Europe
Abbaye heroine Asfoora breaks new ground as Australia's first winner in France
Unable to take part in Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines moments before due to a misplaced passport, Asfoora (Flying Artie) followed that pre-race drama with a straightforward display to make history. Overpowering the outsider Jawwal (Wooded) inside the final furlong, the 5-2 favourite asserted her superiority under Oisin Murphy to record a half-length success, the first of any kind for her nation in France.
“It's surreal–we were within a minute and a half of not running,” trainer Henry Dwyer said of the 7-year-old who had plundered the Nunthorpe in August. “I had an Uber driver on a retainer of £200 to get the passport here in time!”
“We planned this whole journey, trying to experience new things, and here we are winning a Group 1 on Arc day,” he added. “We were confident it was fresh ground where she was and hopeful that she might be okay on it and she was.”
Asfoora's initial European escapade began last spring, with King Charles III glory as a result, and even though her subsequent efforts at Goodwood and York didn't bear more fruit, it was decided that she would be back for the sequel in 2025. This time, Royal Ascot passed by unsuccessfully, but things fell into place in the Nunthorpe and even though she had disappointed in the Flying Five this looked weak even before the rain saw to the removal of a key rival in Rayevka (Blue Point).
With a highly favourable draw in three, everything was set fair until the discovery that her passport had been left behind, but once the admin was sorted there was really little else to worry about. As the race wound up with the first seven home coming from single-figure stalls, Asfoora proved the classiest of those and was able to hammer home her advantage in the final 100 metres.
Henry Dwyer revealed the saga that unfolded before the off. “We were a bit lucky, because we had the passport of the horse we bought yesterday at Arqana by mistake and fortunately Francis Graffard's assistant went back to the yard, gave it to an Uber and now we can drink champagne! So thank you to him as well and thank you to the Uber driver,” he joked.
“We fully intended to come for the Abbaye last year, but we just felt she'd come to the end of her campaign, and so this year we decided to mind her a little with the goal of going to Ireland and then to France,” he explained. “Unfortunately, the ground wasn't in our favour in Ireland and it wasn't completely today either, but she was able to handle it this time. I'm not a big trainer–I'm not going to win trainer titles or Melbourne Cups or anything like that, but trying something different is what motivates us, I guess. I owe her everything. She's given us the thrill of a lifetime.”
“... trying something different is what motivates us, I guess. I owe her everything. She's (Asfoora) given us the thrill of a lifetime.” - Henry Dwyer
Pedigree Notes: Asfoora's dam Golden Child (I Am Invincible) hails from the family of the 18-time winning, multiple Stakes scorer Hard Stride (Street Sense) and the Group 3 winner Big Chill by Artie Schiller who is the sire of Flying Artie. Her yearling and foal are a full sister and full brother to Asfoora respectively.
Daryz prevails in epic Arc tussle with Minnie Hauk
Producing a stirring finale to Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, The Aga Khan Studs runner Daryz (Sea The Stars) wore down Ballydoyle's star filly Minnie Hauk (Frankel) to cap a stellar season for Francis-Henri Graffard. Having been given an unorthodox preparation for this monument, which culminated in a close second to Croix Du Nord (Kitasan Black) in the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange, the 16-1 shot followed the pace set by the Japanese challenger with just the triple Oaks-winning 5-2 favourite to catch.
Minnie Hauk looked to have sealed a treble for O'Brien and Soumillon everywhere bar the last 50 metres, where Mickael Barzalona was able to conjure a decisive surge to earn a head success. Sosie (Sea The Stars) was 5 1/2 lengths away in third. This was the eighth Arc winner for the operation since 1948 and the first in these famed colours since Zarkava in 2008. It is also the first since the passing of The Aga Khan IV and, adding to the gravity for the Stud, the first son of Sea The Stars to win it.
“As a breeder and as part of a legacy that stretches back more than a century, winning this race is the pinnacle of what one can achieve,” Princess Zahra Aga Khan commented. “I hope my father saw it, he was always so happy when he won the Arc. Now, I know that feeling too.”
“He was bred to win a Group 1 over 2400 metres,” she added of the homebred, whose dam Daryakana (Selkirk) was a Hong Kong Vase winner who captured the Prix de Royallieu as a Group 2 on the same weekend that Sea The Stars sealed his immortality in this race. “He has both the stamina and the turn of foot for this race–both his parents had it and the ground didn't bother him at all. I also want to thank Francis for bringing him here through such an unusual but effective campaign.”
Graffard, who was registering an 11th Group 1 success this season and assuring himself of the 2025 French trainer's title for the first time in his career, was overwhelmed. “That was a great horse race and everything worked to plan,” he said. “The spirit of the horse at the end! We've had big victories before, but today I realise just how special the Arc truly is.”
“The emotions are magnified by the crowd, the atmosphere and especially by these colours with such history,” he added. “When I was a boy in Burgundy, watching the races with my grandfather, I dreamed of these horses, these silks, and this race! This sport is built on emotion and today is the ultimate example.”
