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KOICHI HAYASHI (L), AKIO TAKEUCHI \/ G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe \/\/ Longchamp \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Idol Horse<\/p>\n\u201cMAKE SOME NOISE!\u201d the almost incessant voice emanating from the Longchamp racecourse loudspeaker urged loudly before the start of the G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe. The crowd responded with a half-cocked cheer.<\/p>\n
There was no need: sports fans know the drill. When the gates crashed open to unleash the 17 runners on Europe\u2019s richest race, an unprompted full-throated roar carried across the Bois du Boulogne.<\/p>\n
The crowd erupted again when the field turned into the home straight and lifted to a cacophony, urging and cheering from the packed grandstand and lawns as Coolmore\u2019s star filly Minnie Hauk kicked for home. The fans of all hues kept ramping it up as the Aga Khan Studs\u2019 Daryz came at her, and the noise reached an ear-ringing climax when the colt took the prize in the final stride, scoring by a head to give jockey Mickael Barzalona and trainer Francis-Henri Graffard their first victories in the great race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis race is very, very special in terms of emotions,\u201d Graffard said afterwards. \u201cAs a young boy racing fan, I was dreaming of a race like this, (winning) with these colours.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victory took the tally to five wins for the green with red epaulets and this one was poignant given the Aga Khan\u2019s passing in February of this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThis is kind of why we do this job,\u201d said Barzalona, sitting alongside the late Aga Khan\u2019s daughter, Princess Zahra Aga Khan. \u201cI knew that, with these silks, it was certainly more than possible. I\u2019m lucky to be able to wear them and follow in the footsteps of the great jockeys who rode in them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s done,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not done for Japan, though. What Japan\u2019s horsemen and committed fans \u2013 those at Longchamp, those who went to Tokyo racecourse for a late-night viewing, and those who watched at home \u2013 would give for just one Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe, twenty-six years and counting since El Condor Pasa was reeled in and placed second behind Montjeu.<\/p>\n
The disappointment post-race was palpable this time as Japanese trainers and their jockeys conducted sombre, self-reflecting interviews.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo everyone who supported us, I\u2019m truly sorry we couldn\u2019t get the result,\u201d said Croix Du Nord\u2019s jockey Yuichi Kitamura whose stoic visage could not mask the emotion in his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Croix Du Nord, along with Byzantine Dream and Alohi Alii, joined the 35 previous attempts by Japanese horses that failed to win the race: also included among those losses are the big heartbreakers and near-misses Deep Impact, Orfevre and Nakayama Festa.<\/p>\n
The spectre of El Condor Pasa\u2019s promising second-place in 1999 \u2013 a performance that suggested Japan had arrived and the Arc was soon to be theirs \u2013 is proving difficult to move beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was 13 then, I was just a boy,\u201d Kitamura had told Idol Horse in the expectant, hope-filled few hours before the race. \u201cAt the time, I simply thought that (El Condor Pasa) even finishing second was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then he added, \u201cI will win today \u2026 It\u2019s tough from the outside draw\u2026 but I will give it my all.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sense of confidence in the ability of the Japanese horses was evident all-around Longchamp, albeit tempered by the reality of history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are never confident with this race,\u201d said one participant with close connections to one of Japan\u2019s runners.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But out on the steps and lawns, the many flag-waving Japanese fans of all ages, with their banners and scarves in the colours of their heroes, were positive pre-race, buoyed no doubt by the morning sunshine that warmed Longchamp before giving way to moody clouds, intermittent hazy sun-breaks and finally the rain that sent a rainbow arcing across the track as the race was being run.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always have confidence,\u201d said Akio Takeuchi from Kyoto who was \u201cabout 20\u201d when El Condor Pasa ran second in Paris.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe ran really well in Saint-Cloud and we expected to have a win, so I was a bit disappointed at that time,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
KOICHI HAYASHI (L), AKIO TAKEUCHI \/ G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe \/\/ Longchamp \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Idol Horse<\/p>\n
Takeuchi was so taken that he made his way to Longchamp four years later to watch the Aga Khan\u2019s Dalakhani defeat a field that did not even feature a Japanese runner. He returned in 2024 and again this year for an extended trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here three weeks ago to see the Prix du Prince d\u2019Orange,\u201d he said. \u201cCroix du Nord did well even though he was a little below his best, so this time he will be much better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Takeuchi was on course with Koichi Hayashi, originally from Tokyo but living in Munich.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have divided opinions,\u201d Takeuchi smiled and his friend explained where his own loyalty lay: \u201cI was at Munich racecourse,\u201d Hayashi said. \u201cI took a photo with Oisin Murphy. He was very kind so I am supporting him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind them, the spectacle of solo dancers in the Arc\u2019s maroon, liveried polo shirts busting out moves on platforms above the PMU terminals in front of the grandstand, felt incongruous. Perhaps that\u2019s what the kids want in France, but the young fans among the Japanese contingent were there for the horses and the sport.<\/p>\n
A trio of relatively new fans held a Japanese flag. One of them, Hiroaki Ando, wore traditional Japanese dress; his friend, Hikaru Ouchi had a plushy of the character Stay Gold from Umamusume, the game and anime franchise that takes hero horses and puts them in an alternative universe as late-teen \u2018horse girl\u2019 athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was first interested in Umamusume and then I started following horse racing,\u201d Ouchi said.<\/p>\n
