Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien had won everything (every race) under the sun except one. It was the Arc de Triomphe. That missing link in O’Brien’s resume disappeared on Sunday when Dylan Thomas won the Longchamp showpiece in a photo finish.

Dylan Thomas was Kieren Fallon’s mount. Fallon had a difficult choice to make. Should it be the four year-old Dylan Thomas or the three year-old Soldier Of Fortune? Dylan Thomas was the Irish Derby winner in 2006 and winner of the Champion Stakes. His haul this year included the King George at Ascot in July. Soldier Of Fortune left his rivals standing in the rain-soaked Curragh racecourse early in July in the Irish Derby.  He went to Longchamp to win the Prix Niel, the traditional Arc prep that had provided nine Arc winners in the past eleven years. In the post-Arc press conference, Fallon expressed relief: “I took Dylan Thomas because of dry weather in Paris. I am happy I made the right choice. Another thing that influenced my decision was that Dylan Thomas is the best horse I have ever ridden.”

It was a gorgeous Paris day. There was frost in the morning. I had a sweater on. As the day progressed and the sun came out, the warm-up prompted me to take the sweater off. All twelve went postward. Authorized was 12-10, then 11-10 and came down to evens. Next in demand was the Aidan O’Brien quartet at 5-2. In The French tote, the four horses were an entry. Dylan Thomas was 11-2 in the British betting market. Soldier Of Fortune had his following and was at 3-1 and sometimes lower.

To accommodate a Rugby game (Paris was hosting the World Rugby tournament), post time for the Arc had been moved to 4.40 PM Paris time from the traditional 5.30 post. Authorized was at 11-10 as the horses called them to order. As the jockeys came down the steps from the weighing room, Frankie Dettori, responding to a fan’s statement, made a gesture of appealing to the Almighty for a pre-Arc blessing.

It was not a fast pace. The track was drying out. It was more ‘firm’ than ‘good’. Authorized had drawn post-12 and was racing last. French rules require that no cutting (across) be done in the first 200 metres. Dylan Thomas lay about sixth or seventh. Soldier Of Fortune was third and fourth and very prominent. There was no change in the order as the 12-horse took the final turn. Soldier Of Fortune was the first to make a move, With 400 metres to go, Johnny Murtagh had Soldier Of Fortune in front. Dylan Thomas had switched to the out and was responding to Kieren Fallon’s call. Youmzain, Sagara, Getway and Zambezi Sun were delivering their bids. Authorized was spinning his wheels and it was becoming clear that the favourite had nothing to give. With 200 metres to run, Dylan Thomas hit the front and in the process, veered sharply to the right. Youmzain, Richard Hughes up, was moving menacingly and was gaining on Dylan Thomas. Zambezi Sun was not keeping up. Sagara and Getway were doing their best work but it did not seem enough. Dylan Thomas, under a relentless Fallon drive, held on to win. The margin was a head. Youmzain was one and one half lengths ahead of Sagara who took third. Authorized finished 10th.

The winner’s time for the 2,400-metre journey was 2 28.5 and the winner’s share of the purse was 772,162 pounds.

It was not time yet for celebration in the Dylan Thomas camp. The Longchamp stewards wanted to know if Dylan Thomas had caused interference to either Zambezi Sun or Soldier Of Fortune or both. It was a long 30 minutes. Then the decision came. Dylan Thomas and Kieren Fallon were allowed to keep the Arc. There was an elaborate ceremony. The winner was paraded in front of the packed stands. The winning team rode in a coach to the cheering of the fans. TV broadcasters asked questions in French and English.

John Magnier and Michael Tabor showed up at the press conference. I asked the first question: “Was your confidence-level for Dylan Thomas high because of the dry spell in Paris?’ The answer was, “Yes, we were certain that the going would suit Dylan Thomas. Fallon gave a masterful ride.”

My next question was if Dylan Thomas would go to the Breeders’ Cup to challenge English Channel (now rated the top US grass horse) in the Turf race. “We have to see how he comes out of the Arc. We will talk. Let us see what Aidan (O’Brien) has to say.”

The seventh race (the race following the Arc) was the Prix du Cadran in which, Yeats, ridden by Fallon, was the 3-10 choice. This race was held up by over twenty minutes. As an anti climax, Yeats finished a tame third. Moments later, Fallon was escorted to the Media Centre.

I presented Fallon with an Arlington Park T-shirt and a goodwill message from Chicago fans. My question was whether he may have moved too soon because Youmzain’s bid was only a head shy. “You are right. I had to move because the front ones were getting away. I had the lead with a furlong (200 metres) left and my horse began to idle. I had to work to keep him going. I am delighted. I have always said that Dylan Thomas is the best I have ridden in my career.”

I asked Fallon another question. “Given you were not allowed to ride in the US in 2006, are you going to try to ride at Monmouth Park? Don’t you think Dylan Thomas will have a big chance in the Breeders’ Cup turf?”

“That is what John Magnier asked me. I don’t know if I will make it to America. Dylan Thomas will like Monmouth Park and will have a solid chance.”

It has been confirmed that Dylan Thomas will go to America. Excellent Art, the St James Palace Stakes winner at Royal Ascot, will also make the trip.

Frankie Dettori, reacting to Authorized’s poor race, said, “I never had a chance. He was in no mood. I do not know what the problem was. I knew I had nothing to give a long way from home. Very disappointing. I try to win. You win some and lose some.”

“Losing by a head makes it hard. We were gaining. Youmzain raced big.” said Bruce Raymond, speaking on behalf of the horse’s connections.

Authorized has left Peter Chapple-Hyam’s yard to join the Darley operation. No explanation yet has been given. Chapple-Hyam did say that he may have given him too much work.

Another Paris visit and another Arc. A big favourite was beaten. The run for the three year-olds ended. Kieren Fallon won his second Arc in three years. He won with Hurricane Run in 2005. It was all surreal as Fallon went to London on Monday to sit at his trial on race-fixing charges. One of the owners of Dylan Thomas said, “Kieren must be an iron man to ride so well with all the distractions.”