Trainer Francis Henri Graffard is in no rush with Daryzan despite his sparkling debut win at Saint-Cloud on Tuesday.
The son of Zarak, a half-brother to the stable’s 2025 Arc winner Daryz, was making a belated first appearance in the Prix Mendex, a race restricted to newcomers, and overcame greenness to run out a ready winner.
Once the penny dropped he showed smart acceleration to draw five lengths clear of Memory under Mickael Barzalona.
The trainer told Sky Sports Racing: “I’m very pleased. He has been very, very immature this horse so a lot of work has been done at the yard to calm him down and build him in progression.
“He was ready to make a nice debut. I didn’t know about the ground but as soon as Mickael hit him once just to see if he was going to respond, he flew home. It was nice to see.
“I think he has some improvement in him. I think he will stay ten furlongs no problem, but Mickael said he didn’t think he understood everything today so he was not confident to step him up in trip straight way.
“I will have a look at the programme and see how he comes out of the race. He has a whole season ahead of him. It’s nice to be at the races with him, nice to win and have a nice horse. The whole day went really well.”
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.