It really hasn’t been said enough times this year that Frankie Dettori is set to retire from the saddle.
Which means the 2023 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday, October 1 will be the Italian’s final ride in the most prestigious middle-distance contest on the planet.
Dettori, 52, is synonymous with the Group 1 thanks to his record-leading six victories including back-to-back successes on legendary mare Enable in 2017 and 2018.
The big question then is which horse will be his final Arc ride?
John & Thady Gosden’s stable star Emily Upjohn was long tipped to be Dettori’s mount, but this season’s Coronation Cup heroine is being targeted at the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot or the Breeders’ Cup later in the year.
So Dettori is set to get the leg up on multiple Group 2-winning mare Free Wind – a daughter of legendary sire Galileo.
The potential for drying ground at Longchamp could play to Dettori’s advantage as four of Free Wind’s five best performances – according to RPRs – have happened when the going was rated good or faster.
She was narrowly denied a maiden Group 1 victory by Warm Heart in August’s Yorkshire Oaks – the race that formed the final stepping stone on the path to Arc glory for last year’s winner, Alpinista.
Free Wind has tackled the opposite sex on just one occasion since breaking her maiden status, but she finished a disappointing fifth of seven in this year’s Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot behind Pyledriver, West Wind Blows, Changingoftheguard and Deauville Legend.
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
Read More on the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
- Gallop over to Paddy Power News for all the latest horse racing tips
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- How to watch the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 2023 on TV and live stream
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