It has to be one of the biggest upsets in the 101-year-history of Europe’s most famous horse race, said Greg Wood in The Guardian. At the start of this year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, few punters gave Torquator Tasso – named after the 16th century Italian poet – the slightest hope of scooping the £2.5m first prize.
In one of the strongest Arcs for several years, the German-trained colt, ridden by Arc debutant Rene Piechulek, was a 69-1 shot on the French Tote – and 80-1 with British bookmakers. And for the great majority of the race, there was no sign that the bookmakers were due a surprise, said BBC Sport.
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The result was met with stunned silence in the grandstand – but perhaps it shouldn’t have been. As Torquator Tasso’s trainer, Marcel Weiss, pointed out, German horses have often done well at the Arc – with Star Appeal having pulled off an even more spectacular victory in 1975, winning at starting odds of 119-1.