A disappointed and furious Brae Sokolski won’t head to Paris this weekend after 11-time group 1 winner Verry Elleegant’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe dream was snuffed out by French racing authorities.
The Melbourne Cup winner will run during the Arc carnival, but the frustration of not being in the main event saw the owner cancel his trip to Paris.
Verry Elleegant winning the Melbourne Cup, at Flemington last year.Credit:Justin McManus
“We roll out the red carpet for them out here [for foreign horses in Australia], and all they gave us was red tape,” Sokolski said. “She runs in a 2800m group 1 [Prix de Royallieu] at Longchamp on Saturday, but it’s not the Arc.
“I’m absolutely gutted and will stay here and watch Hinged in the Epsom and then stay up for Verry Elleegant on Saturday night. It could still be a very big day on Saturday.
“Hopefully she goes out and blows them away on Saturday, and makes them look silly.”
Verry Elleegant had disappointed French handicappers in her two lead-up runs and they slashed her rating from 123 from the Melbourne Cup to 113 following her third in the Prix Foy, which had her outside the cut-off for the Arc field of 20.
“It’s a very bad situation for French racing … I’m ashamed by their reaction.”
Trainer Francis Graffard
Sokolski and his fellow owners were prepared to pay the late entry for the Arc but French rules do not allow a horse to be declared for two races.
“We couldn’t supplement her into the Arc in the end because of the rules over there that you can only accept in one race,” Sokolski said. “They would help us at all.
Brae Sokolski with the Cup.Credit:Getty Images
“We just had to make a decision that was right for the horse going forward.
“We couldn’t take the risk of missing a run on the weekend because we want to run her in a 2400m race called the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes at Ascot in two weeks.
“Mark Zahra will still get to ride her on Saturday.”
Verry Elleegant’s French trainer Francis Graffard said he was “ashamed” at the handling of the situation and warned the decision could stop foreign owners sending horses to France in the future.
He apologised to “all the Australian racing fans.”
“I’m very, very upset about the French authorities and French handicapper and my racing country in general,” the trainer told a British racing podcast hosted by Nick Luck.
“It’s a very bad situation for French racing. The French authorities have put us in a very bad situation and I’m ashamed by their reaction and the way they have treated my owners and this mare from the day she arrived in France.
“This filly has been a very good example of how unopen the French are.
“Every step has been difficult for her and for the owners and they have made our life very difficult right until the end.”
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