France
A real champion: Graffard in awe of Daryz
By Tom Frary
Becoming the first colt to come back to ParisLongchamp and successfully defend his title in the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe since Alleged, Daryz (Sea The Stars) had the killer kick to provide The Aga Khan Studs with a ninth renewal of the monument.
Sent off the 6-5 favourite under Mickael Barzalona, the homebred son of the accomplished Daryakana (Selkirk) enjoyed a trouble-free trip on the wing and when asked the question delivered in his customary dynamic style to surge by Bay City Roller (New Bay) at the furlong pole. From there, his irresistible momentum carried him to a 1.25 length success from Victorious Forever's Coronation Cup hero, with the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane heroine Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica) a neck away in third in this “Win and You're In” for the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf later this month.
“He's a real champion and I was confident, I had to say it even though you can look a fool,” Francis Graffard said of Daryz, who also becomes the first horse since Allez France in 1974 to win the Prix Ganay, Prix d'Ispahan and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the same season.
“He was blossoming coming here and he got a beautiful ride again–there is pressure, you can't deny it, but I'm lucky to have a horse like this. Credit to Princess Zahra, the quality of the operation's horses is incredible. He doesn't have anything else to prove, that was beautiful to watch.”
Running on a far livelier surface than he encountered 12 months ago, Daryz was always going to be tough to deal with when the early pace wasn't demanding and was ideally placed on the wing once Meisho Tabaru (Gold Ship) took control in front. It is a measure of how much steadier the tempo was this year that the Japanese challenger got to five out in 1:28.52 while his compatriot Croix Du Nord had been there in 1:27.93 when in front on deep ground 12 months earlier.
Daryz had proven with sensational splits in the Ganay and Prix Aga Khan IV–the renamed d'Ispahan–that there are no mile-and-a-half runners capable of beating him when it turns into a sprint and once Barzalona pointed him at the finish two out it was effectively over as a contest. Last year, he had to dig deep in a slow-motion 35.52 closing three-furlong sectional but this time he produced a 33.32 which is comfortable stuff for a colt with the gears that he possesses.
While Bay City Roller, who was denied the slow ground always expected at this time of year at this track and which had seen him demolish his rivals at Epsom in June, and Diamond Necklace who was up in trip for the first time showed their class by overcoming the two widest stalls, Daryz was never out of his comfort zone to bring up the repeat.
“To win this kind of race twice proves that Daryz is an exceptional horse,” Barzalona said. “It was a really tough race, it didn't go as we expected but he showed his talent and that made the difference in the end. The pace was not strong, it was a rough race and nothing went to plan, but the horse deserved to win again and he's proved all season he is the best.”
Princess Zahra Aga Khan added, “It is always very emotional on Arc day. It is difficult not to be swept up by the emotion, by the atmosphere, by the crowd reacting to the horses. Last year was difficult with the loss of my father. He would have been so proud.
“Daryz has proved himself and I think that, as a breeder, I would rather see him safely at home preparing for his future career as a stallion than racing again next year.”
Pedigree: Daryz is the 10th foal out of the aforementioned Daryakana, winner of the Hong Kong Vase as well as the Prix de Royallieu at this meeting and already an important producer for the operation. Her first foal was Shamardal's Prix Ganay-winning sire Dariyan, while she had four others stakes winners before Daryz including Dubawi's Knickerbocker Stakes winner Devamani and Frankel's Badener Stutenpreis winner Darkaniya. Her 3-year-old colt Daryzan (Zarak) was a TDN Rising Star earlier this year, but has come up short with placings in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano and Prix du Prince d'Orange.
The second dam is the Prix de Diane and Prix Vermeille heroine Daryaba (Night Shift), who also produced the Prix du Conseil de Paris winner Daramsar (Rainbow Quest). The family also includes Princess Zahra Aga Khan's triple Group 1-winning champion and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Darjina (Zamindar), the Prix du Jockey Club heroes Darsi (Polish Precedent) and Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) and Caballo De Mar (Phoenix Of Spain) who had won the Prix du Cadran for the second time on Saturday.
True Love off to Breeders’ Cup after Foret victory
By Tom Frary
Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret is a gateway to the Breeders' Cup Mile and that is where True Love (No Nay Never) is headed after mastering the unique ParisLongchamp test.
