Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Grade 1, ParisLongchamp 15:05
€5,000,000 guaranteed,
3yo plus,
1m 4f, Class 1  
Sunday 5th October 2025

BetPlay

1 Daryz 166/10
2 Minnie Hauk 5/2F
3 Sosie 12/1
17 ran NR: Estrange Distances: hd, 5½l, hd
Time: 2m 29.17s (fast by 0.23s)

In a finish that set ParisLongchamp alight, Daryz denied Minnie Hauk in a heart-stopping climax to Europe’s grandest middle-distance showpiece.

The Francis-Henri Graffard-trained colt, partnered by Mickael Barzalona, stalked the leaders with quiet menace as Christophe Soumillon and Minnie Hauk took charge two furlongs from home. The O’Brien filly was travelling like the winner, ears pricked, legs eating up the Longchamp turf — but from behind, here came Daryz, looming larger with every stride.

What followed was a duel worthy of the Arc’s legend. Two horses, neck and neck, neither yielding an inch, the crowd rising in one breathless roar as they flashed past the post together. A photo was called for — and when the number went up, it was Daryz, by the narrowest of margins.

Behind them, Sosie stayed on strongly to grab third, improving on her fourth from last year, while Giavellotto ran an heroic race for Marco Botti to take fourth.

For Graffard, it was a first Arc — and one steeped in the history of the Aga Khan’s famous green and red silks, colours worn by so many of racing’s immortals.

“This race has an amazing reputation and it’s true that when you win it, it’s very, very special,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve experienced some big wins, but this one is very, very special, especially this year.

“He was (so tough). When I was planning to run at York, I said to Princess Zahra ‘we are not going to win, but we need to toughen him up for the autumn’ and I think the defeat at York helped us to win today because my horse was, for the first time, very professional and mature.

“It’s a great experience and today was exactly what we planned to do. My horse was very tough to catch up with the filly.

“To win the Arc today in these colours is just crazy. As a young boy and a racing fan I was dreaming of a race like that with these colours, so it is very special in terms of emotion today to win the Arc de Triomphe for the Aga Khan family. In the past, it was just a dream, but now it’s happening to me.”

The trainer wasn’t ready to look too far ahead. “We are not going to answer that question for the time being because we want to savour this moment and take a decision when we’re not this emotional.

“The season is going unbelievably. I love winning races and I love to compete so we take a lot of risks and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

“Today we won the Arc de Triomphe with a horse that went a very different way, but as you say in England, when the stable is in good form we can run the cat!”

It was a victory heavy with symbolism, too. The Aga Khan IV — whose colours were carried to Arc glory by Akiyda (1982), Sinndar (2000), Dalakhani (2003) and the peerless Zarkava (2008) — passed away in February. His daughter, Princess Zahra, now leads the operation, and she was quick to acknowledge the significance.

“It’s the pinnacle of what a breeder is looking for, to win at this level,” she said. “For everyone involved in the breeding operation, for the horse’s family and his descendants we hope.

“My dad was always so over the moon to win an Arc and I didn’t know what it felt like, but now I know what he felt like.”

For Barzalona, too, this was a first Arc — and he rode it like a man who knew exactly what it meant.

“We’ve always rated him,” he said. “When we went to York it was a messy race, but he came back a lot stronger. Mentally and physically he has improved a lot and today he was very relaxed.

“He travelled very well, he picked up very well. Everything combined today to win the race.

“This is the kind of race you always hope to win, the kind of race you have been watching since you were very young. It’s a privilege to be part of the Aga Khan team, I try to do my best every day. We work all year to be competitive in these kinds of races.

“I had absolutely no issues, I could see that Minnie Hauk was in front of me. I saw that Minnie Hauk showed some brutal acceleration, but my horse immediately reacted and got in behind her and I knew that he had a lot to give, so I was hoping that I was going to get to the post first.

“I thought Minnie Hauk was going to give me a tough race, but my horse was coming. They’re two very talented horses.”

And as the shadows lengthened over ParisLongchamp, it was Daryz’s name that joined the roll of honour — a new chapter in the story of those famous colours, and a race that once again delivered theatre of the highest order.

BoyleSports

Qatar Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe
€5,000,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 4f, Class 1
17 ran
Going: Very Soft

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (2)    Daryz 3 8-13 F-H Graffard Mickael Barzalona 166/10
2 (1) hd Minnie Hauk 3 8-9 A P O'Brien Christophe Soumillon 5/2F
3 (3) 5½ Sosie 4 9-5 A Fabre Stephane Pasquier 12/1
4 (5) hd Giavellotto 6 9-5 Marco Botti Andrea Atzeni 37/1
5 (15) nk Byzantine Dream 4 9-5 Tomoyasu Sakaguchi Oisin Murphy 7/1
6 (16) ¾ Arrow Eagle 4 9-5 J-C Rouget Ioritz Mendizabal 105/1
7 (10) snk Kalpana 4 9-2 Andrew Balding Colin Keane 16/1
8 (6) shd Leffard 2 3 8-13 J-C Rouget Cristian Demuro 47/1
9 (7) 2½ Quisisana 5 9-2 F-H Graffard Alexis Pouchin 19/1
10 (11) hd Hotazhell 3 8-13 Mrs John Harrington Shane Foley 94/1
11 (12) ½ Aventure 4 9-2 C Ferland Maxime Guyon 57/10
12 (9) nk White Birch 5 9-5 John Joseph Murphy Dylan Browne McMonagle 53/1
13 (13) nse Gezora 3 8-9 F-H Graffard Tom Marquand 31/1
14 (17) hd Croix Du Nord 3 8-13 Takashi Saito Yuichi Kitamura 87/10
15 (8) ¾ Cualificar 3 8-13 A Fabre William Buick 22/1
16 (4) 3½ Alohi Alii 3 8-13 Hiroyasu Tanaka Christophe-Patrice Lemaire 9/1
17 (14) 7 Los Angeles 4 9-5 A P O'Brien Wayne Lordan 44/1
NR 7 (18) Estrange 4 9-2 David O'Meara NON RUNNER

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