The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe lived up to all expectations on Sunday at ParisLongchamp, with a thrilling battle in the final 200 metres between the Irish favourite Minnie Hauk (Frankel) and the French contender Daryz, whose sire Sea The Stars had himself won the Arc in 2009.
After enjoying a perfect trip behind the early leaders Hotazhell (Too Darn Hot) and Croix du Nord (Kitasan Black), Minnie Hauk was the first to make her move — closely tracked all the while by Daryz.
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The two went stride for stride in a superb duel, and it was only on the line that the Aga Khan Studs’ colt prevailed — by a head! Two thousand four hundred metres of racing decided by just a few centimetres…
This victory first belongs to his breeder-owner, His Highness the Aga Khan IV, who passed away in February of this year. His horses now run under the Aga Khan Studs banner, but it was his breeding vision that was celebrated on Sunday — the mating between Sea The Stars and Daryakana having been planned during his lifetime.
With this triumph, the Aga Khan family now holds the all-time record for wins in the Arc, with eight titles — surpassing the late Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, with whom they previously shared the record.
The family’s victories came in 1948 and 1952 (H.H. Aga Khan III), 1959 (Prince Aly Khan, son of Aga Khan III), 1982, 2000, 2003, 2008 (H.H. Aga Khan IV, son of Prince Aly Khan) and 2025 (Aga Khan Studs).
The success also crowns France’s in-form trainer, Francis Graffard, based in Chantilly, who has now captured 11 Group 1 races this season — a world-class tally. With this Arc victory, he is assured of finishing 2025 as France’s leading trainer by prize money for the first time in his career.
It was also a day of firsts for Mickaël Barzalona, who landed his maiden Arc win, and for Sea The Stars (Cape Cross), standing at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in Ireland. Remarkably, the stallion had never before sired an Arc winner — despite being a son of the great Urban Sea (Miswaki), herself a winner of the race.
The winner earned a free ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
The official result
QATAR PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE
1st DARYZ (Mickaël Barzalona)
2nd MINNIE HAUK (Christophe Soumillon)
3rd SOSIE (Stéphane Pasquier)
Time: 2’29’’17 – Margins: Head – 5½ – Head
Qatar Prix de la Forêt
True to his usual style, Maranoa Charlie (Wootton Bassett) made his own pace — and from start to finish, with impressive ease, he captured the Qatar Prix de la Forêt over the tricky 1,400 metres of ParisLongchamp.
For his young Chantilly-based trainer Christopher Head, it marked a second consecutive win in the race, following Ramatuelle’s (Justify) triumph last year.
Ridden patiently, the Aga Khan Studs’ filly Zarigana (Siyouni) produced an excellent finishing run to secure a clear second without ever threatening the authority of the winner, while Ten Bob Tony (Night of Thunder) filled third place.
The official result
QATAR PRIX DE LA FORÊT
1st MARANOA CHARLIE (Aurélien Lemaître)
2nd ZARIGANA (Mickaël Barzalona)
3rd TEN BOB TONY (Kieran Shoemark)
Time: 1’20’’80 — Margins: 1¼ – 1½ – head
Prix Jacques Le Marois
Jessica Harrington is one of the few female trainers to have won multiple Group 1 races, both on the Flat and over Jumps — a rare feat in the racing world. In France, she had already made her mark with Alpha Centauri (Mastercraftsman), winner of the Prix Jacques Le Marois (Group 1) in 2018, and Albigna (Zoffany), successful in the Prix Marcel Boussac (Group 1) in 2019.
This Sunday, she struck again, thanks to Barnavara (Calyx), who travelled from Ireland to contest her first race in France — the Qatar Prix de l’Opéra Longines (Group 1). It proved a triumphant debut.
Coming off an impressive victory in the Moyglare Stud Blandford Stakes (Group 2) over 2,000 metres at the Curragh, Barnavara quickly took the lead at ParisLongchamp, setting a solid pace for her rivals. Keen yet well balanced, she maintained her advantage down the straight despite repeated challenges from her pursuers.
