Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe timefigure reaction: Graeme North on Daryz's second win

Arc weekend usually signals five weeks to go before the end of the domestic Flat turf season and the commencement of seemingly endless daily multiple eight or nine-race low-grade all-weather meetings deep into the night, but the ‘winding down’ period between now and then doesn’t lack interest, with Champions Day on the horizon in two weeks’ time and a few of the better horses we saw over the weekend at Longchamp or in Britain will no doubt be appearing there. 

I’ll get around to Longchamp later but Ascot, which hosts Champions Day, staged its traditional Cumberland Lodge autumn two-day fixture over the weekend on good to firm ground and the quality was good enough that four of the winning performances earned timefigures of 100 or more.

None of those happened on the Friday when only Goldmoyne of the day’s six winners managed to break 90, but the opening race on Saturday, the listed October Stakes over seven furlongs, produced the first fast timefigure of the afternoon with the Gosdens' So Regal posting 102, marginally a career best.

The October Stakes, perhaps because of its position in the calendar, has tended to be a career highlight for most recent winners, One Master in 2017 the last to score at a higher level subsequently and only two winners since managing to win again, and this didn’t look a quality renewal with plenty of the field seemingly exposed, but back on firmer going, So Regal confirmed the promise of her run in the Atalanta, coping well with the drop back to seven furlongs for the first time since her debut and scoring convincingly in a race her owners have now won for the last three years.

The following Rous Stakes, another listed contest, attracted some smart and in-form sprinters, blending the usual mix of those that had been running well in top handicaps with those who'd been showing their form at a higher level, and it was one of the former, Air Force One, last seen winning the Portland Handicap at Doncaster, who came out on top on his first try in the grade, staying on to lead close home while admittedly much more fortunate in his run through than the unlucky fourth Fluoresence but still posting a very noteworthy timefigure with his 110 not only a career best but also the highest of any winner over the weekend.

The Cumberland Lodge looked a good opportunity for Tenability, but he didn’t get the strong pace (winning timefigure was just 75) that would have suited him better, and the race went to the evergreen veteran Al Aasy who was making it third time lucky in the race. Winning for the 14th time in 33 starts, and for the 13th time in listed or Group level, a feat which remarkably he has achieved in each of the last seven years, he’ll probably go to the St Simon Stakes next.

The other Group race on the card was the Bengough Stakes, which attracted a largely typical field of smart, established sprinters, but they were outpointed by one much less exposed in the shape of Hidden Force who showed considerable improvement on the back of a breathing operation and a near six-month absence after losing his unbeaten record in the Craven Stakes.

Held up off a strong pace which rather set the race up for those patiently ridden as he was, he had little trouble with the drop in trip and showed the sort of form his first two starts had promised, possibly worth supplementing for the Champions Sprint at Ascot after this, though fourth-placed Division remains in the running for that race given how much ill luck he has had this season and he was asked such a big question here too coming from so far back.

The only Group 1 race of the weekend domestically was at Newmarket where the BetMGM Sun Chariot Stakes attracted a small field of just seven runners and not a particularly select one either given Blue Bolt had beaten most of her rivals at some point this year, and she justified very cramped odds in a substandard renewal without having to run to a high rating or a high timefigure (90).

Evolutionist ran a career-best effort back at the scene of her 1000 Guineas second, while fourth-placed Calendar Girl achieved the best sectional upgrade despite getting caught behind weakening rivals and having to switch, and she is now the highest rated of those fillies who contested the Atalanta Stakes, higher even than So Regal who finished one place ahead of her in fifth that day.

The other winning timefigures above 100 in Britain or Ireland last week came from Sondad in the listed Guisborough Stakes at Redcar and Joga Bonito in the listed Star Appeal Stakes at Dundalk.

Sondad isn’t the most improved sprint handicapper in the training given he started the season off a BHA mark of 93 but he’d won three times this season before Saturday, all in fields of 15 or more runners, and showed he’s more versatile than might be anticipated by that statistic by overcoming the rise in class in a much smaller field and at seven furlongs too which he was trying for just the third time.

