English Woman's Journal - Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory

The English runner ridden by Irishman Rossa Ryan came home clear of French filly Aventure with Irish runner Los Angeles third.

Bluestocking is the 10th filly or mare to win the Arc since 2000.

She was only added to the field this week at a fee of 120,000 euros ($130,000) - not a bad investment with her owners picking up almost three million euros in prize money.

For Arc de Triomphe connoisseurs the winning colours are very familiar as it is a record seventh time they have been welcomed back to the winners enclosure.

Saudi Prince Khalid Abdullah may have died but his family have kept the flame burning.

For 53-year-old Beckett, though, it is a first Arc.

"She's extraordinary, good horses train themselves," said Beckett, whose cousin Teddy is the former racing manager to the Abdullah's Juddmonte racing operation.

Beckett said he was in awe of the stoic nature of his 11-2 winner Bluestocking.

"It's a tribute to her constitution as much as anything else," said Beckett.

"It's extraordinary to have a horse to start in May and dance all those dances and then come here and do that only three weeks after what looked like a tough race in the Vermeille.

"She is an extraordinary beast."

"I think the draw helped. He (Ryan) got her in the right place and everything went to plan and he was able to pull it off.

"What a day. This is our best ever day for sure."

Beckett said it was a pleasure to train for the Juddmonte outfit.

"The Juddmonte team are an extraordinary outfit to work for in the sense that there is no pressure, ever. You live or die by our own actions but there has never been any pressure."

For Ryan too it is the first taste of what it is like to win an Arc.

"It's very surreal to be honest with you -- my family are here too," Ryan, riding in only his second Arc.

Ryan had ridden a superb race shadowing Ryan Moore on the pacesetting Los Angeles before launching his challenge about 600 metres out of the 2400 metres race.

Los Angeles battled for all he was worth but yielded and Aventure crept into second -- the first two filling the same positions that they did last month in the Prix Vermeille.

Favourite Sosie -- sporting the same colours as Aventure of Chanel owners the Wertheimer brothers -- had every chance to give trainer Andre Fabre a record extending ninth win but lacked an extra gear to finish fourth.

Japan's hopes of winning the race they desire above all others ended in further disappointment as hotly fancied Shin Emperor finished unplaced.

There was an unpleasant incident in the middle of the race as outsider Haya Zark suddenly fell back through the 16 runner field and pulled up after seriously hampering Mqse De Sevigne.

B.Mclean--EWJ