Prix Foy report and reaction: Japan strikes in trial with Byzantine Dream

Trained by Tomoyasu Sakaguchi, the four-year-old chestnut brought top-class staying form from his native Japan and had landed a Group 2 handicap in the hands of Murphy in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

He was beaten narrowly over two miles in a Kyoto Grade 1 when last seen in May but, despite sweating up beforehand, defied a market drift to win the first major contest on Qatar Arc Trials day at Longchamp on Sunday.

The easy-to-back 11/1 chance came from near the back to lay down his challenge between rivals in the straight and ultimately toughed it out to score by half a length from 11/8 favourite Sosie, with Almaqam (9/2) a couple of lengths adrift back in third on his first run over the 12-furlong trip.

Paddy Power and Sky Bet cut Byzantine Dream to 10/1 from 25/1 for the Arc, a feature European race that Japanese-trained horses have famously yet to win. Sosie also shortened for the same October 5 contest, trading at 12/1 following Sunday's three Trials.

Murphy said on Sky Sports Racing: "He jumped well but the horse behind him stumbled and I actually clipped a heel for a stride. But he relaxed immediately, the pace wasn’t super-fast, I was able to get on the back of Maxime Guyon (on Sosie).

"He doesn’t do a whole lot in front, in Saudi he ran around, so I said hopefully I can get there hands-and-heels. So if he wasn’t winning today then it would set him up perfectly for the big race."

When asked if the drop back to a mile and a half had raised any concerns for Murphy pre-race, he said: “No, I was only concerned about the ground. He’s a weak stayer over extended distances, but he has a very good turn of foot.

"He beat a high-class field today but he does, as I’ve mentioned in the past, want fast ground.

"He was a lot heavier today, and you’d notice the crest of his neck is much thicker. He’s not run since May, he did Saudi and Japan in May. He just did two nice bits of work, without anything being difficult, in the build-up to this.

“He’s probably quite a light-framed horse, I hope he could be an even better horse come Arc weekend, provided he gets the conditions. (The ground is riding) just good, there was a nice tempo and we saw a fair result.”

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