Ouchi and Ando were well-acquainted with Japan\u2019s Arc backstory. They had filled in the gaps watching Youtube videos of the sport\u2019s past stars. Games, storylines, heroes and the raw excitement of sport are the elements that brought connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (Umamusume) anime was so impressive that I wanted to feel that atmosphere at the race track for real,\u201d Ando said. \u201cI went and it was awesome. I saw Romantic Warrior from Hong Kong win the Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo. There were lots of Hong Kong people there and they cheered so loudly for him, it was surprising to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shu Inada, another twenty-something from Tokyo was close to the rail just beyond the Longchamp winning post as Australia\u2019s Asfoora won the G1 Prix de l\u2019Abbaye. He was wearing a Do Deuce cap and a Byzantine Dream scarf and said he knew all about Japan\u2019s Arc history despite only really getting into the sport through a work colleague two years ago.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took me to the Grade 2 Flora Stakes at Tokyo,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought it was very fun; not to bet, it was the race that was very exciting for me. I very much like sports and horseracing is one of the sports I find exciting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was young, I really liked Orfevre so I watched the Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe as a young boy. If a Japanese horse wins it will be exciting,\u201d he added, \u201cand I will probably cry.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Japanese](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ShuInada-1024x768.jpg\")
SHU INADA \/ G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe \/\/ Longchamp \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Idol Horse<\/p>\n
![\"Japanese](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Fans22-1024x768.jpg\")
L to R: HIKARU OUCHI, RYOSUKE IMORU, HIROAKI ANDO \/ G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe \/\/ Longchamp \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Idol Horse<\/p>\n
Any tears shed at Longchamp this afternoon, though, were not for a long-awaited Japanese triumph but for the heartbreak of another loss, another year when their heroes were unable to show their true talent.<\/p>\n
There was a sense of deep disappointment among the Japanese contingent of jockeys, trainers and press after Byzantine Dream, Croix Du Nord and Alohi Alii had passed the famous winning post fifth, 14th and 16th despite each winning hope-elevating lead-up races in France.<\/p>\n
Byzantine Dream\u2019s trainer Tomoyasu Sakaguchi at least said that he was pleased that his horse had proven his ability in the class and at the distance.<\/p>\n
But Alohi Alii\u2019s trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka initially gave \u201cno comment\u201d as he exited the weighing room stern-faced. Not long after, he faced the cameras and the questions and thanked the fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe honest truth is that this race is just not easy,\u201d he said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t take it lightly, but I realise that adapting to this environment \u2013 which I believe goes beyond just the track condition \u2013 is something we need to seriously consider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kitamura and Croix Du Nord\u2019s trainer Takashi Saito were not blaming the very soft ground either \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t think it had any effect whatsoever,\u201d was Kitamura\u2019s opinion \u2013 rather the wide draw and the colt\u2019s prominent position without cover were put forward as factors for why the horse could not relax.<\/p>\n
Croix Du Nord suffered for being prominent through a first 600m that was run in a swift 1m 27.93s, the second fastest in the last six years and slower only than the 2023 race, which took place on quicker going.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThere was no plan to go forward, but I think things unfolded in a worse way than we had anticipated,\u201d Saito said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a disappointing result, but I don\u2019t believe this is everything. If there is another chance, I would like to bring him back to France next year, but that depends on the horse\u2019s future and the owner\u2019s decision. First, we will take him back to Japan, rebuild him, and start racing him again from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Alohi Alii\u2019s pilot, Japan\u2019s champion jockey, Christophe Lemaire believed the going was a factor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe felt the ground: on such heavy ground he could not shift gears and was unable to accelerate,\u201d Lemaire said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJapanese horses are not accustomed to this kind of going, and it makes things very tough. It was a disappointing result today, but I believe he can perform at the top level back in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Alohi](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2501005PariOK086_5r-1024x683.jpg\")
CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE, ALOHI ALII \/ G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe \/\/ Longchamp \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n
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DARYZ (green), MINNIE HAUK \/ G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe \/\/ Longchamp \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n
Lemaire, like everyone else connected with Japan\u2019s horses, was left waiting for his first Arc win and that disappointment must bite harder for a man who at age 46 knows the years will soon start running out for him to achieve that ambition.<\/p>\n
But as he stood with friends ready to leave, obliging fans for selfies, journalists and cameras all around him, his eye was taken to a young Japanese boy and his family, standing above the scene on a walkway; the boy was holding a cut-out of Lemaire\u2019s face, waving at his hero.<\/p>\n
Lemaire smiled, brightened by the scene, and waved back at what could be horse racing\u2019s future, an excited young fan with dreams \u2013 like Graffard once was \u2013 drawn in by heroes and snared by the drama of the sport, both the heartbreak and the joy. \u220e<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Wait Goes On After Another Heartbreaking Arc<\/p>\n