Sir Peter O’Sullevan, Irish-British horse racingcommentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the Daily Express, and Today, is born Newcastle, County Down on March 3, 1918. He is the BBC’s leading horse racing commentator from 1947 to 1997, during which time he describes some of the greatest moments in the history of the Grand National.
Enable is now favourite for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe after a swell of support for the superstar mare since Sunday night. She has been backed into 7/4 from 9/4, with relentless money coming for the superstar mare. Love, on the other hand, has drifted from 6/4 out to 9/4. Waldgeist macht Galopp-Deutschland stolz:Grandioser Triumph des Ammerland/Newsells Park-Cracks gegen Enable im Arc in ParisDeutschland schrieb am Sonntag Gal. 2019 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Free Bets offers for new and existing customers. The Arc Free Bets. 2020 Arc de Triomphe Free Bets. Arc de Triomphe 2020 Free Bets. The 2019 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe horse race will be held on Sunday, 4 October 2020. The 2019 flat racing season has offered up some of the most wonderous races and stories of the sporting year, and while the sun is about to set on another summer campaign, perhaps the best is yet to come in Paris this Sunday afternoon as Longchamp hosts the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with the start time due off at 15:05 BST. Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Tips 2019. Europe’s premier flat race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a twelve-furlong Group 1 contest for the best that Europe has to offer in the middle-distance division.
O’Sullevan is the son of Colonel John Joseph O’Sullevan DSO, resident magistrate at Killarney, and Vera (née Henry). As an infant, the family returns to his parents’ home at Kenmare, County Kerry and he is raised in Surrey, England. He is educated at Hawtreys Preparatory School, Charterhouse School, and later at Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil in Switzerland.
In the late 1940s O’Sullevan is involved in some of the earliest television commentaries on any sport, and makes many radio commentaries in his earlier years (including the Grand National before it is televised for the first time in 1960). On television, he commentates on many of the major events of the racing year, including the Cheltenham Festival until 1994, The Derby until 1979, and the Grand National, Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood until he retires in 1997. During his career, he commentates on around 30 runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris and racing from the United States and Ireland as well as trotting from Rome during the 1960s.
During his 50 years of commentating on the Grand National, O’Sullevan commentates on numerous historic victories. These include Bob Champion‘s run on Aldaniti in 1981 after recovering from cancer, 100/1 outsider Foinavon‘s win in 1967, and the three-times winner Red Rum in 1973, 1974 and 1977. He also commentates on the 1993 Grand National, which is declared void after 30 of the 39 runners fail to realise there had been a false start, and seven go on to complete the course. As the runners approach the second-last fence in the so-called “race that never was,” O’Sullevan declares it “the greatest disaster in the history of the Grand National.”
O’Sullevan becomes known as the “Voice of Racing.” In a television interview before his 50th and last Grand National in 1997, he reveals that his commentary binoculars came from a German submarine. He is knighted the same year – the only sports broadcaster at the time to have been bestowed that honour. He is also a racehorse owner, including of Be Friendly, who wins the King’s Stand Stakes at Ascot, and Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. He is twice successful in the Haydock Sprint Cup (then Vernons Sprint) in 1966 and 1967. Another horse he owns is Attivo, whose victory in the 1974 Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival is described by O’Sullevan as the most difficult race to call.
Attivo also wins the Chester Cup and the Northumberland Plate during the 1970s. O’Sullevan’s final race commentary comes at Newbury Racecourse for the 1997 Hennessy Gold Cup, and he visits the winners’ enclosure as a winning owner in the race which follows courtesy of Sounds Fyne’s victory in the Fulke Walwyn Chase. He is succeeded as the BBC’s lead commentator by Jim McGrath.
After his retirement, O’Sullevan is actively involved in charity work, fundraising for causes which revolve around the protection of horses and farm animals, including the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH), the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre and Compassion in World Farming. The National Hunt Challenge Chase Cup (run at the Cheltenham Festival) is named after him in 2008 to celebrate his 90th birthday. In 2010, Aintree Racecourse names O’Sullevan as one of the eight inaugural “Grand National Legends.” His name is inscribed on a commemorative plaque at the course, alongside the likes of Ginger McCain and Captain Martin Becher.
O’Sullevan meets his wife Patricia, daughter of Frank Duckworth of Manitoba, Canada, at a ball in Manchester in 1947. She dies of Alzheimer’s disease in 2010.
O’Sullevan dies of cancer at his home in London on July 29, 2015. Group a odds world cup.
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Please keep in mind that all odds mentioned are accurate at the time published on 04/10/2019 9:39 am and are likely to change.
The 2019 flat racing season has offered up some of the most wonderous races and stories of the sporting year, and while the sun is about to set on another summer campaign, perhaps the best is yet to come in Paris this Sunday afternoon as Longchamp hosts the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with the start time due off at 15:05 BST.
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race, open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. The race is run over the classic middle distance trip of one mile and four furlongs (2400m).
Popularly referred to as the “Arc”, it is Europe’s most prestigious horse race. Its roll of honour features many highly acclaimed horses in its history, and its winners are often subsequently regarded as champions. It is currently the world’s richest turf race and third-richest horse race – behind the Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup.