Mickael Barzalona was also basking in a maiden Arc win and said, “It's a privilege to wear these famous colours and I'm thrilled to win my first Arc for such an historic ownership. The race went perfectly–the horse was in a rhythm where he was doing everything easily and we were in our own bubble.”
Pedigree Notes: Daryz is the 10th foal out of the aforementioned high-class Daryakana, whose first was Shamardal's Prix Ganay-winning sire Dariyan. Four others were stakes winners, including Dubawi's G2 Knickerbocker Stakes winner Devamani and Frankel's G2 Badener Stutenpreis winner Darkaniya.
The second dam is the Prix de Diane and Prix Vermeille heroine Daryaba (Night Shift), who also produced the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris winner Daramsar (Rainbow Quest). Also connected to Princess Zahra Aga Khan's triple Group 1-winning champion and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Darjina (Zamindar), Daryakana also has the unraced 2-year-old colt Daryzan (Zarak).
Soumillon wowed by St Mark's Basilica's first G1 winner Diamond Necklace
ParisLongchamp's Arc card got underway in style as Ballydoyle's Diamond Necklace swooped to provide St Mark's Basilica with his first Group 1 winner in the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac. Sent off the favourite for the first of the fixture's six Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” races, the Listed Ingabelle Stakes winner who is a TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard, was always comfortable and when asked to mow down the Wertheimers' unbeaten Green Spirit (Kingman) did so without any need for the whip.
“She's amazing,” commented a smitten Christophe Soumillon after steering the 11-10 favourite to a cosy length success. “I was very confident, she was my best ride of the weekend. The last time, she gave me a great sensation and was so relaxed going to the start and professional. She picked up so easily and it was just hands and heels only. She will be a great filly for next year, she is going to do something great.”
Aidan O'Brien revealed that the 1000 Guineas is the likely starting point in 2026. “A first (Group 1) for St Mark's Basilica makes it very special,” he said. “We were a little bit worried she was a little bit babyish to come here, but Christophe was adamant it would suit her. She's a lovely Classic filly and I'd say she'll be very comfortable starting at a mile and she will stay a trip I would imagine. She's very exciting and a typical St Mark's, every week goes by they're getting better and stronger.”
Producing a sharp 10.88 penultimate sectional on this testing ground, the winner had all the momentum as she overhauled the Wertheimer filly with the feeling that she had been asked only for the necessary effort. Finishing 1 1/4 lengths behind Green Spirit in third was the Aga Khan Studs runner Narissa (Siyouni).
Diamond Necklace was bred in Normandy by Haras des Monceaux in partnership with Skymarc Farm and Henri Bozo was emotional afterwards. “It was quite bold to send a mare of that calibre to a young stallion just starting his career, but it paid off,” he said. “We like to send older mares to younger stallions and I try to avoid pairing older mares with older stallions. The bloodline of St Mark's Basilica–his power, depth and turn of foot–made us want to try it and together with Patricia Boutin, who managed Lady O'Reilly's interests, we decided to send her to that stallion.”
Pedigree Notes: Diamond Necklace's aforementioned half-sisters Magic Wand and Chicquita were top-drawer performers over middle distances, with the former a leading protagonist in several contests at this level around the globe and successful in one in the MacKinnon and the latter the winner of the Irish Oaks. She is also a half-sister to the Prix Penelope winner and Prix de Diane runner-up Philomene (Dubawi), while Magic Wand has produced the Group-placed Ecstatic (Lord Kanaloa) and Chicquita is responsible for three stakes performers including Dubawi's G2 Curragh Cup winner Emily Dickinson and American Pharoah's American Oaks runner-up and Irish Oaks third Nicest.
The Listed Prix de la Seine-winning dam Prudenzia (Dansili) is a daughter of Fittocks Stud's Platonic (Zafonic) and therefore a half to the Group 3-winning Pacifique (Montjeu) who is the second dam of Night Of Thunder's dual Group-placed 2-year-old filly Skydance and Dubawi's Prix Niel third Parachutiste. This illustrious dynasty includes the Debutante winner and Moyglare Stud Stakes runner-up Vespertilio also by Night Of Thunder and also this stable's past Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks heroine Alexandrova (Sadler's Wells).
Quickfire Group 1 double for O'Brien and Soumillon with Puerto Rico
Race two on Arc day saw a quickfire double for Ballydoyle and Christophe Soumillon, with Puerto Rico (Wootton Bassett) making all to dominate the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, a Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” for the Juvenile Turf. Up to this seven-furlong trip for the first time to cause a minor upset in Doncaster's G2 Champagne Stakes last month, the 4-1 shot was again placed straight on the front and despite veering off a true line in the run to the line was always in control.
