The 2023 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe turned into a triumphal procession for leading sire Frankel (by Galileo), and the unbeaten champion's grandson Ace Impact (Cracksman, by Frankel) led Westover and Onesto, both sons of Frankel.
In addition to the Arc trifecta for the house of Frankel, the sire's daughter Kelina won the G1 Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs at Longchamp later on the Arc card. Back in June, this 3-year-old filly had won the G2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly.
Also at Chantilly earlier in the summer, Ace Impact had scored his most important prior victory, storming through the stretch to win the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club raced over 2,000 meters. Although favored for the Arc, Ace Impact had to produce a startling turn of speed through the stretch to overtake Westover, who had maintained a good position near the leaders from the start, while Ace Impact and Onesto were much farther back.
Now unbeaten in a career of six starts that began on Jan. 26 at Cagnes-sur-Mer, Ace Impact was bred in Ireland by Mrs. Waltraut Spanner from the Anaaba Blue mare Absolutly Me, and Ace Impact was purchased at the Arqana August yearling sale in 2021 by trainer Jean-Claude Rouget as agent.
Yet Ace Impact overcame more than the odds against a good field of competitors on Oct. 1. For, among all the odds-against that a racehorse must exceed to become a champion, one of the certainties is that he must have a ninth dam, and the ninth dam of Ace Impact was simply lucky to live.
This was La Grelee, a 1918 daughter of the French-based stallion Helicon (Cyllene) and the Kilglass mare Grignouse foaled in France at Jean Couturier's Le Mesnil. A good-sized chestnut, La Grelee was born with a most unfortunate set of forelegs, and the circumstance was enough of a problem that breeder William A. Chanler was going to have the filly euthanized.
Couturier, however, asked to purchase the filly, and Chanler agreed to transfer the filly to Couturier but refused to accept any payment.
La Grelee became the dam of 10 winners in Couturier's stud and became the breeder's foundation mare with such performers as Rialto (Rabelais), who won the Prix Dollar, Prix d'Ispahan, and the Grand International d'Ostende. At stud, Rialto sired Wild Risk, a foal of 1940 who raced during the Second World War in German-occupied France and was far from being considered a top racer or sire prospect.
At stud, however, Wild Risk sired Worden, winner of the 1953 Washington D.C. International and other important races; Vimy, winner of the 1955 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and second in the Prix du Jockey-Club; Balto, winner of the 1961 Grand Prix de Paris at three and the Ascot Gold Cup at four; and even more importantly, Le Fabuleux, winner of the 1964 Prix du Jockey-Club and seven other races from 11 starts. After an excellent beginning at stud in France, Le Fabuleux was imported to stand in Kentucky at Claiborne, and the immense chestnut had a major impact in the States. He is notably the broodmare sire of Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Unbridled (Fappiano).
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.Rialto's full sister, the chestnut Roahouga, was born when Rabelais was 25. This did not stop Roahouga from becoming a high-class performer and winning the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in 1928. Her half-sister Phebe (Pharis) was third in the 1933 running of the same event, which gives some indication of the importance of La Grelee to French breeding and racing. Phebe's branch of the family produced the Arc winner, as well as Teleprompter (Welsh Pageant), winner of the 1985 Arlington Million, and Ouija Board (Cape Cross), who won the 2004 Oaks at Epsom and at the Currah, as well as the Breeders' Cup Filly Turf in 2004 and 2006.
Despite the French connections of her parents and descendants, La Grelee came from an American female line. It was, in fact, one of the greatest and most famous of American lines, and this is the family of the greatest American sire of the 19th century: Lexington.
This line goes back to the Jack of Diamonds mare (born 1760) in the U.S. and goes forward past Lexington (1850) to Kentucky Derby winners Baden-Baden (1877) and Leonatus (1883), Preakness winners The Bard (1886), Damrosch (1916), and Dauber (1938); and to 1960 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Puissant Chef.
The branch of the family that gave us the 2023 Arc winner went overseas in 1908 when Chanler exported La Grelee's second dam Simper (Sempronius) in foal to Olympian (Domino). Chanler and other breeders and racing men were exporting American stock to Europe at this time because New York and other states had outlawed gambling, which had the effect of shutting down racing in most states in the country.
The American owners and breeders found a less-restrictive sporting life in Europe, and breeders there found good horses that helped to improve the racing fortunes of Marcel Boussac and Federico Tesio, among others.
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