Al Riffa is heading towards the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp this autumn with Japanese fans rallying behind him amid news that Yutaka Take has been booked to ride the Irish colt in Paris.
His main rivals will likely include the talked-up G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Look De Vega, the top-class three-year-old filly Opera Singer, Japan’s Shin Emperor, and the French mare Mqse De Sevine whose next assignment comes in the G1 Prix Jean Romanet on August 18. And then there’s Ballydoyle’s star three-year-old City Of Troy, Al Riffa’s G1 Eclipse Stakes conqueror, who still holds an entry.
Al Riffa’s impressive victory in the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin last weekend was exactly what connections wanted to see from his first race at the ‘Arc’ distance of a mile and a half, and, on the back of that smooth sighter for Paris, the four-year-old’s trainer Joseph O’Brien believes his charge can mature into a top performer at the trip.
Despite being by the speedy Wootton Bassett, Al Riffa has a bundle of stamina in his genes from his dam’s side of the family, which includes the likes of his top-class third dam My Emma and her stamina-laden half-brother, the champion European stayer Classic Cliché.
His five lengths and more superiority in Germany was especially pleasing for his part-owner Masaaki Matsushima who is on a personal quest to help Take win the Arc. Prior to that run he bought into the Al Riffa Syndicate which owns the horse.
The owner is well-known in Japan for his assertion that “Take’s dream is my dream,” and that’s something the O’Briens and the Coolmore partners are well aware of.
Matsushima’s own grey checked silks are familiar in Europe, where he has raced his horses in a handful of ‘Coolmore partnerships’ in the last five years, notably the Group 1-winning brothers Japan and Broome, and in his home land, where his silks are registered under Kieffers Co Ltd., he is most famous for his G1 Tokyo Yushun and G1 Arima Kinen hero Do Deuce.
But the fact that he is such a prominent owner at all is due in large part to his friendship with the legendary Take, a living icon and Japan’s greatest jockey. Matsushima has told the tale of how after getting to know Take, the rider asked why he was wasting his money placing and losing big bets when, if he wanted to throw so much money at the sport, he should just buy some horses and enjoy it.
His first Select Sale purchase was Mi Corazon and his first winner was L’Arc at Kyoto in November 2015. He has since established a racing club, Insel, which means ‘island’ in German. His name, Matsushima, means ‘pine island’ in Japanese and ‘Kiefer’ is the German word for ‘pine.’
Matsushima, 66, has stated that he is dedicated to helping his friend Take, 55, win the ‘Arc,’ which is something no Japanese jockey, trainer or horse has been able to achieve despite decades of trying. Those past efforts by Japanese connections have brought some heart-breaking near-misses, notably El Condor Pasa, Nakayama Festa, and Orfevre.
Take’s own record in the race has been patchy since his first ride aboard White Muzzle back in 1994, a wide, deep-closing sixth that brought him criticism in Britain. His best finish from 10 rides was third on Sagacity in 2001, discounting Deep Impact’s disqualified third-place in 2006, but his last four rides have been disappointing with Clincher being 17th in 2018, Soft Light sixth in 2019, and, for Matsushima, Broome 11th in 2021 and Do Deuce 19th in 2022.
Matsushima made his fortune in car dealerships, via his Matsushima Holdings Co. Ltd, and has a business connection with Take nowadays, with the pair setting up the Take Physical Conditioning Gym in Kyoto.
Should Al Riffa make it to Longchamp, Take will find a colt that is fulfilling the promise of his juvenile season in which he won the G1 National Stakes in Ireland. Injury limited his three-year-old campaign to two races, latterly second place behind last season’s subsequent ‘Arc’ winner Ace Impact in a Deauville Group 2, and this year he has gradually rediscovered his spark and matured into a top-level athlete via four runs that seem to be carrying him to a peak.
Another horse on an upward curve towards the ‘Arc’ is the year-older Mqse De Savigne from the Andre Fabre stable. The French master has produced the mare to win three from three this term including a second win in the G1 Prix Rothschild last time and on Sunday she will return to Deauville to attempt to go back-to-back in the G1 Prix Jean Romanet also.
She is untested beyond ten and a half furlongs but her owner Edouard de Rothschild suggested after her recent Deauville success that she has learned to settle, which will help her see out a mile and a half, and the Arc is the target. Her half-brother Meandre was a multiple Group 1 winner at the distance.
Looking beyond the weekend at Deauville, the big show in Britain next week is the Ebor Festival at York when the Aidan O’Brien-trained City Of Troy looks set to put the Al Riffa form to the test again. The three-time Group 1 winner goes in the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes, which has also attracted Japan’s Durezza.
Many judges were critical of the Derby winner’s Eclipse victory, a length to the good over Al Riffa, as he had to work harder than his short odds had suggested. Yet the wide-margin manner of Al Riffa’s Hoppegarten success, albeit in a race that often lacks depth, suggests the form is solid given that the consistent Group 3 winner Best Of Lips was about 10 lengths back in third.
Meanwhile, City Of Troy’s stable mate Opera Singer won the G1 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood two weeks ago and holds an entry for the G1 Yorkshire Oaks at York, but could head to the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp instead as she progresses towards the Arc.
After Al Riffa’s demolition in Berlin, though, Matsushima and Take know they might well have as good a candidate for Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe glory as any around.
