'The Complete Horse': Princess Zahra hails dominant Daryz
If there was any tension from the Aga Khan Studs team ahead of the latest expedition of Daryz (Sea The Stars) on Thursday, it quickly melted away as the Arc-winning sensation breezed through the renamed G1 Prix Aga Khan IV.
Making light work of the inaugural running of Paris Longchamp's extended nine-furlong Prix d'Ispahan under its revised title honouring the remarkable legacy of the winner's late breeder, the hot favourite who could yet turn out to be one of the very finest produced by the operation brushed aside last year's Grand Prix de Paris hero Leffard (Le Havre) to win by 3 and a half lengths. Providing context to the display, last year's winner Sosie (Sea The Stars) was beaten a total of seven and a half lengths in third, further than he had trailed the winner in the Arc.
“He's an impressive horse,” Princess Zahra said.
“He's (Daryz) an impressive horse.” - Princess Zahra
“He was as cool as a cucumber and it was so steady in terms of performance and he's so versatile in terms of distance. Mickael said he jumped three shadows, but was always in his own tempo and relaxed and I guess he's learning his job. This is what we thought we would see last year, but as a May foal we are now seeing the complete horse.”
This represented another scintillating shift of gear from Daryz, who looked to need all of the mile-and-a-half of an Arc staged on testing ground in the autumn but who seems hellbent on reinventing himself in 2026. If his closing act in last month's Prix Ganay was shocking enough as he posted three sub-11-second splits for a 31.94 finale, this was an emphatic confirmation of his killer instinct over the speedier of the middle-distance tests.
After following the honest tempo set by the filly Qilin Queen (Pinatubo), Daryz churned out a finishing three-furlong split of 33 seconds dead–including a 10.68 penultimate furlong, which was the second fastest on the card behind that of the five-furlong sprint that opened it. Astonishingly, Lazzat had only managed 34.54 in the Prix du Palais-Royal minutes earlier and had failed to dip under 11 seconds at any stage.
The scary part for all concerned with now finding a way to stop him is that Francis Graffard thinks there is more to come.
“This was more like a morning gallop for him,” he said. “I think it will help him to get to his best level. His fitness weight is the same, but he has put on so much more muscle. He didn't have a hard blow after the race, so he's probably in good shape.”
Royal Ascot is the next port of call.
“Looking backwards from the Prince of Wales's, to have had two runs was very important for me,” he added.
“Today was a Group 1, but it was a race that he was supposed to win so there's always pressure. I never had a doubt about his ability to keep up with the pace of 1,850 metres or 2,000 metres and it's always been my idea to start with that. I always find that races over 2,400 metres are hard, especially when they accelerate for a long time like he does, last year, apart from the Arc, he ran over 2,000 metres and people forget that too quickly.”
“What's important is that people can see his ability to accelerate,” he concluded. “What he showed in the Arc and what he showed the other day in the Ganay, that was enough and he's on a very good path. What is certain, however, is that we cannot ask this of him all year long. At some stage he will need a break, probably during the summer, especially if the spring campaign continues as planned. We also know he enjoys the autumn and could again be extremely effective at that time of year. So we will need to be sensible in order to bring him back fresh afterwards.”
“What's important is that people can see his ability to accelerate.” - Francis Graffard
For Princess Zahra Aga Khan, the occasion obviously carried momentous significance. “This day carried a very special emotional dimension,” she said. “The race now bears my father's name. He contributed enormously to French, European and Irish racing, as well as to breeding and it is a tremendous honour to see that recognition today. Having a horse like Daryz competing in the race obviously made the moment even more special.”
“We have to appreciate what we are trying to achieve with him,” she added.
“Going from an Arc de Triomphe over 2,400 metres to the Ganay over 2,100 metres and now the Ispahan over 1,850 metres as a four-year-old is something quite unusual. It is a gamble, but Francis had confidence in the horse and in his ability to show his speed.”
Barzalona had the joy of steering the brilliant winner and relayed the sensation. “He is the kind of horse every jockey dreams of riding,” he stated.
“He is a force of nature with an enormous engine. We thought the British filly would go forward, but we had agreed that I would take the lead if necessary–that shows how much confidence we had in our horse.”
“He (Daryz) is a force of nature with an enormous engine.” - Princess Zahra
As Princess Zahra had relayed, Daryz's passage through the contest was not as straightforward as it appeared on screen. “At the 300-metre mark, I asked him to concentrate because I could see his shadow appearing,” Barzalona explained. “He had made two mistakes on the way to the start, but other than that he did it extremely easily. I hope he can continue proving that he is the best horse on the track. It is a huge privilege to win a race that bears the name of His Highness the Aga Khan.”
Pedigree Notes: Daryz's accomplished dam Daryakana (Selkirk), who captured the G1 Hong Kong Vase and Prix de Royallieu when it was a Group 2, is responsible for a total of six Stakes winners and counting including Shamardal's fellow Ganay-winning sire Dariyan who was runner-up in this contest. Among the others are the GII Knickerbocker Stakes scorer Devamani (Dubawi) and the G2 Badener Stutenpreis winner Darkaniya (Frankel), while 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 the triple Group 1-winning champion and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Darjina (Zamindar), Wootton Bassett's Prix du Jockey Club, Champion Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes-winning sire Almanzor and the fellow Prix du Jockey Club hero Darsi (Polish Precedent), as well as the evening's Prix Vicomtesse Vigier hero Caballo De Mar (Phoenix Of Spain), Daryakana has the exciting three-year-old colt Daryzan (Zarak) who was labelled a TDN Rising Star on debut at Saint-Cloud this month.