He’s improved every season, the 104 he posted on the clock here is as good as he’s ever run, and given he’ll likely stay in training next season too is surely up to winning in Group company.

Joga Bonita hasn’t run in Group company yet either but this run (timefigure 101) suggests it’s on the cards and perhaps sooner than later given the progeny of his sire Territories have such a good record in testing conditions which will surely turn up at some point in Ireland before the end of the turf season.

Why aren't timefigures returned from ParisLongchamp?

Timeform don’t return timefigures from France as of yet partly because official distances, even before rail movements, winning margins and tracking data, and the conclusions derived from their interpretation don’t always pass the sense test, but much like some of the tracks in Ireland from where timefigures are still absent, largely because some of the historical data doesn’t add up, that deficiency  will hopefully be resolved before too long.

The rail was out 15m at Longchamp on Saturday on a day most of the races were contested over long distances and the opening Prix de Chaudenday went to the improving Jabracadabra who did his bit to put the tiny provincial track of Craon on the map having won a listed race there on his previous outing as did Derby winner Lambourn in his two-year-old season in 2024.

Jabracadabra came home fastest in the Chaudenay and was clearly the deserving winner, and Saturday’s racing was pretty much a case of ‘what you saw you got’ with only third-placed Siciliano in the concluding Prix Foret running a faster last 600m than the winner in the Group races, and then only marginally.

Arc day ground was close to good to firm

The ground on Sunday officially at least was the same as on Saturday (‘Bon Souple’, Going Reading of 3.4) but conditions were quicker, not least on the straight 1000m, and conditions weren’t far off being good to firm all round.

The time for the opening Prix Marcel Boussac was the fourth fastest since 2015 and might have been quicker still had the winner not been hampered in an incident involving a stricken horse which has been edited from the race replays.

Second to Sun Goddess on her previous start, Green Empress came home fastest of all but I wouldn’t put it past fourth-placed Allela turning the tables next year as she was also hampered, possibly even worse, in the same incident and showed her inexperience in taking time to find her stride before coming home best of all in the final 100m.

The Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Amusingly had finished one place in front of the Boussac runner-up Data in the Prix d’Aumale over 1600m last time but was brought back in trip in devastating fashion, running the last 600m 0.72 seconds faster than Green Empress after cantering into the race along with runner-up Folsom Blues.

The first filly to win the race since Happily in 2017, she is more a six-furlong type than a miler according to her trainer and might come over for the Commonwealth Cup next season.

The Abbaye was won by Miss Yechance in a time just 0.01 seconds slower than Highfield Princess in 2023 and looked on the face of things to favour low numbers, though the ‘pace’ horses out wide weren’t ridden with their usual dash including expected trailblazer Naana’s Shadow of whom others drawn around her were surely expecting a better tow into the race.

Daryz was clearly the best in the Arc, in which the runners finished much more tightly packed than usual after a steady early gallop. In contrast to his 2025 win, after normalising both winning times, he was approximately five lengths further back than he had after 600m than he had been last year and well over twice that with 1000m, showing the extent to which the gallop steadied in the middle of the race, the whole field covered by around eight lengths as they passed the line.

If there is one horse to pick out from those behind who wasn’t seen to best advantage on the day, it was surely his stablemate Varandir who got shuffled back to the rear at the start of the home straight proper but stayed on really well, running the last 600m second fastest of all and just 0.11 seconds slower than Daryz.

The Prix de l’Opera was won convincingly by the rapidly improving Miss Scott, whose 33.35 last 600m was just 0.03 seconds slower than Daryz, while True Love got up in the last stride to deny Nighttime in a substandard Prix de la Foret with only the first two managing to break 34 seconds for the last 600m.  

More from Graeme North

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• Dazzling Goddess impresses on the clock
• Ascot likely to be bigger test for Almeraq
• Zavateri bang in QEII mix
• Item has more to offer up in trip
• Coppull not truly tested at seven
• Stars shine bright at Goodwood

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