It was 20 years ago that a young and fresh-faced Pat Smullen pitched up in Dubai to ride in Willie Supple’s shadow at Erwan Charpy’s stables.
It has been a long journey in between and this afternoon the Irish rider has his best opportunity to win his first Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe aboard the dual Derby winner Harzand.
Smullen, 39, finished 15th in the jockeys’ standings in his first season, but when Dhruba Selvaratnam got hold of Supple, Charpy had no hesitation in promoting Smullen.
The man from Offaly in Ireland then finished fourth in the table for the following two seasons.
“It was a great period for me,” he recalls of his time in the UAE. “Dubai is a tremendous place but back then it was much better because it was not as big and congested as it is now. There was a great community and we all hung around together. It was very exciting.
“Erwan was a great tutor. He taught me how to ride work properly as he trains in the American style. For me, being a young jockey, it was a huge learning curve.
“I rode everything. Thoroughbreds, Purebred Arabians and I even rode camels for fun. Some of my biggest winners in Dubai were on Purebred Arabians.
“Purebred Arabian horses are a brilliant education for a young rider, but at the time I didn’t think much of them. I won some good races but I never won a World Cup, mind.”
It was the Group 1 win aboard Tarascon in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh in 1997 for trainer Tommy Stack that got the ball rolling for him and propelled him in to the consciousness of the best trainers in Ireland.
When Mick Kinane was recruited from Dermot Weld’s stables to the top job at Ballydoyle at the end of the 1998 season, it is a testament to Smullen’s skill in the saddle that Weld invested in his burgeoning career.
Since then, Smullen has stacked up eight jockeys’ titles in Ireland and helped Weld shape stars such as Vinnie Roe, Grey Swallow, Rite Of Passage, Free Eagle and Fascinating Rock.
Harzand’s success in the Derby at Epsom in June, and the Irish equivalent two weeks later, has capped each of their careers.
The Arc would surely top those two successes, and to win Europe’s most valuable turf race Smullen will once again have to tread in Kinane’s footprints.
When Smullen was riding at the same time as Kinane, he tried to emulate all aspects of his professional career, from his style of riding to how he carried himself and went about his business.
Smullen was riding an Aidan O’Brien pacemaker when Kinane threaded Sea The Stars through traffic to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in 2009.
When he retired to stud, Sea The Stars produced Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Taghrooda to finish third to Treve in the Arc in two seasons ago. Harzand is easily the best colt he has produced to date in his short stallion career. Can Harzand emulate his sire at Chantilly?
“I was on Grand Ducal in Sea The Stars’ Arc so I certainly remember the race vividly,” Smullen said. “It was a great performance and he was a tremendous racehorse.
“Sea The Stars didn’t catch the imagination because he was the type of horse who used to win snugly and was not extravagant. While he was brilliant, he was workmanlike. But that is how he did it and that does not catch the general public’s imagination.
“Harzand is similar. He is a very tough horse. If he was a human he would be a hardy boy that you’d want in your corner, rather than against you. Walking around the yard you feel that presence of him there.”
It is no secret that Harzand wants softer ground than the good ground expected at the racecourse north of Paris this afternoon.
His chances are compromised, also, by the presence of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s Dubai Sheema Classic winner Postponed.
Japan’s latest challenger, Makahiki, who won the Tokyo Yushun in May before his warm-up success in the Prix Niel last month and another difficulty.
Both of those horses come in to the race on the back of a win, whereas Harzand was struck in to during the early stages of the Irish Champion Stakes last month when he finished eighth.
Smullen is hopeful that Harzand is saving his best performance for Sunday.
“Being a jockey is all about riding good horses,” Smullen adds. “I am at the stage of my life and career where I have to take every opportunity that comes my way so to go to France is really a pleasure.
“We might not have seen the best of him yet and hopefully that will come in the Arc.”
That possibly is true of the jockey, too.
Geoffrey Riddle’s picks
Ahead of Sunday’s action at Chantilly, which is highlighted by the Prix de l’Arc Triomphe, our horse racing correspondent looks through the racecard and makes his selections on who he expects to prevail in the day’s seven races.
Prix Marcel Boussac – Criterium Des Pouliches Frankie Dettori and John Gosden teamed up to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 12 months ago with Golden Horn and they can kick off Arc day with a winner courtesy of Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah's Dabyah. Unbeaten in two starts she can get the better of Aidan O'Brien's Promise To Be True and Toulifault, the unbeaten daughter of Frankel.
Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere - Grand Criterium This is not the strongest Group 1 race for juvenile colts ever staged on the Arc card and although Kontrastat should run a huge race, Criquette Head-Maarek's National Defense looks underrated.
Prix de l'Opera Andrew Lloyd-Webber's So Mi Dar could well book her ticket to Dubai with a win here, Preference, however, is for Godolphin's Pleascach, who looked a top-notch filly last season. The 386-day layoff is a concern, but Jim Bolger should have her primed to the minute.
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Postponed almost has everything going for him apart from that he has had a long campaign, and he must give away a lot of weight to younger, and improving rivals. He is sure to make a bold bid, but could be outpointed by Makahiki, the Japanese Derby winner, and Harzand, the English equivalent.
Arabian World Cup It is surprising that 14 horses have pitched up to take on Al Mourtajez, the world champion and defending title holder. He has looked almost invincible, and will need to be harried on the front end of the race if he stands any chance of losing.
Prix l'Abbaye de Longchamp Mecca's Angel's victory in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York was sensational, and if all goes to plan then she looks very hard to beat. Very little does go to plan in this race historically though, and Profitable and defending champion Goldream are drawn closer to the front-runners and have it in them to upset the favourite.
Prix de la Foret Limato was good enough to drop down in distance in order to follow home Mecca's Angel at York, but back up to 1,300 metres there looks very little that can touch him.
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