Date: October 6, 2019
History
First run back in 1920, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was won by Comrade, a three-year-old colt, with the winner’s prize of 150,000 francs. From 1935, the race was helped via lottery funding to maintain its high-profile status within the sport, until the early 1980’s, when sponsorship became heavily involved.
Up to the present day and the race is now bankrolled by Qatar Racing, with the prize fund totalling a staggering five million euros. Following a two-year absence for racecourse renovations, the ‘Arc’ is back at its Longchamp home following the previous two years’ races being held at Chantilly.
Some of the all-time great horses have laid claim to the biggest prize in European turf racing over the years. Montjeu, Sinndar, Dalakhani, Zarkava, Sea The Stars and the mighty French filly, Treve have all tasted glory in the Paris showpiece within the last two decades.
John Gosden’s star filly Enable is back once hoping to be the most successful horse in the race by claiming her third Arc crown. 11 possible opponents will line up against her at the most recent declaration stage, so can the superstar filly complete the impossible and three-peat? Read on for our thoughts in this preview.
L'arc De Triomphe Information
Hat-trick bid for Superstardom
Thirteen wins from 14 career starts and almost nine-and-a- half million pounds in prize money, Enable is the jewel in the crown of the John Gosden stable. 2019 has already been a hugely successful year, with three previous victories, but another win on Sunday would put this immensely talented filly amongst the all-time greats of the sport – if she isn’t already in that conversation.
Owned by Khalid Abdullah, Enable is just under even money (4/6) with the majority of bookmakers to retain her Arc crown, but it would take a brave punter to back against her in my view. Okay, there are some potential doubts, the course being one, as Enable will face some lesser exposed rivals in this race, but she is the obvious star judging on previous form.
Enable has learned to do just enough in her races this season, or perhaps, she is a horse on the decline. I’d prefer to lean towards the former, as the five-year old seems to always have enough in reserve to get to the finish line ahead under jockey, Frankie Dettori.
There will be plenty of punters prepared to back against the Gosden/Dettori combination I’m sure, but I believe this filly is one of the all-time greats of the sport, and her coronation could be confirmed on Sunday afternoon if she can live up to the billing.
Japan to Strike for Ireland?
Aidan O’Brien
According to the bookmakers at least, the most likely rival to Enable in this race will come from Aidan O’Brien’s Japan – who has done nothing but improve in his recent outings. After finishing third behind Anthony van Dyck in the English Derby, the Galileo offspring has won three consecutive races, to put this highly talented three-year old bang in the mix for this race.
Japan began his illustrious run by claiming the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot and demolished his rivals by over four lengths. The Ballydoyle colt then went over to Longchamp in July and won the Group 1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris to offer course and distance form for the Arc race.
But perhaps Japan’s best effort was on his most recent start in taking down the colours of Crystal Ocean in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York. This effort was a serious piece of form, and with the benefit of a three-pound weight allowance over Enable, Japan could well be a big player in the race at the best industry odds of 6/1 with 888Sport.
Home Hope
L'arc De Triomphe Wikipedia
French trainer, Jean-Claude Rouget has been very bullish in the media in recent days by taking up the chances of his star three-year old, Sottsass. Rouget has yet to win this race in his training career, but he believes that Sottsass has what it takes to keep the winners’ prize in his home nation.
In a similar path of success to Japan, Sottsass has won his last three outings, with his most recent being a victory at Longchamp in the Group 2 Prix Niel. It was his first outing over the mile-and-a-half trip, and he showed an excellent turn of foot inside the final furlong to win by over one length.
The beauty of punting a French horse in a race of this nature in the United Kingdom is that generally, the foreign horses are priced with a little more value than if you were to back the said horse in France itself. Sottsass is available to back at 7/1 with Ladbrokes, and it is an excellent each-way punt in my view, and it could keep the Arc trophy on home soil.
Others to Consider
The top three in the market look to hold most of the cards in this race, however, Ghaiyyath, trained by Charlie Appleby for the Godolphin operation, may well be involved at the finish. The four-year-old was beaten into third place behind Waldgeist in April at Longchamp over ten and-a-half furlongs, but there were mitigating circumstances for the poor effort as it was just three weeks behind his previous run – again at Longchamp.
Ghaiyyath was back to his very best in early September by slamming his rivals by fourteen lengths to win the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden over the Arc distance. It is not always easy to ascertain how impressive that performance actually was, dependent on the quality of opposition, but the son of Dubawi could do no more by winning as he liked. Provided that run has not taken any significant effect out of him then the 11/1 available with 888Sport is tempting indeed.
Of the remainder, only Magical and Waldgeist are likely to be involved at the business end of the race, but in truth, they both look to be fully exposed at this level to really figure.
Conclusion
I have to be honest here, this is a difficult race to ultimately call here as it is a little of a ‘heart versus head’ moment. From a purely sporting perspective, I would love Enable to win this race, and believe that she can win, but the 4/6 on offer is tempering my enthusiasm from a betting angle.
So, I’m prepared to offer up two each-way alternatives in Sottsass and Ghaiyyath to try and make a few units against the favourite. Both of these horses could well be very strong challengers to Enable, and if the star filly is not on her best form, then one, or the other could pounce.
Best Bets:
- Sottsass (each-way) at 7/1 with 888Sport
- Ghaiyyath (each-way) at 11/1 with 888Sport.