Nine years since Aidan O'Brien gained the most recent of his two victories in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Ballydoyle trainer has emphasised the importance of Europe's richest race and its standing in the sport as he prepares a two-pronged assault on the 2025 edition at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.Coincidentally, O'Brien endured a nine-year wait to double his Arc tally after Dylan Thomas overcame Youmzain and a prelonged stewards' enquiry to deliver the breakthrough on that nerve-jangling afternoon back in 2007.By contrast, in 2016, when the race was run at Chantilly with the redevelopment underway at ParisLongchamp, the closing stages must surely have been a much easier watch for the trainer, safe in the knowledge from some way out that the prize was heading back to his Ballydoyle base. Not only did he saddle the decisive winner, Found, but he was also responsible for the placed horses, Highland Reel and Order Of St George, in an unprecedented clean sweep of the podium positions.As for the near-decade since, O'Brien achieved his best result in that period when Irish Derby winner Los Angeles finished third behind Bluestocking just last year, beaten nearly three lengths at the line after being forced to make his own running.The imposing Los Angeles will be back for more this year as the stable's apparent second string, with the year-younger filly Minnie Hauk primed to lead the team into battle, but O'Brien refused to take anything for granted as the big day looms, knowing all too well at this stage just how difficult a prize the Arc is to win.“It's one of those races that really captures the imagination of breeders, owners, jockeys and fans all over the world,” O'Brien said of the €5-million showpiece. “It's one of those unique races that everybody wants to win. It's at a perfect time of the year in Paris and that weekend is where everybody wants to be. It's a unique race, in a unique country and a unique city.“It's a very difficult race to win and we don't take one little bit of that for granted. You need to have a top-class horse, you need to be tactical and you need to stay – a lot of stuff has to fall right for you. We try and go there with our best chances every year and we've been lucky to win two. I didn't realise it had been nine years since we won one. All we can do is try and go there with the best horse we have that year, really.”Whilst Los Angeles is clearly a very talented horse in his own right, having doubled his Group 1 tally when also winning May's Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, the son of Camelot has seemingly been superseded at the top of the Ballydoyle pecking order this autumn by Minnie Hauk. Certainly, the bookmakers see it that way, with Minnie Hauk currently vying for favouritism with Aventure (Sea The Stars) at around 7/2, while Los Angeles is available to back at 33/1.Minnie Hauk is set to be supplemented at a cost of €120,000 on Wednesday, exactly a year to the day that she made her first racecourse appearance at Cork. The daughter of Frankel was beaten on that occasion but hasn't looked back since with five consecutive victories, including three at the top level, having rattled off an Oaks hat-trick at Epsom, the Curragh and York in recent months.“She was a very expensive yearling [€1,850,000 from the Goffs Orby Sale] and we always liked her a lot,” O'Brien said of the filly who was last seen dishing out a three-and-a-half-length beating to fellow Arc contender Estrange (Night Of Thunder) in the Yorkshire Oaks.“We knew she had a little bit of catching up to do this year as she only had the two runs, so she went for the trial in Chester [the Cheshire Oaks] and obviously went from there to Epsom. The rest is history after that.“She's slowly progressed all year, really. We're very happy with her and she's done everything we've asked. At home she's been lovely. Christophe [Soumillon, Minnie Hauk's intended jockey in the Arc] sat on her the other day. That was the first time he had ridden her and he seemed very happy.”O'Brien added on the likelihood of a big field at ParisLongchamp, “Minnie Hauk is very straightforward and easy to ride. She is always happy to go forward and she's very uncomplicated. She's a filly who travels strongly and has plenty of stamina. At Epsom, there was a big field and she coped very well. She has early speed and usually finds a good position quite easily. I'd hope she will handle it well.”Last year things didn't pan out ideally in the Arc for Los Angeles, who O'Brien described at the time as still being “a bit babyish”, having led the 16-strong field from an early stage. Equally, he wasn't seen to best effect at Royal Ascot in June this year when he tired late on after chasing the strong gallop set by stable-mate Continous in the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes.However, the seven-time winner looked much more like his old self when finishing fourth last time in the G2 Prix Foy over Sunday's course and distance, with O'Brien confirming that a second tilt at the Arc has been the plan ever since his good effort in defeat 12 months ago.“This is the race that has always been on our minds for him, absolutely, and he's been trained for it all year,” the trainer added. “All of his runs so far this year were just to keep him ticking over, really. Obviously, he ran a great race in it last year and wasn't beaten very far. He probably would have preferred to not be in front, but that's the way it fell for him.”O'Brien would not be drawn on who he thinks will come out on top between Los Angeles and Minnie Hauk, though, adding, “I'd never be surprised by anything that happens in a race. My two have never worked together – they've had two different preparations, totally – but it will be interesting.“She does look a very good filly, but he looks a horse who is slowly progressing back to his best, so it's impossible to say that [who'd come out on top]. All we can do is have them well, hope to get clean runs, and the acid test is then when you run them.”The post Nine Years On from Found, Another Star Filly Leads Ballydoyle Bid for Third Arc Crown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.