Head-Maarek retains full respect for Arc rivals Criquette Head-Maarek is taking nothing for granted ahead of Treve's bid for a Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hat-trick despite her scintillating performance at Longchamp on Sunday. The five-year-old is odds-on with some bookmakers to become the first horse in history to win the Paris showpiece three times and it is not difficult to see why after she looked better than ever in sprinting clear of her toiling rivals in the Prix Vermeille. Her trainer feels her star mare is at least as good as ever, but respects a number of her likely rivals early next month, including Andre Fabre's Prix Niel winner New Bay and John Gosden's Derby, Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes hero Golden Horn. Head-Maarek said: "She is very well this morning. She took the race well and is just having a walk in the yard. "I knew before yesterday she was very well in herself and when she is like that, you see what she can do. She ran yesterday like she did when she won the Arc as a three-year-old and it wasn't a bad field. "She loves Longchamp. She is so much better there than she is at Saint-Cloud. "I was looking at the betting and I see they have dropped her (odds) a lot - I think they are scared! "I hope they are right to be scared, but we still fear the colts. New Bay is a very good colt and you have the English horses coming as well - they will make her run. "She will have an easy week now and then it will be back to work and I am sure she will improve. "She wasn't short of work, but she was short of racing." Harry Herbert, racing manager to owner Sheikh Joaan Al Thani's Al Shaqab Racing, was blown away by Treve's sensational display. He said: "I think anyone who loves racing would have enjoyed watching her yesterday. She is such an exceptional filly. "Her performance was nothing short of remarkable really and I have rarely seen anything like it. Even some of the hardened professionals I spoke to at Longchamp were saying it was one of the best performances they'd ever seen. "I've seen her this morning and she's bucking and squealing and everyone couldn't be happier with her. "She hasn't put a foot wrong all year. Criquette made a very simple four-race plan at the start of the year, she's won three of the four and now we have the big one to come. "It's the best all-aged race in the world, so we expect a tough contest and we fully respect all-comers, but I think they'll all respect her too after what we saw yesterday. "Fingers crossed she turns up in the same form in three weeks' time. It's very nerve-racking, but very exciting too. "Anyone that loves racing should enjoy an animal like this. They don't come around very often, so we should all enjoy her while we can."
