The former jump jockey has won Europe’s showpiece race a record eight times since he had his first runner in the contest way back in 1983.
He did not have to wait long for his first winner either. The Pat Eddery-ridden Trempolino in 1987 smashed the track record that had been set just 12 months earlier by none other than Dancing Brave.
Fabre was made to wait another five years for a second taste of glory but he dominated the race in the 1990s.
Subotica (1992), Carnegie (1994), Peintre Celebre (1997) and Sagamix (1998) all won for Fabre at a time when he all but ruled Flat racing in France.
While only Peintre Celebre of that group would be remembered as a truly great horse, it is perhaps a sign of Fabre’s skill and ability that he was able to win such a prestigious prize with horses he himself would describe as “not a champion”.
“I think the reason the race is seen as the best in Europe is the timing. It comes when the three-year-olds have had chance to mature but then you also might get soft ground so it is a good time to meet with equal weapons,” said Fabre.
“The ground is obviously an important factor but if it goes heavy then it rewards those horses with more stamina – and why not?
“My first runner in it was Zalataia in 1983. She was a good horse (eighth to All Along) and I then had a few more goes before winning it.
“Trempolino was a very good horse indeed, in fact I don’t think he gets remembered as much as he should do. He beat Dancing Brave’s track record and lived until he was 34.
“He was very special to me as my first winner of the race – it was a fantastic ride by Pat Eddery, I must say that. He then went to the Breeders’ Cup and ran an amazing race to finish second as he carried the same weight as the older horses, otherwise he would have won.”
Five years later Subotica, who had been second in the Prix du Jockey Club a year earlier, beat a field that included User Friendly, St Jovite and Dr Devious.
“He was a bit backward at three and missed the Arc but he was a horse who was good at a good moment. He was not a champion but not a bad horse,” said Fabre.
“It is not for me to say I did a good job but he got a good ride (Thierry Jarnet) at a good moment. He beat some good horses and he had no pedigree to speak of really.”
Two years later Fabre provided Sheikh Mohammed with his first win in the race through Carnegie, who certainly was bred for the job.
“Carnegie was by Sadler’s Wells out of Detroit, who had won the Arc herself in 1980. He was a very good horse,” said Fabre.
Any conversation with Fabre, however, is rarely complete without a mention of his 1997 winner, Peintre Celebre. The 78-year-old has repeatedly hailed the chestnut as the best he has ever trained.
“Peintre Celebre was a champion, he had fantastic acceleration rarely seen. He could win races in a matter of strides,” enthused Fabre.
“In 1997 he achieved something rare, he won the Prix du Jockey Club, the Grand Prix de Paris and the Arc, he was the first since the 1940s to do that.
“He was horse of the year. Special. In that Arc were Pilsudski, Helissio, Swain and he won by five lengths.”
Just 12 months later Fabre was celebrating again, this time with Sagamix.
“He was very backwards at two so didn’t run. I think we can say to win the Arc with him was a good training achievement! When he won a maiden I thought we’d done an amazing job,” he said.
“I do remember being out for a meal with some friends in Deauville and they asked who would win the Arc. When I said Sagamix nobody had heard of him!
“He was a nice horse but by no means a champion, he was helped by the soft ground that year.”
In 2005 Hurricane Run atoned for a near-miss in the Prix du Jockey Club a few months earlier.
“He was a great horse. At three only Shamardal stopped him from winning the Jockey Club when he didn’t get the best ride. He then won the Irish Derby, the Prix Niel and the Arc, when he got a good ride from Kieren Fallon,” said Fabre.
“A year later we won it with Rail Link who won a very strong Arc because Hurricane Run was in it again and there was Deep Impact.
“All my Arc winners were good horses but it surprises me how none of them were great stallions, Rail Link disappeared, Hurricane Run was not fertile, Peintre Celebre had some good horses (Pride, Byword) but not too many.
“It was really disappointing for me that Rail Link got injured and couldn’t run at four as I think he would have been even better, he was a great mover and a powerful horse.”
A 13 year drought followed for Fabre before Waldgeist won in 2019, but unfortunately for him he will be remembered as the horse who stopped Enable from becoming the first horse to win the Arc three times.
“A great race and a great ride from Pierre-Charles Boudot,” remembers Fabre.
“Not only was there Enable but Ghaiyyath and Sottsass too, but they went too fast too soon.
“He was a good horse, Waldgeist, he’d come close to winning the Prix du Jockey and Irish Derby at three and had not been beaten far by Enable the year before. I was pleased he got to win it.
“He was not a super horse but he was a good horse, very sound.”
With eight to chose from in his memory bank Fabre can stage his own Arc but there is little hesitation when asked to pick who might win between them.
“Peintre Celebre was the best, I’ve been lucky to train some great horses, but he was special.”
