Shin Emperor’s connections had mixed emotions after watching the three-year-old finish a close third in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, but the overriding feeling is ‘delight’ that their colt showed he has what it takes to be a force at Longchamp on October 6.
Trainer Yoshito Yahagi and his team had emphasised in the lead-up that while they were going to Ireland to test Shin Emperor against Europe’s best, hoping for the win, the race was always planned as a step towards breaking the Japanese shut-out in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and, as such, he was not fully tuned up.
“We are very delighted with how he ran,” Yahagi’s spokesman Hiroshi Ando told Idol Horse two days after the Japanese challenger closed to within a length of the victorious Economics and runner-up Auguste Rodin.
“Of course, we’re disappointed we couldn’t win, but it was very close, the horse had a tight trip and he ran very well so we are pleased with that. The jockey and horse had a great experience in the race and I think that experience will be a good connection to the Arc.
“Shin Emperor got back safely to Chantilly yesterday, we did a little bit of hand-walking and his condition is good. Hopefully the horse will be in great condition to challenge for the Arc.”
The Irish Champion Stakes was just one of a handful of races across the weekend that held clues to the Arc, with Longchamp itself staging its three Arc ‘trials’ the following afternoon.
In Paris, Sosie upset the longtime Arc favourite Look De Vega in the G2 Prix Niel, then Iresine won the G2 Prix Foy again, and Blue Stocking put down a marker for the fillies and mares division with success in the G1 Prix Vermeille.
Shin Emperor’s performance in Ireland was the most eye-catching of all, though, particularly given that he was not even primed to the full for Leopardstown. He faced the Aidan O’Brien-trained Auguste Rodin, a six-time Group 1 winner and defending champion, and the rising star, Economics, whose G2 Dante Stakes win in May stands as one of the most impressive spectacles of the year in Britain.
It wasn’t the smoothest race for the Japanese raider either. Shin Emperor raced a touch keenly early under Ryusei Sakai, holding his place one-off the fence in fifth until shuffled back into a pocket when the pace began to wind up out of the home turn. The chestnut was still flat-footed at the two-furlong pole and it appeared to be 50-50 as to whether he was going to plug on one-paced or find his second wind and click up a gear.
It was to be the latter. Shin Emperor rallied through the final furlong, passing runners to take third, and, importantly, battling past the eventual fourth, Los Angeles, another with Arc ambitions, after that rival had headed him.
Shin Emperor was bought out of Arqana in 2022 with an eye on the Arc, being a full-brother to the 2020 Arc winner Sottsass. That storied sibling offers further hope that little brother might benefit for his Irish test, given that big brother placed fourth in the Irish Champion before winning the Arc at his next start.
It’s worth noting that recent history generally points to the strong possibility of a big run to come from Shin Emperor: eight years ago, Found was second in the Irish Champion en route to winning the Arc, while Tarnawa in 2021 was second in both races, and in 2022 Vadeni was third and then second in Paris.
Meanwhile, the action at Longchamp the following day saw Sosie shake up the Arc landscape by defeating Look De Vega in the G2 Prix Neil. The former had been put in his place when third to the latter in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club over 2100m in June, but this time Look De Vega was forced to make his own running in what turned out to be a moderately-run contest typical of such small-field trial races.
But, for all that, and accounting for Look De Vega probably not being fully wound up for the race, the way the favourite found nothing in reserve and faded out to be three and a half lengths third was still disappointing. Perhaps he will come on a heap for the run, or maybe a mile and a half is not his game, whereas Sosie, who won the G1 Grand Prix de Paris between times, is now two from two at the trip.
The Prix Vermeille – almost three seconds quicker than the Prix Niel – saw Bluestocking show that she is in excellent form. A good mare can never be discounted, yet the balance of her best form, although high class – a well-held second to Goliath in the King George at Ascot and a long way fourth behind City Of Troy in the International stakes at York – suggests she will need to find a little more again to win an Arc even in an open year, as this is.
As for Iresine’s Prix Foy win, well, he’s a gelding so there’ll be no Arc run for him, and the form looks a cut below what would be needed to trouble the principals in any normal year anyway. The disappointment from that race was Continuous – another beaten favourite who was forced to make the running – in third. His biggest win came in last year’s St Leger, at a mile and three-quarters, and it is unlikely, based on this latest evidence, that he will have the speed to be a factor in an Arc finish.
That leaves Shin Emperor as the weekend’s Arc eye-catcher, but keep your other eye on the wings because waiting there ready to step into the fray is Al Riffa, Irish-trained but Japanese owned, and set to be ridden by Japan’s greatest jockey, Yutaka Take.
As things stand, Japanese connections can afford to be optimistic heading into this year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
