Jean-Claude Rouget's prowess was never in doubt but Ace Impact Arc triumph elevates him into master category

Jean-Claude Rouget needed no further amplification of his training prowess. The man who won his first French trainers’ title in 2009 had already usurped Andre Fabre as that country’s premier exponent of his trade before Sottsass landed the Arc four years ago.

Nevertheless, what Rouget showed in his handling of Ace Impact, a brilliant second winner of the Arc for the trainer on Sunday, was that he has become a master of his profession. He exuded a quiet but unshakeable confidence in the build-up, secure in the knowledge he had the right horse for the job. A trait of the very best is that they always make it look easy.

Rouget offered a perfect vignette of himself as Ace Impact delivered his withering finish in the closing stages. Television cameras showed him rhythmically raising and lowering his arms, as though he was bringing the orchestra before him to a ringing crescendo. He was the grace to Ace Impact’s unbridled power.