Aidan O'Brien, who was winning this for the 10th time, has the Breeders' Cup in mind for the 2 1/2-length winner who was followed home by the crack French colts Nighttime (Wootton Bassett) and Rayif (Sea The Moon). “He won very well the last day and is a lovely straightforward horse who handles this ground well,” he said. “He took a little bit time to come, but as every month went by he's got stronger and this was only his second time at seven.”
“He still very green and Christophe was worried about that–he thought he might be here too and he was right,” he added. “Wootton Bassett was an incredible stallion and we are so lucky to have three generations of them still to come. Like (last year's Lagardere winner) Camille (Pissarro), he's a big powerful horse and so I think the Breeder's Cup is very possible as he's strong, mature and experienced.”
Pedigree Notes: Puerto Rico, who becomes Wootton Bassett's 17th Group 1 winner, is the first foal out of the G2 Kilboy Estate Stakes runner-up April Showers (Galileo) who is herself a full sister to three stakes winners. They are the four-time Group 1-winning Irish 1000 Guineas heroine, who in turn produced multiple top-level winners in War Front's US Navy Flag and Roly Poly, another Prix Marcel Boussac heroine in Ballydoyle (Galileo) and the Listed scorer and dual Group-placed Twirl who is the second dam of Nyquist's Del Mar Debutante, Starlet and Santa Anita Oaks winner Tenma.
The third dam is Mr. P's Princess (Mr. Prospector), who provided Aidan O'Brien with one of his first big horses at Ballydoyle in Nureyev's Phoenix and Prix Morny-winning champion juvenile Fasliyev. Mr. P's Princess, who is kin to the sires Desert Wine and Menifee, is also the third dam of the New York Stakes heroine Marketsegmentation (American Pharoah). April Showers also has a yearling filly by No Nay Never and a foal full brother to Puerto Rico to come.
'He's definitely the best I've trained': Head hails Foret hero Maranoa Charlie
In many ways, the seven-furlong G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret around ParisLongchamp's bends was tailor-made for Maranoa Charlie (Wootton Bassett) and with the all-important draw and testing ground in his favour he was able to produce a career-defining performance on what looks to be his swansong.
Always full of energy on the front end under Aurelien Lemaitre, the 9-2 shot who had been placed in the Prix Jean Prat and City Of York set a strong tempo and had sufficient kick in the straight to secure a 1 1/4-length success from the high-class The Aga Khan Studs homebred Zarigana (Siyouni). “He is definitely the best horse I've trained–he is so good,” Christopher Head said. “He has something else–he could be one of best stallions around in the future.”
Now that the Group 1 is finally won, the quandary for connections is what to do next. “He goes on any ground, so I need to talk to the owners to see what they want to do but this could be the end of the road,” Head explained. “If it is, what a road it's been, I've loved it! It was insane!”
Pedigree Notes: Adding further weight to the Wootton Bassett story, Maranoa Charlie completed a Group 1 double on the card for the late sire in the same manner as the first. The dam Koubalibre (Galileo) is kin to the Cheveley Park Stakes and Lowther heroine Tiggy Wiggy (Kodiac), who produced the ill-fated Futurity Trophy third Year Of The Tiger (Galileo).
The family includes the Norfolk Stakes winner Masta Plasta (Mujadil), the Del Mar Oaks heroine Going Global (Mehmas) and the American Handicap-winning sire Magellan. Koubalibre's yearling colt by Baaeed was a €300,000 (AU$533,000) purchase by the Broadhurst Agency at Arqana Deauville August, while she also has a colt foal by New Bay.
Barnavara prevails in blanket finish to the Opera
Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines had an open feel beforehand and there was a predictable bunch finish with Alpha Racing's Barnavara (Calyx) hanging on to clinch victory from See The Fire (Sea The Stars). Sent forward by Shane Foley to dictate, the Jessica Harrington-trained 3-year-old who had been impressive in last month's Blandford kept digging in as threats emerged on either side to prevail by a short neck at 9-1.
Less than a length covered the first five home, with One Look (Gleneagles) getting third, a short head behind See The Fire. This is an automatic qualifier for the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, but her trainer was hanging fire on plans. “Today was the big target and we hadn't planned beyond it,” she said. “She's kept improving throughout the year and once again today she's stepped up another level. She's a filly with a huge stride who loves to go forward and set the pace. She was really brave today and fought them all off.”
Pedigree Notes: Barnavara, who is her late sire's flagbearer, is out of Alfea (Kentucky Dynamite) whose family features the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club-winning leading sire Lope De Vega, the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis hero Danceteria (Redoute's Choice) and the G3 Prix de Lieurey winner and Prix de l'Opera-placed Lady Frankel (Frankel). Her yearling filly by Blackbeard was a 300,000gns (AU$642,000) purchase by Liam Norris and Huntingdon Bloodstock at Tattersalls December and will be offered again at the upcoming Tattersalls October Book 1, while she also has a filly foal by St Mark's Basilica.
