Daryz preps for Arc repeat in Prix Foy, part of sensational card at Longchamp
:quality(75))
Last September, the 3-year-old colt Daryz finished second in a Group 3 at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris and followed with a 16-1 upset in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe a month later on the same course.
This year, Daryz is the future-book favorite to win the Arc on Oct. 4 as well as a heavy favorite to win his final prep race in Sunday’s Group 2 Prix Foy at 1 1/2 miles at Longchamp.
The Prix Foy is one of four major stakes on the Sunday program at Longchamp. There are two lucrative Group 1 races – the $929,400 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at a mile, and the $697,000 Prix Vermeille for fillies and mares at 1 1/2 miles.
Daryz, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard for Aga Khan Studs, has had a limited season this year. He won his first two starts in France in Group 1 races – the Prix Ganay at 1 5/16 miles in April and the Prix Aga Khan at 1 1/8 miles in May – before finishing third by 5 3/4 lengths in the Group 1 Price of Wales’s Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Royal Ascot in Britain in June.
By Sea The Stars, Daryz has won 7 of 10 career starts and six of seven appearances at Longchamp. He was beaten a short head by the Japanese star Croix du Nord in the Group 3 Prix du Prince d’Orange last September prior to his win in the Arc.
Daryz is expected to dominate the Prix Foy. The only notable runner among the other three entrants is Bay City Roller, who has not started since a win in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Epsom Racecourse in Britain on June 6.
Bay City Roller was second or fourth in three consecutive Group 2 races at Longchamp last September and October, including a second in the Prix Niel for 3-year-olds at 1 1/2 miles.
This year’s Prix Niel on Sunday has a heavy favorite in Benvenuto Cellini, the winner of the Group 1 Irish Derby on June 28. In his only subsequent start, Benvenuto Cellini finished third by two lengths to the brilliant 5-year-old mare Kalpana in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on July 25. Kalpana, who is not racing this weekend, is rated as a contender for the Arc.
Benvenuto Cellini, trained in Ireland by Aidan O’Brien, leads a field of seven in the Group 2 Prix Niel. Two French-based colts – Alam and Valandir – oppose Benvenuto Cellini in their first appearances since they finished third and fourth behind Maltese Cross in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris for 3-year-old colts and fillies at 1 1/2 miles at Longchamp on July 14.
Maltese Cross is scheduled to have his next start in the Arc.
Benvenuto Cellini was at the center of controversy in early June. He was the 3-1 favorite to win the Group 1 English Derby at Epsom Downs, but was declared a non-runner after it was discovered he had a rear leg caught on a ledge in the starting gate when the gates opened.
The O’Brien-trained Gstaad will be a strong favorite in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. Last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner, Gstaad is a mile specialist who won the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh in May at a mile, but has been second to the now-retired Bow Echo in three Group 1 races at the distance in Britain since early May – the English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, and the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on July 29.
The Prix du Moulin drew a field of seven, including Opera Ballo, a 4-year-old colt who has been third in his last two starts – the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at a mile at Royal Ascot and in the Sussex Stakes.
The most competitive race on the Longchamp program is the Prix Vermeille, which drew a field of 11.
The Graffard-trained Surly, third to star stablemate Calandagan in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at 1 1/2 miles at Saint-Cloud Racecourse on Paris on July 5, is a slight favorite over Sparan Nua, who was second in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks in August to Kalpana.
Survie, winner of consecutive starts at Saratoga last month in the Grade 2 Glens Falls Stakes against fillies and mares and the Grade 1 Christophe Clement Stakes against males, starts in Europe for the first time in the Prix Vermeille since a sixth-place finish in the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
Other notable starters are Friendly Soul, who was second in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes for fillies and mares at Goodwood on July 30, and Romantic Symphony, who won her second consecutive stakes in the Group 3 Prix Lady O’Reilly at Deauville Racecourse in France on Aug. 16. They were supplemented to the Prix Vermeille for $50,100 on Thursday.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.