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| Staff Writer |
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After a narrow head defeat to Mendocino in the Gr.1 Grosser Preis von Baden, Torquator Tasso will head for Paris for the defense of his Gr.1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
For an agonizing 10 minutes, it seemed that Torquator Tasso would is without Frankie Dettori, whose six strikes with the whip (one over the permitted limit), cost him a 14-day suspension.
Dettori said: "We knew it was going to be a falsely run race, that's why I kicked at the 800 (meter mark), to make a race of it. It's not his style. He needs soft ground and horses stopping in front of him.
"(Torquator Tasso) got a turn of foot with a good gallop but today the turn of foot was in the straight. If we go to France, get soft ground and a strongly run race, we'll be in business, but today we went too slow—he wasn't beaten far today."
"He didn't run that bad but he needs a race to suit his style, not one with four runners. I did everything I could to make a race of it."
With an entry in the Arc already next to his name, Mendocino brought a trip to Paris much closer to running down Torquator Tasso, a fact not lost on the connections of the runner-up.