The Arc 2.0 - why this year's running marks the start of a new era for Europe's greatest race

There was a run of four years in the 1980s when the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe went from being on the periphery of my racing vision to lodging itself firmly front and centre. 

The run started with All Along threading her way up the rail under a nerveless ride from Walter Swinburn and was succeeded by Sagace striking in the same Daniel Wildenstein colours, a victory that looked to have been repeated 12 months later only for the Longchamp stewards to toss out the home favourite and promote Rainbow Quest. Then there was Dancing Brave eluding the widest of wide-angle cameras in that ocean-deep 1986 Arc.  

What I couldn't have known at the time was that, just as the race was embedding itself in my affections, it was about to undergo a step change; 1986 was the last date in the Arc calendar that can be counted in the BAF era. That is 'Before Andre Fabre', as the legendary trainer's first of eight victories came the following year courtesy of Trempolino.