QATAR ARC TRIALS - Quote from the runner from Mauricio Delcher Sanchez et Christiane Head : Pearled Majesty, a New String to Christiane Head’s Bow

This Sunday, 6 September 2026, ParisLongchamp Racecourse will host a top-class card featuring the trials for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Qatar Arc Trials, as well as the Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (Group 1) and the Qatar Cup – Prix Dragon (Group 1 PA).

Four weeks ahead of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, three preparatory races make up the Qatar Arc Trials: the Qatar Prix Vermeille (Group 1 – the highest level of international competition), open to fillies and mares aged three and over; the Qatar Prix Niel (Group 2), for three-year-old colts and fillies; and the Qatar Prix Foy (Group 2), open to horses aged four and over. These three races give Arc contenders one final opportunity to fine-tune their preparations on the ParisLongchamp track ahead of the major date on 4 October.

Based in Chantilly (Oise), trainer Mauricio Delcher Sanchez will saddle Pearled Majesty in the Qatar Prix Niel. He co-owns the colt with Christiane Head. One of racing’s most distinguished figures, Head won the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe three times as a trainer: with Three Troikas in 1979, followed by Trêve in 2013 and 2014. To this day, she remains the only woman to have won the prestigious race as a trainer. Christiane Head retired in February 2018, but remains active as an owner, and Pearled Majesty could become her first runner in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in that capacity. Pearled Majesty was among the favourites for the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club but, having raced too keenly, could finish only ninth. He showed his full class on his next start, however, with an impressive victory in the Prix Eugène Adam (Group 2).

Mauricio Delcher Sanchez provided an update: “After his victory in the Prix Eugène Adam, we kept him ticking over at home. It was difficult to give him a proper workout in Chantilly this summer because of the heat. That is why we arranged a special gallop at Deauville Racecourse on 22 August. Pearled Majesty performed very well that day, and we were very pleased with the way he behaved. He recovered extremely well afterwards. Sunday’s field may be small, but it is very high quality. The race fits perfectly into his programme, and we will see how he performs before deciding on the next step. He is entered in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, as well as the Champion Stakes. Christophe Soumillon will ride him on Sunday.”

30 days before the Arc – The Qatar Arc Trials, the final opportunity to get your place in the Arc! 

On Sunday, 6 September, one month before the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, winners of any of the three main prep races of the Qatar Arc Trials (Qatar Prix Vermeille, Qatar Prix Niel and Qatar Prix Foy), will receive a Wild Card that grants them an automatic starting position in the Arc. 

The entry fee will be refunded to connections of winners of the Qatar Arc Trials. Above all, if they don’t have an entry for the Arc, these horses will benefit from a free supplementary entry worth €120,000.