See the Fire (Sea The Stars) proved tenacious in her attempt to overhaul the winner but had to settle for second, while One Look (Gleneagles), who had been narrowly beaten by Barnavara at the Curragh in mid-September, produced a sharp late burst from the rear to complete the podium after a strong finish.
The official result
QATAR PRIX DE L’OPÉRA LONGINES
1st BARNAVARA (Sean Foley)
2nd SEE THE FIRE (Oisin Murphy)
3rd ONE LOOK (James Doyle)
Time: 2’05’’52 – Margins: Short Neck – Short Head – Short Neck
Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp
The connections of Australian champion Asfoora (Flying Artie) had hesitated for a while between running in Ireland’s Flying Five Stakes and Sunday’s Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines at ParisLongchamp — and they made the right call, as the seven-year-old mare absolutely cruised home in the famous straight-course sprint over 1,000 metres in Paris!
Patiently ridden under cover in fifth place along the rail, she was switched out at the decisive moment by Oisin Murphy and swept past Jawwal (Wooded), who had seemed on his way to glory. She’s Quality (Acclamation) finished third.
During the post-race press conference, trainer Henry Dwyer put on a characteristically humorous show: “It’s extraordinary to win a race here during Arc weekend! Last year, we introduced Asfoora to Europe by racing only in England. But this year, we wanted to try something new. We had already thought about running in the Abbaye last year, but she ran too poorly at York and it would have been too much for her. This year we went for a slightly different programme. Obviously, the ground helped us today. That’s also why she didn’t run well at the Curragh — the ground didn’t suit her.
I love France — I spent a little time here and can say a few words: I like the cheese and the baguette! (laughs)
Today we were a bit lucky, because when Asfoora arrived at the races, we didn’t have her passport — it had been left behind in Chantilly, and instead we had the passport of the horse we bought yesterday at Arqana! Fortunately, Francis Graffard’s assistant went back to the yard, gave the passport to an Uber, and now we can drink champagne! So thank you to him as well — and thank you to the Uber driver! I’ve just posted his name on Twitter, and if he reads this, he’s welcome to join our party tonight! (laughs)
Anyway, I’m just so happy we decided to run today. You know, you shouldn’t have any regrets on your deathbed!”
The official result
QATAR PRIX DE L’ABBAYE DE LONGCHAMP LONGINES
1st ASFOORA (Oisin Murphy)
2nd JAWWAL (Clément Lecœuvre)
3rd SHE’S QUALITY (James Ryan)
Time: 0’56’’39 – Margins: ½ – 2½ – 1¼
The Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère
The Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère, which forms a Group 1 pair for two-year-olds alongside the Prix Marcel Boussac (restricted to fillies), produced an identical result just minutes apart! A victory for a colt trained by Aidan O’Brien, owned by the Coolmore partners and ridden by Christophe Soumillon, ahead of a Wertheimer & Frère runner trained by Christopher Head and ridden by Maxime Guyon, with an Aga Khan Studs representative trained by Francis Graffard and ridden by Mickaël Barzalona in third!
The winner was Puerto Rico (Wootton Bassett), followed home by Nighttime (Wootton Bassett) and Rayif (Sea The Moon).
In running, the race unfolded as clearly as one could imagine: Puerto Rico went straight to the front and never surrendered the lead, quickening strongly in the straight for an untroubled victory. Nighttime, who tracked him throughout, safely held second place, while Rayif did the same in third, though he had the handicap of launching his challenge a little wider out in mid-track.
The first two home provided a fine Group 1 double for Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett, who sadly passed away earlier this year in Australia, where he was shuttling between hemispheres after beginning his stud career in France.
Belgian-born jockey Christophe Soumillon, based in France for most of his career, was riding Aidan O’Brien’s horses over the weekend, as first jockey Ryan Moore is currently sidelined through injury.
The official result
QATAR PRIX JEAN-LUC LAGARDÈRE
1st PUERTO RICO (Christophe Soumillon)
2nd NIGHTTIME (Maxime Guyon)
3rd RAYIF (Mickaël Barzalona)
Time: 1’41’’31 – Margins: 1 – 1¼ – Nose