Kept up to her work since her 1000 Guineas victory in the spring, Ballydoyle's irrepressible filly had been placed three times at the highest level since then but things fell right for her over what is probably her optimum trip. Held up early by Ryan Moore, the 5-2 favourite was produced at the right moment to deny the Wertheimers' Nighttime (Wootton Bassett) and stablemate Puerto Rico (Wootton Bassett) by two head margins.
Aidan O'Brien, who had to wait for the final Group race of the weekend to collect, revealed that the winner's guaranteed berth in the FanDuel-sponsored contest at Keeneland was on the cards. “She could go to the Breeders' Cup Mile,” he declared. “She's a serious filly. She's been on the go since early on, is a Guineas winner, a Cheveley Park winner, a Queen Mary winner and now to come back at the end to win this race, she's very good.
“Coming back to seven furlongs is probably her perfect trip, but she gets a mile on an easy track and still won an English Guineas,” he added. “She's an incredible filly really. Ryan said she likes the feel of an aggressive race now because she's gone a little bit laid-back and going round a bend at Keeneland should suit her.”
Pedigree: True Love, a full sister to the Airlie Stud Stakes winner Truly Enchanting, is out of Alluringly (Fastnet Rock) who was a middle-distance performer who captured the Listed Hurry Harriet Stakes and was third in the Oaks. Another of her stakes performers is Lily Pond (Galileo), who took the Kilboy Estate Stakes and was third in the Munster Oaks.
Alluringly is a granddaughter of the Middleton Stakes winner All Too Beautiful (Sadler's Wells), who was second in the Epsom Classic and produced another Oaks bridesmaid in Wonder Of Wonders (Kingmambo). All Too Beautiful, who is also the second dam of the Irish 1000 Guineas third So Wonderful (War Front) and the Cox Plate and Tancred Stakes hero Sir Dragonet (Camelot), is a full sister to Galileo and half to Sea The Stars with her dam being the Arc heroine and legendary producer Urban Sea (Miswaki). Alluringly's 2-year-old filly is by Frankel, while she was bred to Justify this year.
Amusingly beats the colts in Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere
By Tom Frary
Doing nothing to suggest that the widely-held belief that the juvenile fillies are much stronger than the colts is a false one, Juddmonte's Amusingly (No Nay Never) brushed aside Folsom Blues (Blue Point) to take Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.
Supplemented for ParisLongchamp's seven-furlong contest by Francis Graffard having failed to truly see out the mile of the Prix d'Aumale last month, the relative of Frankel had to overcome a wide draw but did so in scintillating style to become the latest of her sex to beat the colts in this.
Held together early by Colin Keane, the 10-1 shot loomed alongside the similarly smooth-travelling Vincent O'Brien National Stakes winner up the centre of the home straight as they bore down on the leading group. In command a furlong out, the homebred granddaughter of the operation's matriarch Kind (Danehill) surged to a 1.25-length success from the 7-10 favourite, with Man's Best Friend (No Nay Never) 1.75 lengths away in third.
“The job of a trainer is to take responsibility for big decisions and I was hoping I didn't make a mistake,” Graffard said as he reflected on swerving the Marcel Boussac to take on the boys. “This victory is very sweet and she was a lovely winner.”
This is a “Win and You're In” for the Brown Advisory Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, but Amusingly is far from a certain starter there according to her trainer. “The key is she has a lot of speed and I said to Barry Mahon that I think she is more of a Commonwealth Cup filly than a Guineas filly for next year,” he said. “Today is a big win and wonderful, so we'll have to have a discussion with connections and see where we go.”
Francis Graffard | Image courtesy of Francis Graffard Racing
Pedigree: Amusingly is the eighth foal out of the smart sprinter Joyeuse (Oasis Dream), a dual Listed winner who was Group-placed on four occasions including in the Albany and Fred Darling. She had already produced five black-type performers before this high-class filly, with the previous best being her son of Frankel's sire Galileo, the dual Australian Group 1-placed duo Maximal, and the Coronation Stakes third Jubiloso (Shamardal).
Joyeuse is also responsible for No Nay Never's Mill Reef winner Array and the Listed-placed Jovial (Dubawi), in turn the dam of the Celebration Mile winner and Poule d'Essai des Poulains runner-up Jonquil (Lope De Vega) and the smart 2-year-old filly Jolivette (Wootton Bassett) who was runner-up in the recent renewal of the Mill Reef and third in the Lowther.
