By Tom Frary
Producing a stirring finale to Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, The Aga Khan Studs runner Daryz (Sea The Stars) wore down Ballydoyle's star filly Minnie Hauk (Frankel) to cap a stellar season for Francis-Henri Graffard. Having been given an unorthodox preparation for this monument which culminated in a close second to Croix Du Nord (Kitasan Black) in the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange, the 16-1 shot followed the pace set by the Japanese challenger with just the triple Oaks-winning 5-2 favourite to catch.
Minnie Hauk looked to have sealed a treble for O'Brien and Soumillon everywhere bar the last 50 metres, where Mickael Barzalona was able to conjure a decisive surge to earn a head success. Sosie (Sea The Stars) was 5 1/2 lengths away in third. This was the eighth Arc winner for the operation since 1948 and the first in these famed colours since Zarkava in 2008. It is also the first since the passing of The Aga Khan IV and, adding to the gravity for the Stud, the first son of Sea The Stars to win it. The race is a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf.
“As a breeder and as part of a legacy that stretches back more than a century, winning this race is the pinnacle of what one can achieve,” Princess Zahra Aga Khan commented. “I hope my father saw it, he was always so happy when he won the Arc. Now, I know that feeling too.”
“He was bred to win a Group 1 over 2,400 metres,” she added of the homebred, whose dam Daryakana (Selkirk) was a Hong Kong Vase winner who captured the Prix de Royallieu as a Group 2 on the same weekend that Sea The Stars sealed his immortality in this race. “He has both the stamina and the turn of foot for this race–both his parents had it and the ground didn't bother him at all. I also want to thank Francis for bringing him here through such an unusual but effective campaign.”
Graffard, who was registering an 11th Group 1 success this season and assuring himself of the 2025 French trainer's title for the first time in his career, was overwhelmed. “That was a great horse race and everything worked to plan,” he said. “The spirit of the horse at the end! We've had big victories before, but today I realise just how special the Arc truly is.”
“The emotions are magnified by the crowd, the atmosphere and especially by these colours with such history,” he added. “When I was a boy in Burgundy, watching the races with my grandfather, I dreamed of these horses, these silks, and this race! This sport is built on emotion and today is the ultimate example.”
At the start of the season, Daryz was still unraced and very much in the shadows of his illustrious stable companions Calandagan and Goliath but he held a trump card over that pair if able to live up to the hopes and expectations of his pedigree. Whereas they were gelded and unable to take part in this, he was in the picture until proving unworthy and continued on the path with three flawless outings at this track in the space of two months culminating in the Listed Prix Ridgway.
After dealing with Bay City Roller and Sinileo in Saint-Cloud's G2 Prix Eugene Adam in late June, he was sent to York to contest the Juddmonte International and ended up last of the six that took part in that famously-farcical encounter. What would have been a confidence-sapping event for most immature colts his age only served to act as impetus for this one and after he had re-appeared to spar with Croix Du Nord in the Prince d'Orange it was clear that he was still moving forward.
After another of Graffard's golden geldings Sibayan had secured a Group 1 in Germany, it was up to Daryz to represent the yard where it counts and while a few shrewdies were talking him up, his odds of nearly 17-1 seemed a fair reflection of his prospects taking on the best. What he did have in his favour was the heavily-eased ground, a first run at a mile and a half and stall two and with that blend and this pedigree the rest, as they say, was going to be history.
Before the horses drawn one, two and three filled the first three places and fourth went to Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman) who had come from stall five, there was a lot of race to be run but for the winner and runner-up all was remarkably drama-free throughout. Soumillon had the favourite perfectly-placed and it is safe to say that few runners have gone through an Arc as smoothly as she did and picked up as potently.
Unfortunately for the Rose of Rosegreen, while she put to bed Croix Du Nord and co in early straight with a visibly impressive burst which resulted in a 11.90 sectional from the three to the two, it was identically matched by the emerald green in behind and she became his target. The filly looked to have won it before the final furlong, but while she never stopped finding and fighting she was only bringing out the best in the colt.
Finally given the right framework to unleash that lethal mix of Sea The Stars and Daryakana, Daryz completed his metamorphosis over the distance that still matters in Europe. Unsurprisingly, the race time was by far the most impressive on the card furlong-per-furlong and highly respectable compared to recent renewals on similar ground. “He has that dazzling turn of foot and we always thought that if we ever had a colt good enough for the Arc, it would be him,” Graffard revealed. “He wasn't mature enough for a race like the Jockey Club earlier in the season and to get here, we took the long road–even crossing the Channel to run in the Juddmonte International!”
