( AS NINE SLEEK THOROUGHBREDS exploded out of the starting gate in the $38,000 Prix Omnium II at the Saint-Cloud racecourse outside Paris earlier this month, all binoculars were trained on a single horse. In the diffident manner that marks his style, the diminutive three-year-old, a crooked white blaze crossing his handsome forehead, hung well back. He settled into sixth place in the 1,600-m contest, moving along at a leisurely gallop that offered no hint of the fireworks to come.
Then, suddenly, Arazi made his move. Shooting past two horses in the back straight, he swiftly overtook the rest of the...