Bluestocking fulfilled the huge confidence of jockey Rossa Ryan as well as the hopes and dreams of trainer Ralph Beckett to put the emerald and pink silks of Juddmonte back into the hallowed Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner’s circle for a record seventh time Oct. 6 at Longchamp Racecourse outside Paris, France. The Arc headlined a sensational day of racing that included five other Group 1 stakes races, the highest level of competition in Europe.

Longchamp coverage courtesy of Racing Post

In a near replay of last month’s Qatar Prix Vermeille at Longchamp, it was Aventure who came out of the pack to throw it down to Bluestocking but, despite the higher stakes, this time there never seemed much chance of the 3-year-old drawing level, as the classy 4-year-old daughter of Camelot answered Ryan’s urgings with long and relentless strides, carrying the pair to Arc glory and ensuring the same 1-2 finish.

Supplemented at a cost of €120,000 ($132,000) by the family of the late Khalid Abdullah Wednesday, Bluestocking joins the owners’ own Enable (2017), Golden Horn (2015), Treve (2013) and Danedream (2011) as recent winners to recoup their late entry fee. By winning the Arc, Bluestocking earned an all-expenses paid berth to the $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf Nov. 2 at Del Mar via the “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series.

For both trainer and owner, there was a more delayed sense of gratification a year on from Westover’s gallant second to Ace Impact in the Arc.

“As much as anything else I was expecting something to come and catch her late, as happened last year,” said Beckett. “She actually hit the front earlier than Westover did. It’s a long straight and it’s always a concern. But it was going to take a good one to go by her and she didn’t give in easily.

“She came here in good form, I was pleased with the way she looked in the preliminaries before the race. She’s a real professional, she knows what’s required and she’s worked it out for herself. That makes our job a whole lot easier.”

Jockey Rossa Ryan had come up with his own plan in the Vermeille and admitted afterward that he saw a similar shape to a rare Arc without much pace. That convinced him to stay close to pacesetter Los Angeles, who stayed on in late to hold third under Ryan Moore.

“In the Vermeille, being drawn where we were opened doors for us and it’s probably won the Arc for us,” said Ryan, whose ability to analyze a race and make a plan becomes more impressive with each passing big-race success.

“The draw today was key and she’s been jumping and settling well. Once I got in behind Ryan (Moore on Los Angeles), I got into a great rhythm. From thereon I had every chance to win, but we also had to see what was really there, and she didn’t let us down.”

Connections celebrate at Longchamp. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Sitting next to Beckett and Juddmonte general manager Barry Mahon in the winner’s press conference, Ryan was asked how confident he had been beforehand.

“When I dissected the form I was fairly confident, but I wasn’t confident enough to tell anyone,” said Ryan, who put his finger to his lips after crossing the line.

“A horse can really change your life and she has mine. It’s all down to her trainer and the team at home. They’ve made my dreams come true. To do it on a global stage is what it’s all about.

“She has fulfilled what I possibly thought she could do and all credit to the two men sitting next to me. I’m just the lucky one to be on her, but there are a lot more people who have done a lot more work than me with her.”

Beckett has long been recognized as a master with homebred middle-distance fillies, although the exploits of Kinross and the like have put to bed any ideas that there are not many more strings to his bow. But he was happy to accept this was the biggest day of a training career which already includes two wins in the English Oaks, a classic record he added to in the Irish version in July with You Got To Me.

“It’s extraordinary,” Beckett said. “I grew up watching Rainbow Quest and Dancing Brave. To train the Arc winner in these colors is a huge thrill and it’s a privilege to train for Juddmonte. To train an Arc winner for them is extraordinary.”

The late Prince Khalid Abdullah began his winning run in the Arc when Rainbow Quest was handed the 1985 race in the stewards’ room, while Dancing Brace won with one of the most scintillating displays in Longchamp history the following year.

The 2024 running may not have been won with a knockout blow, but instead required its heroine to give freely and generously of her bravery and talent, something Bluestocking has learned to do in the most complete way you could ask of any Arc winner. –Scott Burton and Aisling Crowe

Four other stakes races at Longchamp offered “Win and You’re In” berths to the 2024 Breeders’ Cup. Three-year-old filly Friendly Soul, trained by John and Thady Gosden for owner-breeder George Strawbridge, rallied strongly in the final yards to win the Prix de l’Opera Longines and earn a bid to the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Veteran racemare Makarova reached a career peak in her 28^th and final start by posting a 1 ¼-length win over favored Bradsell in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines. That race was a “Win and You’re In” race for the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, which runner-up Bradsell may target.

A pair of 2-year-old Group 1 stakes Sunday at Longchamp also granted Breeders’ Cup berths. Irish-bred colt Camille Pissarro from the Coolmore powerhouse outfinished Rashabar to take the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere by a neck in a qualifier for Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 1 at Del Mar, while the filly Vertical Blue, rated at 33-1 odds by Racing Post bookmakers, edged heavy favorite Zarigana by a nose in the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac, a Challenge Series race for the John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.