Daryz is back in action on Thursday evening

Daryz in terrific form ahead of Arc prep race in Sunday's Prix Foy

Horse Racing

Thu September 03, 2026 · 3w ago

Francis Graffard couldn’t be happier with stable star and Arc hero Daryz ahead of his return to action in Sunday’s Prix Foy.

The son of Sea The Stars has a superb record of six wins from seven starts at Longchamp and while his two trips to Britain so far have ended in disappointment, the trainer can’t hide his excitement at the prospect of going back to back in the big one on home soil on October 4.

Daryz enjoyed public gallop at Deauville last Tuesday and is all set to resume in this weekend’s Arc trial.

“I couldn’t be happier with the condition of the horse,” Graffard said on Sky Sports Racing.

“When I took him to Deauville it was to bring him forward, it was a nice strong piece of work. Mickael (Barzalona, regular rider) was pleased and the horse had a bit of weight to lose to get him ready for Sunday.

“On his day he is absolutely incredible. He is ready, but he will come on a lot for the race to be ready for the Arc.”

Daryz could muster only a well-held third behind Ombudsman on quick ground in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes in June, having finished last of six in the 2025 Juddmonte International on his previous visit to England. However, Graffard is convinced there were excuses at the Royal meeting and the colt was unable to display his true colours following a far from ideal preparation.

“He’s a horse with a lot of ability and I was upset he couldn’t show everyone at Ascot,” said Graffard.

“He had excuses, he’d spent a really bad day in the yard at Ascot, he never really relaxed and was shouting at all the other horses going out. He never really had a quiet moment and I was a little bit upset about that. His blood test also showed that he had a little infection, it’s a shame really.”

Despite that defeat, Graffard firmly believes that Daryz has developed since his three-year-old campaign, highlighted by sensational Group 1 wins over 10 and nine furlongs at Longchamp earlier this season.

“I think he’s a better horse (than last year), I think he’s stronger, mentally and physically. We always rated him very highly, and he was fantastic in the Arc last year, but his first two runs this year were just incredible. From what I’m seeing in the morning, I’m lucky to have him in my yard and hopefully we can have a nice autumn and we can prove and show everybody how good he is.”

Graffard is also responsible for more Arc entries, with Sunly set to line up in the Prix Vermeille and Varandir tackling Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini in the three-year-old-only Prix Niel.

“Sunly is a very good filly, she ran incredibly against Calandagan in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. She has a big heart this filly, she tries, and she needed a bit of time after Saint-Cloud because she tried really hard to win.

“So we always kept her for the Vermeille as her target for the autumn. She’s in good form, she stays well and is ready to perform well.

“We haven’t been very lucky with her as we had to stop, but just watching her last race again she really beat Aventure very easily so she’s a nice filly. The field is quite strong on Sunday but hopefully we have a nice run.”

In terms of an Arc tilt, he said: “I don’t know about that. I need to win a Group 1 with her first, I don’t know. Definitely, the Prix Vermeille is our target.”

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Varandir - who has an Arc entry - gets going just in time to remain unbeaten in the G3 Prix Hocquart!@GraffardRacing @AgaKhanStuds pic.twitter.com/k3ArExNpxf
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 24, 2026

On Varandir, last seen finishing third to subsequent Great Voltigeur winner Maltese Cross in the Grand Prix de Paris in July, Graffard said: “He will enjoy the softer ground. I think he ran really well the other day.

“I don’t think he’s a horse that can be competitive in the Arc, he’s not up to that level but he’s in very good form and he’s improving. He’s a beautiful horse and should be right there at the finish.

“He’s an immature horse mentally and physically. He’s always going to be better in the autumn so it will be interesting, I hope he shows he is competitive.

“But I’m not trying to find many horses to beat Daryz in the Arc! We will try to win these targets (Prix Vermeille and Prix Niel) and then we will see.

“With all respect to Varandir, I think Daryz is in a different league. There are not many horses like Daryz.”

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