Joyeuse and Amusingly seem to be channelling the raw sprinting power of the aforementioned Kind, now a legend in the sport having gifted the world the outstanding Frankel and his triple Group 1-winning full brother Noble Mission. Kind is also the second dam of this year's Musidory winner and Oaks runner-up Legacy Link (Dubawi), while the family also features the Tattersalls Gold Cup and Arlington Million hero Powerscourt (Sadler's Wells). Joyeuse's yearling filly is by Jolivette's sire Wootton Bassett, which makes her a full sister to last year's Sirenia Stakes runner-up Jouncy, the fifth of Joyeuse's stakes runners.
Green Empress wins Prix Marcel Boussac
By Sean Cronin
Having finished second to leading juvenile filly Sun Goddess three times this season, The Thoroughbred Racing Corporation's G2 Debutante victrix Green Empress (Saxon Warrior) emerged from that TDN Rising Star's shadow to collect a first Group 1 triumph of her own in Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac – Criterium des Pouliches at ParisLongchamp.
“It's very special for us to have a Group 1 winner today, obviously for Prince Faisal and his family, as well as for the Thoroughbred Racing Corporation,” said Joseph O'Brien.
“It's a great day and Christophe [Soumillon] gave her a really good ride. Green Empress is a big filly, she has continued to improve and has only been beaten by something of a goddess this year, so it's nice to see her win her Group 1 today. With a good preparation and a bit of luck, she gives the impression that she could be just as good, if not better, next year.
"She also has a very good pedigree, notably featuring [damsire] Sea The Stars. We probably see her as a one-mile filly who could, at some stage, step up to ten furlongs. We'll see how she comes out of today's race, then we'll discuss things with Prince Faisal and his team to decide whether she goes to America or whether we wait until next year.”
The owner's racing manager Jane Mangan added, “This is Thoroughbred Racing Corporation's first Group 1 since its relaunch, so it is quite special. When this filly won the [G2] Debutante at the Curragh, it was exactly thirty years after the late Prince Ahmed Salman won the Debutante in the United States, his first Group 1.
"The whole family is absolutely delighted and enormous credit really has to go to Joseph. He had planned an autumn campaign and we kept running into Sun Goddess but, thankfully, today we got our chance. The Breeders' Cup is definitely on the agenda if she comes out of this race well. Joseph was very patient with her in the middle of the summer, with this type of campaign in mind, and we would very much like to go to Kentucky if the filly is able to.”
The 8-5 favourite, who had carried the colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede on debut, tracked the leaders in sixth as Ralph Beckett trainee Spirit Tango (Sioux Nation) set solid fractions up front.
With that pacesetter pulled up hurriedly in the straight after sustaining a fatal injury, the Christophe Soumillon-ridden €55,000 (AU$89,000) Goffs Orby Book 1 bargain buy swept forward to challenge out wide with 350 metres remaining and she found plenty under continued rousting to deny G3 Prix Six Perfections first and second, Data (Lope De Vega) and Queen Of The Day (No Nay Never), by a head and 1.25 lengths in a thrilling conclusion to the one-mile contest.
Pedigree: Green Empress, who becomes the third Group 1 winner for her sire, is the second of four foals out of the winning Sea Empress (Sea The Stars), the first being this term's G3 Lake George victrix Amberglen (Night Of Thunder).
Sea Empress is out of a winning full sister to G2 Coventry hero and the G1 Phoenix and G1 Middle Park-placed sire Buratino (Exceed And Excel). The winner's fourth dam, Listed Blue Wind victrix and G3 Meld third Adonesque (Sadler's Wells), is a half-sister to dual Group 1-winning sire Danehill Dancer (Danehill). Green Empress is also kin to a yearling colt by Space Blues and a weanling colt by Sioux Nation.
Miss Scott secures Prix de l’Opera win to give Thoroughbred Club a double
By Sean Cronin
Christophe Soumillon was at his imperious best in the saddle and rolled back the years to complete an Arc Day double for The Thoroughbred Corporation as he steered G3 Snow Fairy victrix Miss Scott (Night Of Thunder) to a decisive victory in the G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines at ParisLongchamp, a “Win and You're In” for the G1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
“Miss Scott is a filly we have always thought very highly of and she has been brought along gradually,” explained Thady Gosden. “We have looked after her this season, this is the first time she has really stepped into the big league and it's a fantastic. She won the Snow Fairy on her last start, with Christophe [Soumillon] in the saddle, and she is a filly we thought we might step up to 12 furlongs next year.
