ParisLongchamp: Ace Impact wins the Arc, 1 of 5 BC qualifiers

Ace Impact never had raced 1 1/2 miles before, but bettors Sundaywere influenced more by his undefeated record than his inexperience as a middle-distance stayer. It worked out just fine for all of them at ParisLongchamp.

A 3-year-old colt by Cracksman, post-time favorite AceImpact (9-5) was near the back of the pack most of the way before he responded tothe urging of jockey Cristian Demuro in the final quarter-mile on the way to a 1 3/4-length victory in the Group 1, $5,293,250 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, anautomatic qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

On a sunny, 80-degree day in Paris, the race on agood-to-soft turf course was one of the five Breeders’ Cup qualifiers on thecard built around the 102nd running of Europe’s richest race.

Owned by Gousserie Racing and the Serge Stempniak Stablesand trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, the winner of this year’s Prix du JockeyClub (G1) and Prix d’Ornano (G2) ran his record to 6-for-6 and became the firsthorse since Saumarez in 1990 to win the Arc in his first time stretching to 2,400meters, which are just 15 yards short of 1 1/2 miles.

Westover (6-1) finished second, a short head better than Onesto (55-1) in third. Japan-based ThroughSeven Seas (10-1) was fourth, and Coolmore supplement Continuous (14-1) came in fifth in the field of 15.

The winning time of 2:25.50 without a run-up followed listedearly fractions of 1:22.29 through seven furlongs, 1:51.63 through 1 1/8 milesand 2:02.40 for 1 1/4 miles.

It was the second Arc win for Rouget and Demuro, who teamed with Sottsass for the victory in 2020.

Justify filly Opera Singerdominates Boussac

O’Brien won a record-tying fifthtime when the favorite Opera Singer, a 2-year-old sired by Justify, led fromgate to wire for a five-length triumph in the $423,460 Prix Marcel Boussac (G1),a win-and-you’re-in for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Opera Singer (8-5) had a narrow lead over Darnation (2-1) andRose Bloom (9-1) before Moore asked for more with about two furlongs leftin the race that went 1,600 meters, about nine yards short of a mile.

A Group 3 winner going a mile Aug. 26 at the Curragh, her Irelandhome base, Opera Singer kept widening her lead in the final furlong on the wayto a winning time of 1:36.40 without a run-up after early fractions were shown to be 39.64seconds for the first three furlongs, 1:03.58 for five, 1:14.76 for six and 1:25.37for seven.

Rose Bloom finished second, three-quarters of a length aheadof third-place Les Pavots (5-1). Ribaltagaia (19-1) was fourth, and Darnationfaded to fifth of 10.

Opera Singer is out of the Sadler’s Wells mare Liscanna. Shewas bred by the late Evie Stockwell, the mother of Coolmore co-owner JohnMagnier.

Fifteendays after a third-place finish in a Group 2 race in his home country England,deep-closing Rosallion (6-1) rallied from worst to first to win the $423,460Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (G1), a qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Bred and owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum andtrained by Richard Hannon, Rosallion was last of the 10 runners after roughly aquarter-mile in 22.54 seconds and ninth through the first half-mile in 45.11seconds. When early pacesetter Henry Adams (17-1) got through five furlongs in56.47 seconds, jockey Sean Levey had moved Rosallion up to sixth.

Once into the final straight, Levey shook the reins, and the2-year-old Blue Point colt responded. Inside the final furlong, Rosallion dreweven with Unquestionable (7-1), the O’Brien-trained, Moore-riddencolt who had moved from mid-pack to a late lead through a six-furlong sectionalof 1:07.31.

Rosallion crossed the finish line a length ahead ofUnquestionable. The late-closing favorite Beauvatier (1-1) wound up another 11/2 lengths back in third, Henry Adams took fourth and Zabiari (9-1) was fifth of 10.

The winning time was 1:18.23 for a one-turn race that,without a run-up, was measured at 1,400 meters, nine yards short of sevenfurlong.

Rosallion is 4: 3-0-1 with previous wins on debut at Newburyand in the listed Pat Eddery Stakes in July at Ascot.

The Lagardère also was an early race on the Europe road to the Kentucky Derby, awarding 10-5-3-2-1 points for first through fifth places.