What more can Yorkshire Oaks heroine Alpinista do to win over her Arc doubters?

For an owner and breeder of Kirsten Rausing's standing, to keep her most valuable future broodmare in training with the express intent of running in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe shows the magnetic pull Europe's middle-distance crown jewel still exerts.

Having collected a Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and now a Yorkshire Oaks on the way to Paris, the gamble of keeping Alpinista in training has already well and truly paid off, whatever transpires on October 2.

Sir Mark Prescott is one of the most popular figures in Flat racing, while Rausing's determination to stay in the fight against the behemoths of the sport for so many years should be another pointer to public adoration of Alpinista, wherever she has done her winning.