'That could not have gone better' says Jean-Claude Rouget as Arc favourite Ace Impact edges to Group 2 win on return

Ace Impact consolidated his position as the horse to beat in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with an ultimately impressive defeat of Al Riffa to take his unbeaten record to five.

If any stray beach-lovers had come up from the Deauville boardwalk to witness the Jockey Club hero for the first time in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano, they might have been tempted to tear up their tickets at halfway, so well had Cristian Demuro put Ace Impact to sleep at the back of the field.

But once set alight, the same brutal acceleration that put paid to Big Rock at Chantilly propelled the son of Cracksman past Al Riffa and Birr Castle, with Demuro giving away just how much pressure he had felt with an emphatic punch of the air crossing the line. 

Embraced by Ace Impact’s original owner, Serge Stempniak, as well as Kamel and Pauline Chehboub, whose Gousserie Racing and Haras de Beaumont enterprise have bought a half share since his Classic success, trainer Jean-Claude Rouget took some time to come down from what had clearly been a hugely pressurised build-up to the race.

When the words did come, they fairly tumbled out. “There was a lot more pressure than in the Jockey Club, when he wasn’t favourite,” said Rouget. “We were a very good outsider and we had confidence in him that day.

“After that there is the fear of losing an unbeaten record, even though he seemed to have come out of the Jockey Club very well. You have to build them up again and get them ready for this race, although not absolutely tuned up, which is never easy.”

Rouget added: “There are always question marks and the longer your career is, the more things you see, good and bad. There was the disappointment with Brametot in this same race for instance. So there was a lot of pressure today.

“That pressure never gets any less as you get older. With these good horses, you never want to miss. He hasn’t missed anything today, he was super.”

Ace Impact had appeared calm in the parade ring before but came alive as soon as Demuro was given the leg-up, heading straight out on to the track. 

For the first half of the race he only had German-trained Straight for company and appeared not to have much interest in following the lead of his pacemaker Cambronne. But just as at Chantilly, he relished the stiff task he had set himself.

Rouget said: “He’s never overwhelmed in his races, it’s more that he wants to start fast – heading into the first turn he was pulling quite hard – and Cristian has the job of getting him covered up and to drop the bit. That’s why he gets quite a long way back. 

“But with that long home turn at Deauville you can always make the ground up. I remember Literato producing a real turn of foot and reeling in another of Kamel [Chehboub]’s good horses, Spirit One. 

“He pulled himself up a bit once he hit the front. He accelerated very sharply and once he’d gone past, he knew the race was won.”

Cristian Demuro and Ace Impact return to the Deauville winner's enclosure

Most bookmakers left Ace Impact unchanged for the Arc but Ladbrokes and Coral both eased him for Europe’s great showpiece on October 1, going 9-2 favourite (from 4).

Whether we will get a further chance to assess his credentials before the big day has now become an open question.

“We’ll see what comes next,” said Rouget. “It will be Ireland [for the Kingdom of Bahrain Champion Stakes] or else straight to the Arc. It’s only six weeks to the Arc and I’m no longer thinking about the Prix Niel. He’s never run at Longchamp but a lot of great champions have won the Arc on their first start there."

Explaining the factors that will weigh on the decision to be taken in conjunction with Demuro and the two ownership camps, the trainer added: “It will be a case of either going there fresh, or going to the Irish Champion Stakes, which would obviously add greatly to his value as a stallion.

Jean-Claude Rouget admires Ace Impact after the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano

“But there are a lot of things to take into account; winning in Ireland would be important, but you don’t want to leave the Arc behind there, while there is the question of whether he stays in training at four. We’ll discuss them calmly and all together, not rush into a decision after the race.”

Al Riffa was three-quarters of a length down at the line under Christophe Soumillon and, should Rouget decide to head to Leopardstown on September 9, it is likely the two will meet again.

“Obviously the winner is a champion and we’re very close to him,” said Joseph O’Brien of last season’s National Stakes winner. “Christophe liked our horse a lot and we’ve a lot to look forward to.

“The last run was decent but it’s nice to see him back to his two-year-old form today, and he finished very well. It was good to keep him against three-year-olds again before taking on older horses next time, which will probably be in the Irish Champion Stakes. We’ll look at the Champion Stakes afterwards.”

Coral: 9-2 Ace Impact, 7 Feed The Flame, Hukum, 10 Paddington, Westover, 12 Blue Rose Cen, King Of Steel, 14 Auguste Rodin, Savethelastdance, 16 Desert Crown, Emily Upjohn, bar 

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