Lure of Longchamp back for Brant with leading Arc de Triomphe contender Sottsass

Peter Brant was 24 when he was working on a film in Paris and a grand opportunity presented itself.

Years earlier, as a teenager growing up in Queens, New York, racing had become a passion for Brant. He delighted in sneaking into nearby Belmont Park and Aqueduct racetrack with his friends to spend the afternoon at the races and watch some of the sport's great stars of the era.

Being in France on the October day when the 1971 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was contested, that love of racing made it an irresistible lure for Brant. He travelled to Longchamp for the first time and was dazzled by the pageantry on an unforgettable day highlighted by the joyous scene of fellow American Paul Mellon winning Europe's most famous and coveted race with a legendary star in Mill Reef.

In time, Brant built his own highly successful stable, and by the 1980s he was racing horses in the Arc, such as the filly Triptych, who was third in the 1986 and 1987 editions of the famed race. He hoped that one day he could mirror Mellon's success in the international classic.

Peter Brant (left) with Chad BrownCredit: Steve Dennis

"The Arc always has been for me the ultimate race to win because it's one of the most challenging races in the world," Brant said. "It's difficult to win because you have the best horses of that year there. The three-year-olds, the four-year-olds, the five-year-olds, the six-year-olds. You have the best of the best, making it a very unusually difficult race to win."

More than 30 years have passed since one of Brant's horses raced in the Arc, but that long wait will end Oct 6 at Longchamp when his colours will be carried by the three-year-old Sottsass in a race featuring a star destined to be legendary in the years to come.

Brant's upcoming visit to France will provide him with another up-close view of greatness as Juddmonte's spectacular five-year-old mare Enable will attempt to become the first horse to win the Arc in three straight years while chasing a 14th victory in 15 starts.

"I think very highly of Enable – I think she's really great, and she's trained by one of the greatest horsemen ever in John Gosden," Brant said about a mare who in 2018 became the only horse with victories in the Arc and Longines Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year. "I can see why she'll be the favourite, and she will be very tough to beat. She's a true champion, and it's an honour to have a horse who is viewed as competition for her."

While the bulk of the Connecticut resident's horses are based in the United States with trainer Chad Brown, his small band of horses in Europe have enjoyed considerable success this year.

"I'm a big fan of grass racing as well as dirt racing, but I think grass racing is growing faster than anything else because it's international and it's a better surface in terms of keeping horses sound," Brant said.

Along with Sottsass, he owns Monarch of Egypt in a partnership with Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith. In April, the two-year-old colt became the first winner for Triple Crown champion American Pharoah and has progressed to become Group 1-placed.

In Sottsass, who races under Brant's White Birch Farm banner, he has one of Europe's top three-year-olds.

Sottsass won the Prix Niel this monthCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

A son of Siyouni trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, Sottsass emerged as a leading Arc contender after winning the Qipco Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly in dazzling fashion. Purchased by Oceanic Bloodstock for €340,000 at the 2017 Arqana Deauville August Yearlings Sale, he broke the track record by more than a second, clocking 2 min 02.90sec under jockey Cristian Demuro at a distance of 1m2½f.

Following his victory in a race regarded as the French Derby, the son of the Galileo mare Starlet's Sister prepped for the Arc by winning the Prix Niel at Longchamp.

Brant knows the odds are stacked against Sottsass – and everyone else who tackles Enable – and he also understands the magnitude of the accomplishment should he become the first US owner to win the Arc since Bruce McNall and hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky captured the 1990 race with Saumarez.

"If you sent a balloon up in the sky 8,000 feet, it wouldn't be higher than I'd be if I could win the Arc," said Brant, who named the colt after the renowned Italian designer and architect Ettore Sottsass. "It's a dream for me, and I certainly may not win it this year, but I want to keep trying. I'm a longshot against a heck of a mare. Sottsass is a French Derby winner with some great accomplishments and I'm very proud of him, but [Enable] could be the greatest filly who has ever raced over there."

Brant did not rule out the possibility of sending Sottsass to the US for the Breeders' Cup Turf if all goes well, but the final say rests with Rouget.

The Arc will be the highlight of what has the makings to be an unforgettable day for Brant and an afternoon that will vividly illustrate how quickly he has returned to prominence in the sport after exiting it in the 1990s for about 20 years to focus on his career as a world-class polo player.

Later in the day after Sottsass runs in the Arc, across the Atlantic Ocean, Brant will send out Sistercharlie, the champion turf female in 2018, in the $500,000 Flower Bowl Stakes at Belmont Park, and his Alabama Stakes winner Dunbar Road will face older females in the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes at Keeneland.

"It's going to be quite a day on two continents," said Brant, who returned to the sport in 2017 and was an Eclipse Award finalist for Outstanding Owner in 2018.

Peter Brant: returned to the sport in 2017Credit: Keeneland Photo

Winner of the 2018 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, Sistercharlie, by Myboycharlie, is a half sister to Sottsass. Keeping it all in the family, Brant also paid US$457,520 at the 2018 Arqana August Yearling Sale to acquire a half brother to both Sottsass and Sistercharlie. Now a two-year-old, Radiant Child is by Charm Spirit.

It also was an eventful couple of weeks for the 74-year-old Brant at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he made 15 purchases for a combined $7.42million and also bought two horses in partnership with MV Magnier for another $1.75m.

Included in the two colts he bought with Magnier was a $1m half-brother to Monarch of Egypt by Pioneerof the Nile consigned by Lane's End. On his own, he paid $925,000 for a Curlin filly out of Jacaranda, a Congrats mare who is a half-sister to Constitution .

Though Brant purchased Sistercharlie privately while she was racing in Europe, he said the rising prices for experienced racehorses steered him toward the yearling market this summer.

Sistercharlie won at last year's Breeders' CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

"It's harder to buy older horses, and I felt there was an opportunity at [the Keeneland] sale to pick up some wonderful fillies. With all the syndicates getting together for the colts, it was harder to get one of the top colts, and I thought that created an opportunity to get some good fillies. I bought eight to ten yearlings at a good, average price for me, and that allowed me to reach for two or three of them," he said.

As active as he has been at sales, Brant's ultimate goal is to build up his band of broodmares both at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky and at Coolmore Stud in Ireland so that he will not be as reliant on the yearling market.

"I'm keeping most of my mares at Claiborne in Kentucky, and I have a lot overseas with Coolmore," he said. "The reason I am racing over there is because I believe the stallions over there are very good and I want to breed my mares to them, so it's best for me to keep some of my mares there."

Brant said his mares produced nine foals this year, and he hopes to increase the number to 36 in the next few years.

Whether there will be a stallion with black type from the Arc in the mix is a much different question, which will be answered next Sunday on a day of racing that promises to be as special as they come for Peter Brant.

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