“He needed experience and I prefered that to an easy prep like the Prix Niel with few runners–you have to risk defeat in order to win later,” he explained. “Even though York didn't go his way, he learned a lot from that trip, from the race, the travel and the atmosphere and today it's all paid off.”
Mickael Barzalona was also basking in a maiden Arc win and said, “It's a privilege to wear these famous colours and I'm thrilled to win my first Arc for such an historic ownership. The race went perfectly–the horse was in a rhythm where he was doing everything easily and we were in our own bubble.”
“He came back a lot stronger from York, which was a messy race and he was very relaxed today,” he added. “Minnie Hauk made quite a lot of effort in front of me and when Daryz pulled out from her slipstream, he showed tremendous fighting spirit. I never doubted that we would get on top–I could feel his strength and his reserves.”
Soumillon, who was suffering his first reversal of the afternoon having won the opening Group 1s and the Arabian World Cup, was keen to champion Minnie Hauk. “If you take Daryz out, she would be one of the most impressive fillies to win the Arc but that is racing,” he said. “She is a big galloper and she took the lead so easily I thought we were going to win easy, but sometimes you just have to accept you get beaten.”
The Wertheimers' racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau said of Sosie, who improved one place on 12 months ago, “He ran a great race. He won't stay in training and will be retired to stud, although his destination has yet to be decided.”
Marco Botti was left to dwell on what might have been for Giavellotto with the drastic turn in the weather. “The horse was in great form and had a good trip, but it's a pity about the rain,” he said. “On good ground, he probably would have finished third. I'm very pleased with him nonetheless–to finish fourth in the Arc is a big achievement. Hopefully the effort in this soft ground won't take too much out of him before his next target, the Hong Kong Vase.”
WHAT A RACE! 🤩
DARYZ WINS THE GROUP ONE QATAR PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE! 🏆🇫🇷#QPAT pic.twitter.com/qr2qiOMT3j
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 5, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Daryz is the 10th foal out of the aforementioned high-class Daryakana, whose first was Shamardal's Prix Ganay-winning sire Dariyan. Four others were Stakes winners, including Dubawi's GII Knickerbocker Stakes winner Devamani and Frankel's G2 Badener Stutenpreis winner Darkaniya. The second dam is the Prix de Diane and Prix Vermeille heroine Daryaba (Night Shift), who also produced the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris winner Daramsar (Rainbow Quest). Also connected to Princess Zahra Aga Khan's triple Group 1-winning champion and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Darjina (Zamindar), Daryakana also has the unraced two-year-old colt Daryzan (Zarak).
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE-G1, €5,000,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-5, 3yo/up, c/f, 12fT, 2:29.17, vsf.
1–DARYZ (FR), 125, c, 3, by Sea The Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Daryakana (Fr) (G1SW-HK, GSW & G1SP-Fr, $1,372,923), by Selkirk
2nd Dam: Daryaba (Ire), by Night Shift
3rd Dam: Darata (Ire), by Vayrann (Ire)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Aga Khan Studs; T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Mickael Barzalona. €2,857,000. Lifetime Record: 7-5-1-0, €3,022,220. *1/2 to Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal), G1SW-Fr, G1SP-HK & GSP-UAE, $872,592; Devamani (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), MGSW-US, $563,306; Darkaniya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), GSW-Ger & SW-Fr, $125,429; Dariyza (Fr) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), SW & GSP-Fr; and Darabad (Fr) (Dansili {GB}), SW-Fr, $145,558. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Minnie Hauk (Ire), 121, f, 3, Frankel (GB)–Multilingual (GB), by Dansili (GB). (€1,850,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR). O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-B V Sangster; T-Aidan O'Brien. €1,143,000.
3–Sosie (Ire), 131, c, 4, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Sosia (Ger), by Shamardal. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere; T-Andre Fabre. €571,500.
Margins: HD, 5HF, HD. Odds: 16.60, 2.50, 12.00.
Also Ran: Giavellotto (Ire), Byzantine Dream (Jpn), Arrow Eagle (Fr), Kalpana (GB), Leffard (Fr), Quisisana (Fr), Hotazhell (GB), Aventure (Ire), White Birch (GB), Gezora (Fr), Croix Du Nord (Jpn), Cualificar (GB), Alohi Alii (Jpn), Los Angeles (Ire). Scratched: Estrange (Ire).
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