Lazzat back in the winning groove at Longchamp
Badly in need of a confidence boost ahead of Royal Ascot, Wathnan's Lazzat (Territories) got just that in Thursday's G3 Prix du Palais-Royal at ParisLongchamp.
Sent off the 30-100 favourite for the seven-furlong contest, the 5-year-old who had endured five consecutive reversals since his epic defeat of Satono Reve (Lord Kanaloa) in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in June was launched by Mickael Barzalona 300 metres out and coaxed clear for a smooth 4 1/2-length success. Silius (Dubawi) was second, with the outsider Rencontre Sportive (Seabhac) another 1 1/4 lengths away in third.
Narrowly denied when defending his title in the Prix Maurice de Gheest in August and on his return to Ascot for the British Champions Sprint Stakes, Lazzat had also come unstuck in the Haydock Sprint Cup after Royal Ascot and was coming here as the beaten favourite on two more occasions in the 1351 Turf Sprint and Al Quoz Sprint. This smooth performance will add that intangible extra back to his game ahead of next month's big test and Wathnan's Freddie Morley was looking ahead with confidence.
“It was a very good performance and all roads now lead back to Ascot to try and defend his crown,” he said. “Jerome had given him a break and built him back up and six or seven come alike to him. You can't really ask for more, he really did lengthen today.”
Pedigree Notes: Lazzat is the first foal out of Lastochka (Australia), a granddaughter of the G1 1,000 Guineas heroine Sleepytime (Royal Academy) whose four black-type winners include Speightstown's G3 Superior Mile winner Hathal. This is the Charles Wacker family of Sleepytime's Sussex Stakes-winning full-brother Ali-Royal and the four times Group 1-winning Taipan (Last Tycoon) and Prix d'Ispahan-winning fellow sire Croco Rouge (Rainbow Quest). Lastochka has the twice-raced 3-year-old maiden filly Lamiya (Golden Horde), the 2-year-old colt Lazzar (Lope De Vega) and a colt foal by Siyouni.
Daryz's relative Caballo De Mar edges Vicomtesse Vigier thriller
Back at the scene of his landmark success in the marathon G1 Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend, Victorious Forever's Caballo De Mar (Phoenix Of Spain) proved the chief slugger of ParisLongchamp once again as he prevailed in a blanket finish to Thursday's G1 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier.
On an evening designed to pay tribute to the late Aga Khan IV and which had already provided the perfect outcome via Daryz in the feature renamed in his honour, Caballo De Mar was providing the icing on the cake hailing from the same dynasty nurtured by the groundbreaking owner-breeder.
Notably in a smooth rhythm from the outset under Oisin Murphy, the 18-1 shot who had lost out narrowly to the veteran Sweet William (Sea The Stars) in the Sagaro at the start of the month kept his compatriot Santorini Star (Golden Horn) within striking range throughout. The first to wrest away her advantage with 300 gruelling metres still to run, the pride of George Scott's Newmarket yard grasped gamely to his slim advantage from there to score by a short neck and provide the Suffolk town with a memorable one-two.
That was only half the story, however, with last year's Irish St Leger hero Al Riffa (Wootton Bassett) arriving agonisingly too late under Dylan Browne McMonagle to be a short head away in third. The 29-10 favourite Asmarani (Sottsass) was another short neck away in fourth, a head in front of Fairy Glen (Farhh).
“It was pretty straightforward,” Murphy said.
“It turned into a bit of a dash in the false straight, but he did it well.” Scott added, “He just tries so hard. He's such an individual character and all of the team do such a good job. He's one in a million and seems to always get underestimated. He got such a good ride - Oisin is a rare talent and we were glad to have him on board today.”
Also successful in the G3 Deutsches St Leger in September, Caballo De Mar may have been feeling the effects of his Cadran slog when last in the Prix Royal-Oak over this 15 1/2-furlong trip at Saint-Cloud later in October. Returning with a typically tough effort in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup in March, he was run down late by Fairy Glen there before succumbing only in the dying strides to Normandie Stud's stalwart Sweet William in Ascot's Group 3 Gold Cup warm-up this month.
“He's a special racehorse,” Scott added. “Eliza (McCalmont) rides him every day and she's done a great job, as well as everyone at home. Luke (Morris, on Consent) kind of took his nose off a little bit, halfway-ish, and actually I think that helped us because we had something to run at. I think we would have got racing a bit early otherwise.
“He's (Caballo De Mar) a special racehorse.” - George Scott
“We know he stays really well. The Gold Cup has really been on our mind for so long but he was just jumping out of his skin, so we decided to come here and we're so glad we did. It is rarefied air, to win a Group 1, so it's very special for all of us.
“He's a horse that Billy Jackson-Stops and I found on a dreary afternoon in Tatts Ireland. We paid €30,000 for him for Blue Star Racing, who have been pivotal to my steady uprise and I'm so pleased for Shaikh Nasser, who's just given me so much, so many opportunities. He was here last year with Shaikh Khalid for the Cadran and it's nice to repay those people who give you so much.”
Pedigree Notes: As outlined above, remarkably Caballo De Mar hails from the Aga Khan Studs family of the fixture's luminary Daryz. The first Group 1 winner for his sire in October, he is currently the last known foal out of Oberyn (Holy Roman Emperor) who is a granddaughter of the G3 Prix Minerve winner and excellent producer Daralinsha (Empery). She is out of Daryz's fourth dam Darazina (Labus), linking the winner to all the same stars such as Darjina (Zamindar), Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) and Darsi (Polish Precedent).
