By Sean Cronin
Having fallen below expectations when fifth in last month's G1 Prix Jean Prat, the Francis Graffard-trained G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains hero Rayif (Sea The Moon) regained his aura with a late surge to double his Group 1 tally in Sunday's G1 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville.
“It's a wonderful race to win, it's a very hard race to win and I'm delighted,” said Graffard. “The Jacques Le Marois is a very famous race, probably second only to the Arc, so it's wonderful to win for the family of the Aga Khan. He won the Poulains on soft ground and everybody was saying he's a soft-ground horse, but you need to keep trying. He ran well [in the Jean Prat] the other day, but with excuses. He was in top form coming into the race, but you need the perfect trip and he had the perfect trip today. He travelled really well and picked up really nicely. When he got challenged, I was hoping he was going to maintain his advantage and he did. He was very tough at the end. He's a very smart horse and he's very laid back at home, but he knows what he's doing and he's very game. He's a lovely horse to be around.”
Looking ahead, France's champion trainer continued, “It now depends on whether we take him to the [Sept. 6 G1 Prix du] Moulin [at ParisLongchamp] or give him time. The [seven-furlong Oct. 4 G1] Prix de la Foret [at ParisLongchamp] could be an option for him and I wouldn't be afraid to drop him back in distance. Ideally, the [G1] Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot could be interesting, particularly because it is run on a straight course. If I had to set him one target for the end of the year, that would be it.”
The 53-10 chance found immediate cover after breaking on the wing and raced at the tail of the 10-runner field until beyond halfway in the straight one-mile feature.
Shaken up to make inroads approaching the quarter-mile pole, he launched his challenge out wide entering the final furlong and ran on strongly under forceful urging thereafter to outpoint Zeus Olympios (Night Of Thunder) in game fashion.
Ballydoyle's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation Stakes heroine Precise (Starspangledbanner) could never quite get on terms, but kept on well to finish a half-length back in third, while the Japanese raiders Strauss (Maurice) and Sixpence (Kizuna) filled the last two spots home.
Karl Burke was satisfied with the display of runner-up Zeus Olympios, who bettered his third in May's G1 Lockinge. “He ran a very good race, he's progressing physically and I think that is now starting to show on the racecourse,” the trainer commented. “The question of whether he remains in training next year will have to be discussed. He is a very good horse and I am certain he has one of these Group 1s in him. He simply came up against an outstanding horse and a trainer in tremendous form. We beat Precise, who is a Guineas winner and was receiving a lot of weight from us, so there is no disgrace in finishing second today. We are entered in the race at Longchamp in early September [G1 Prix du Moulin], but I doubt we will bring him out again for that one. The race at Ascot on Champions Day [G1 Queen Elizabeth II] would certainly be seriously considered, especially if he remains in training. We could give him a good break and then take him there nice and fresh.”
Reflecting on the performance of ninth home Strauss, trainer Ryo Takei said, “We knew that Strauss did not necessarily need to be covered up and that he could gradually work his way into the race. We decided to go to the stands' side, where the ground was softer but more even. In the middle, it was much drier, but also a little more uneven. In the end, we chose that part of the track, even though it probably would have been better to go through the middle. When he was asked to quicken, he did not respond and it may simply have been because of the ground.”
Hiroyasu Tanaka, trainer of G1 Yasuda Kinen winner and 10th home Sixpence, added, “Sixpence broke well, but he was unable to quicken and perhaps he was not in optimal condition. He was blowing a little after his last piece of work and it was also his first race on a straight course.”
Pedigree Notes
Rayif, one of his sire's six Group 1 winners, is the sixth of eight foals and leading performer out of the dual stakes-placed Rayisa (Holy Roman Emperor), herself a half-sister to G3 Athasi Stakes victrix Rehana (Dark Angel).
His second dam Rayka (Selkirk) is a half-sister to the Group 3-winning G1 Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up Rayeni (Indian Ridge).
Rayif is a half-brother to the Group 3-winning G1 King Charles III Stakes runner-up and G1 Commonwealth Cup third Rayevka (Blue Point), a yearling colt by Vadeni and a weanling filly by Little Big Bear.
RAYIF WINS THE AGA KHAN STUDS PRIX JACQUES LE MAROIS! 🥇@GraffardRacing @mickaelbarzalon @AgaKhanStuds pic.twitter.com/gcTVOiO929
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) August 16, 2026
Sunday, Deauville, France
THE AGA KHAN STUDS PRIX JACQUES LE MAROIS-G1, €1,000,000, Deauville, 8-16, 3yo/up, c/f, 8fT, 1:35.50, g/s.
1–RAYIF (IRE), 125, c, 3, by Sea The Moon (Ger)
1st Dam: Rayisa (Ire) (MSP-Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)
2nd Dam: Rayka (Ire), by Selkirk
3rd Dam: Rayyana (Ire), by Rainbow Quest
O/B-Aga Khan Studs; T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Mickael Barzalona. €571,400. Lifetime Record: 6-4-0-1, €1,059,420. *1/2 to Rayevka (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}), GSW-Fr & MG1SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Zeus Olympios (GB), 131, c, 4, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Rhea (GB), by Siyouni (Fr). O-Exors of the Late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid; B-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; T-Karl Burke. €228,600.
3–Precise (Ire), 121, f, 3, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Way To My Heart (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Westerberg; B-Whisperview Trading Ltd; T-Aidan O'Brien. €114,300.
Margins: NK, HF, 3/4. Odds: 5.30, 7.30, 2.00.
Also Ran: No Lunch (Ire), More Thunder (Ire), Thesecretadversary (Ire), Dreamliner (Fr), Sir Tommy Cen (Ire), Strauss (Jpn), Sixpence (Jpn).
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