By Sean Cronin
Aga Khan Studs representative Samangan shed maiden status with an impressive wide-margin triumph at Deauville towards the end of last month and continued on the upgrade with a black-type breakthrough in Saturday's G3 Prix Eclipse Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage at Chantilly.
“He broke slowly and therefore put himself in trouble from the start,” reflected trainer Francis Graffard. “He was never really travelling smoothly and didn't look like a winner at halfway. Maybe the [soft] ground is the reason, but I don't know. When he started finding his best stride, the way he quickened was quite interesting and in the end it was a good performance. I will now put him away until next year, start over six again and see. At this stage I would not to be too keen to run him over further than six furlongs.”
The 13-10 favourite was the slowest of eight into stride and raced in rear from the outset of this straight six-furlong contest. Easing forward into sixth at halfway, he was scrubbed along with a quarter-mile remaining and kept on relentlessly under whipless rousting inside the final furlong to deny Ceramic (Lope De Vega) by an ultimately comfortable half-length nearing the line.
A sprinter to follow! 👀
Samangan makes it two on the bounce with an impressive performance to make up ground and take out the Group Three Prix Eclipse at Chantilly for @GraffardRacing! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/40plNMbyRJ
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 20, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Samangan, who becomes the eighth pattern-race winner for his sire, is the seventh of eight foals and one of three scorers out of a winning half to multiple Group 1-winning European champion Sarafina (Refuse To Bend), dual stakes-winning G1 Prix Saint-Alary runner-up Sanaya (Barathea), G3 Firebreak Stakes victor Sandagiyr (Dr Fong) and the multiple Group 3-placed Sanjida (Polish Precedent). Sarafina, in turn, is the dam of G3 Prix Messidor-winning sire Geniale (Deep Impact), G3 Prix d'Aumale victrix Savarin (Deep Impact) and G3 Radio Nikkei Sho third Go Timing (Deep Impact). The May-foaled bay is a half-brother to Prix Volterra victrix Simeen (Lope De Vega) and a weanling filly by Vadeni.
Saturday, Chantilly, France
PRIX ECLIPSE – FONDS EUROPEEN DE L'ELEVAGE-G3, €73,200, Chantilly, 9-20, 2yo, 6fT, 1:09.72, sf.
1–SAMANGAN (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Blue Point (Ire)
1st Dam: Samadrisa (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB)
2nd Dam: Sanariya (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
3rd Dam: Sanamia (Ire), by Top Ville (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-Aga Khan Studs; T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Mickael Barzalona. €36,600. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, €52,492. *1/2 to Simeen (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), SW-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ceramic (Ire), 122, f, 2, Lope De Vega (Ire)–Terrakova (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere; T-Christopher Head. €14,640.
3–Graft (Ire), 126, c, 2, U S Navy Flag–Preobrajenska (GB), by Paco Boy (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Ali Aneizi; B-Roderic Kavanagh; T-Josephine Soudan. €10,980.
Margins: HF, 4, SNK. Odds: 1.30, 4.60, 7.40.
Also Ran: Royal Bay Cen (Ire), Ulymine (Fr), Wor Faayth (Ire), No Remorse (Fr), Daisy Daisy (GB).
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