Saddadd Arc de Triomphe Bid Follows Baden-Baden Breakthrough
Saddadd Arc de Triomphe Entry
Saddadd claimed his first Group One success in the Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden on 6 September 2026, delivering trainer Roger Varian a result that had been building across the entire season. The colt tracked the leading group before being asked for effort and kept finding under pressure to prevail by a half-length from Parachutiste, with Giavellotto back in fourth.
The Grosser Preis von Baden was run over the Group One course at Baden-Baden, with Saddadd, a 4YO colt by Pinatubo out of Talmada, trained by Roger Varian for owner Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum. The victory was the first Group One success for Pinatubo as a sire and lifted Saddadd's record to five wins from 10 starts, with one second and three thirds, and earnings of €454,806 (US$495,739).
The Baden-Baden win capped a campaign built around steady progression rather than a single defining performance. Saddadd opened his season with victory in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown, a result Varian pointed to immediately as evidence of a horse maturing with age. "It was a good start to the year down at Sandown Park," Varian said. "He is a four year old that should have his best days ahead of him."
Building A Case Through The Summer
From Sandown, connections sent Saddadd to Ireland for the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, where he finished third having found conditions against him. Varian pointed to the manner in which the colt finished, rather than the position itself. "He won the Gordon Richards well and just got a little bit of out of his ground following the favourite in the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland, but he hit the line strong."
Saddadd's next assignment was the Coral-Eclipse, a sharp step up in company against some of the season's leading middle-distance performers. He finished fourth, beaten eight lengths by Constitution River. "We've had the Eclipse in mind since he won the Gordon Richards and he didn't do anything in Ireland to discourage us – I thought that was a very good run," Varian said. "It was his first try at the top level on only his eighth start, so we think his best days are still ahead of him."
Ahead of that Coral-Eclipse assignment, Varian reported the colt training well and settled at home. "He's in great form and we're really happy with him," he said. The pattern across the year has been one of a horse absorbing each test and taking a clear step forward from it.
Saddadd is confirmed among the entries for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on 4 October 2026, a race that stands as the championship test of the European middle-distance season. His participation reflects a colt whose form has strengthened race by race since his 3YO campaign, with Varian confirming the Arc as the target in the wake of the Baden-Baden win.
Hitting The Line Strong In Ireland
Varian has spoken since the spring of a horse still finding his ceiling, telling connections in May that Saddadd "looks like a horse that has improved from three to four down at Sandown and it has looked that way at home." That assessment has only gathered weight with each subsequent run, from the Gordon Richards Stakes through to the Group One breakthrough at Baden-Baden.
The scale of the task at Longchamp is considerable, with Europe's leading middle-distance performers of the season converging on the same afternoon. Saddadd arrives with less black type at the very top level than several of his rivals, but the trajectory of his season, building through the Gordon Richards Stakes, the Tattersalls Gold Cup, the Coral-Eclipse and now the Grosser Preis von Baden, has been consistently upward rather than static.
Godolphin's interest in the outcome extends beyond raceday interest alone, given Saddadd's status as the first Group One winner for the young Godolphin-bred sire Pinatubo. A result at Longchamp on 4 October 2026 would extend that stallion's early record at the highest level, adding further weight to a broodmare and sire story that has developed alongside the colt's own progression through the season.