The horse was about a minute from having to miss the Prix de l’Abbaye due to missing ID documents but a cab managed to deliver the mare’s passport just in time
An Uber driver dashed to Asfoora’s rescue as the Aussie wonder mare overcame a passport drama to gain a history-making victory in the Prix de l’Abbaye.
A mix-up saw Henry Dwyer’s mare arrive at Longchamp with another horse’s ID papers, while her passport was in Chantilly.
An Uber was swiftly ordered to carry the correct documentation to the racecourse and allow Oisín Murphy’s mount to take part.
The taxi arrived moments before the deadline and Asfoora took full advantage to become the first Australian mare ever to win in France.
“We had a couple of pre-race issues that we had to work through and were within about a minute and a half of not running,” revealed the trainer, whose stable star also became the first horse to win York’s Nunthorpe Stakes and the Prix de l’Abbaye in the same year since Lochsong in 1993.
“I had the driver on a retainer of £200 to get it here in time! I’ve never managed that journey in less than an hour, and he took 52 minutes!”
Rain-softened ground appeared against the winner but after watching the seven-year-old overhaul Czech sprinter Jawwal for a half-length margin, Dwyer added: “We were confident that it was fresh ground as opposed to chopped-out soft ground – sorry, I shouldn’t say we were confident, we were hopeful – that she might be okay, and it turned out she was.”
Asfoora first made her name in Britain with a King Charles III Stakes triumph at Royal Ascot in June 2024 and Dwyer reflected: “We started this whole journey and it was just all about doing new things.
“I’ve never been racing in France – and here we are winning a Group 1 on Arc day.
“Just surreal, really. Just surreal.”