French rider Thierry Jarnet and Treve’s trainer Criquette Head-Maarek celebrate with their trophies after HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani-owned Treve won the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at the Longchamps track in Paris on Sunday. (EPA)

AFP/Paris

The buzzword for this year’s running of Europe’s most prestigious race, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was “monumental” and Criquette Head-Maarek’s performance in training the winner Treve was just that.

Last year’s impressive winner was all but written off after three successive defeats this season especially after her last outing, the Prix Vermeille in early September where her famed acceleration failed to materialise.

However, Head-Maarek then won two crucial debates with Qatari owner HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani.

First she persuaded him to restore veteran jockey Thierry Jarnet at the expense of his retained jockey, Italian legend Frankie Dettori.

Jarnet had ridden Treve in the Head colours and won the 2013 French Oaks before Sheikh Joaan bought her ahead of last year’s Vermeille.

Dettori, who won on her in the 2013 Vermeille but then missed the Arc because he broke his ankle in the week leading up to the race, was said to be ‘upset’ at that bold move, although defeat in the Vermeille with Jarnet on board appeared to confirm the impression that injuries had taken their toll.

Jarnet himself was not convinced she could go on and become only the sixth horse to win back-to-back Arcs but there was no stopping Head-Maarek and her deep-seated belief there was one more great performance in Treve.

Thus after mounting a robust defence of her defeat in the Vermeille, saying the back injury and the cyst in her hoof had forced her to lay her off till the beginning of August, she convinced the Sheikh his star filly could achieve a feat several other greats had failed to do the following year since Alleged managed it in 1977-78.

He acquiesced although some owners would have not yielded thinking they knew better than the trainer.

But Sheikh Joaan earned her unstinting praise and gratitude after her filly had justified her confidence and beaten Flintshire by a comfortable two lengths on Sunday.

“I would like to thank Sheikh Joaan who placed his confidence in me, both for when I said that she should run in the Arc whatever happened and when I asked him to restore Thierry Jarnet in the saddle,” she said.

Head-Maarek also proved her point to Dettori in no uncertain fashion after he had said last weekend that Treve had cracked mentally.

She retorted she would never run a horse if she felt she had lost interest and she would prove him wrong.

To say the Arc is part of the DNA of the Head family would be an understatement as Head-Maarek now has three wins to her name, her grandfather William Head and father Alec trained two and four Arc winners respectively, while brother Freddie won three as a jockey.

However, this victory moved both her and her father Alec more, not least because the family had bred Treve and astonishingly given what has followed failed to find a buyer for her at the 2011 yearling sales even at 22,000 euros.

“I am on a cloud, on a cloud,” said Head senior, now 90.

“I trained several Arc winners, but Treve is the best of the lot. I am overcome with joy for my daughter Criquette.”

Jarnet, 47 and who joined a rare club of jockeys to have won four Arc de Triomphes, highlighted how much Head-Maarek’s belief in the horse had helped convince him she could win.

“I was a little sceptical after the Vermeille as she (Treve) seemed to have tightened up,” he said.

“However, Criquette said she was a lot better than she had been and she reassured me with those words.

“Only great champions can raise their game as Treve did today and in large part she was able to because of both Criquette’s belief and her ability to restore her to the top of her game.”