“We will see how she comes out of this race and we could leave her alone until next year as she is still only a 3-year-old filly. We are quite late in the season and the only target left for her would be the Breeders' Cup. That might be a little too much and a little too soon, but we will see how she is. Of course, we will discuss it with her owners and what a pleasure it is to see two Group 1 winners on the same day for this owner.”
The John and Thady Gosden trainee, sent postward as a 51-10 chance, settled off the tempo in sixth through halfway in the 10-furlong distaffers' contest.
Making a telling move forward into fourth off the home turn, she launched her bid out wide with 350 metres remaining and kept finding in the closing stages to defeat G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation Stakes heroine Precise (Starspangledbanner) by 1.5 lengths, with G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Prix Vermeille runner-up Pink Panthera (Chachnak) the same margin adrift in third.
Pedigree: Miss Scott is the fourth of five foals and one of three scorers out of Queen Guenevere (Camelot), an unraced half to the Group 3-winning G1 Oaks and G1 Coronation Cup third High Heeled (High Chaparral) and Listed Cairn Rouge victrix Bella Estrella (High Chaparral).
High Heeled's descendants include G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational and G1 Falmouth heroine Cinderella's Dream (Shamardal), while Bella Estrella is the dam of the G2 Champagne victor Iberian (Lope De Vega).
The winner, whose second dam is dual Grade 2 winner Uncharted Haven (Turtle Island), is a half-sister to the stakes-winning G1 Prix Jean Romanet third Grand Stars (Sea The Stars), G2 Ribblesdale and G3 Salsabil placegetter Catalina Delcarpio (Lope De Vega) and the unraced 2-year-old colt Bay River (New Bay).
Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp won by Miss Yerchance
By Sean Cronin
Jockey Jack Nicholls, grandson of famed “Sprint King” David 'Dandy' Nicholls, upheld family tradition in Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines when delivering G3 World Trophy victrix Miss Yechance (Cotai Glory) with a perfectly-executed run to emulate the 2002 success of his grandfather's Continent (Lake Coniston) in the five-furlong dash.
“She is the best filly in the world,” claimed Nicholls. “She flew out of the stalls and maintained a strong pace all the way to the finish. It is phenomenal to win a Group 1 on this great weekend and it is a dream result.”
“Today is a huge achievement for Libya, for the Libyan people and for the Libyan racing industry, and we are extremely proud,” commented racing manager Dr Ahmed Saleh Ali Al Ansari. “We had a lot of confidence in this filly and, in the end, she did what she had to do. It is incredible, we are absolutely delighted and I don't really have the words to describe it.”
Trainer Karl Burke added, “It's absolutely fantastic. Miss Yechance has an enormous amount of speed and it is a great victory for Libya. The owners' original plan was to take her back to Dubai, but now the [G1] Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint will inevitably come into the discussion.”
Reflecting on the fate of stable star Fallen Angel (Too Darn Hot) in Saturday's G2 Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein, Burke added, “That was horrible what happened yesterday, no horse deserves that and one as good as her certainly doesn't. She had given us some unbelievable memories over the last three years, winning five Group 1s. We've won a Group 1 today and that, incredibly, is the swings and roundabouts of racing. It is very hard to get used to it and you never really do. It's very tough on everyone at the yard and she'll be very hard to replace.”
The 73-10 chance was swiftly into stride and raced to the fore in a prominent second as Ponntos (Power) occupied his usual pacesetting role at the head of affairs. Gaining an edge soon after passing halfway, she refused to surrender her advantage and was ridden out to withstand the late charge of Shiri (Mehmas) by a neck.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained G1 King Charles III hero Mission Central (No Nay Never) also raced prominently throughout, but lacked the necessary kick in the latter stages and finished a neck back in third.
Pedigree: Miss Yechance becomes the fourth Group 1 winner for her sire and is a half-sister to a weanling colt by Starman and the dual-winning 2-year-old colt Barnaby Rudge (Inns Of Court).
She is the first of three foals and one of two scorers produced by Rosie Bassett (Wootton Bassett) a winning half-sister to stakes-winning G2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap runner-up Fuente Ovejuna (Lope De Vega).
Her second dam Lipstick Rose (Dream Ahead) is a daughter of G3 Prix d'Aumale third Nawal (Homme De Loi) and thus kin to four black-type performers headed by G1 Hollywood Gold Cup-winning sire Mast Track (Mizzen Mast) and G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Jemayel (Lope De Vega).
