inside in fifth or sixth place, while Orfevre, St. Nicholas Abbey, and Great Heavens were toward the rear of the eighteen-horse field.

Entering the false straight, Ernest Hemingway was asked for everything he had, briefly opening up a substantial lead before retreating. Robin Hood also tired badly, leaving Haya Landa on the lead. Then Solemia made her challenge, moving up to take over the advantage.

Then things began to get interesting. On the far outside, Orfevre roared into the picture with a terrific turn-of-foot, bursting clear of Solemia and opening up a two-length lead. He appeared to be on his way to a runaway victory, but the four-year-old colt began to stall inside the final hundred yards. At the same time, Peslier guided Solemia to the outside, and the filly -- who had looked hopelessly beaten just momens before -- gathered herself and responded with a renewed rally that carried her past Orfevre to win the Arc in terrific fashion. The final time over the heavy going was 2:37.68 seconds.

Masterstroke, a three-year-old colt from the Godolphin barn, rallied mildly to secure third place, seven lengths behind Orfevre. Haya Landa stayed on well to finish a remarkable fourth at odds of 130-1, while Yellow and Green rounded out the top five. Great Heavens, Camelot, Sea Moon, Shareta, Bayrir, St. Nicholas Abbey, Meandre, Kesampour, Mikhail Glinka, Saonis, Ernest Hemingway, Aventino, and Robin Hood completed the order of finish.

The winner is a daughter of Poliglote out of Brooklyn's Dancer, by Shirley Heights. Bred and owned by Wertheimer and Frere, Solemia is trained by Carlos Laffon-Parias. Earlier in the day, they teamed up to win the group I Prix Marcel Boussac with Silasol, who was ridden by -- guess who? -- Olivier Peslier.

Solemia has now compiled a record of 5-3-2 from 13 starts. Her biggest previous victory came in the Prix de Pomone Haras d'Etreham (Fr-II) on August 11th. She entered the Arc off of a third-place effort in the prestigious Qatar Prix Vermeille (Fr-I) on September 16th, in which she was beaten by Arc also-ran Shareta.

-Keelerman

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Entries: Camelot looks to rebound

Camelot, winner of the English 2,000 Guineas (Eng-I), Epsom Derby (Eng-I), and Irish Derby (Ire-I) earlier this year, will look to rebound from a runner-up effort in the Ladbrokes St. Leger Stakes (Eng-I) last time out when he faces seventeen rivals in the 91st running of the $5.1 million Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) at Longchamp on Sunday.

Trained by Aidan O'Brien, the son of Montjeu will be making his debut against older horses in the Arc, but is expected to be favored due in part to the fact that three-time Arc winning jockey, Frankie Dettori, will be aboard.

The Japanese-bred Orfevre, who won the Japanese Triple Crown last year, is projected to have the best shot at pulling off an upset. He prepped for the Arc with a solid victory in the Prix Foy (Fr-II) on September 16th, and will be ridden by top French jockey Christophe Soumillon.

Other prominent entrants include St. Nicholas Abbey, winner of the 2011 Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I); Great Heavens, winner of the Irish Oaks (gr. I); Shareta, runner-up in the 2011 Arc and winner of the Qatar Prix Vermeille (Fr-I) most recently; Saonois, winner of the Prix du Jockey Club (Fr- I); and Sea Moon, runner-up in the 20121 Breeders' Cup Turf.

Post Positions:

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer
1	Haya Landa	Franck Blondel	Loic Audon
2	Saonois	Antoine Hamelin	Jean-Pierre Gauvin
3	Yellow and Green	Thierry Thulliez	Nicholas Clement
4	Ernest Hemingway	Colm O'Donoghue	Aidan O'Brien
5	Camelot	Frankie Dettori	Aidan O'Brien
6	Solemia	Olivier Peslier	Carlos Laffon-Parias
7	Great Heavens	William Buick	John Gosden
8	Aventino	Anthony Crastus	Yasutoshi Ikee
9	Mikhail Glinka	Mirco Demuro	Arslangirey Shavuyev
10	St. Nicholas Abbey	Joseph O'Brien	Aidan O'Brien
11	Shareta	Christophe Lemaire	Alain de Royer-Dupre
12	Robin Hood	James Heffernan	Aidan O'Brien
13	Meandre	Maxime Guyon	Andre Fabre
14	Bayrir	Gerald Mosse	Alain de Royer-Dupre
15	Kesampour	Gregory Benoist	Mikel Delzangles
16	Sea Moon	Ryan Moore	Sir Michael Stoute
17	Masterstroke	Mickael Barzalona	Andre Fabre
18	Orfevre	Christophe Soumillon	Yasutoshi Ikee

-Keelerman