Daryz Returns To Longchamp For Qatar Arc Trials
Daryz Heads Sunday Longchamp Card
The Gr.2 Qatar Prix Foy brings Daryz back to the track where he won the 2025 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, headlining the three Qatar Arc Trials that anchor a nine-race card at ParisLongchamp on Sunday, 6 September 2026, a month before the Group One showpiece runs on 6 October 2026. The Qatar Prix Vermeille, Qatar Prix Foy and Qatar Prix Niel are joined by the Gr.1 Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, the Gr.2 Qatar Prix d’Aumale, the Gr.3 Qatar Prix La Rochette for two-year-olds, and the Gr.1 Qatar Cup – Prix Dragon (PA) for Purebred Arabians.
The son of Sea The Stars won the Gr.1 Prix Ganay and the Gr.1 Prix Aga Khan IV, formerly the Prix d’Ispahan, in the spring before finishing third in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in June 2026, beaten four lengths by Ombudsman. Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard said afterwards that the colt never settled behind the pacemakers and had no cover, adding: “We simply didn’t see the same Daryz that won at Longchamp.” Those remarks were offered as Graffard’s explanation for the Ascot defeat, with no further comment made on how the colt might fare back over the course and distance where he beat the world’s best last October. That result remains the clearest evidence of what Daryz can produce when conditions suit him, and Sunday’s return to familiar ground offers a chance to test whether the Ascot display was simply a one-off aberration rather than a sign of any deeper decline in form.
Thirteen Fillies Line Up For Vermeille
Thirteen fillies and mares trained in France, Great Britain and Ireland line up in the Qatar Prix Vermeille over 2,400 metres. Lapothéose, trained in Deauville by Yann Barberot, remained unbeaten in four starts, including the Gr.2 Prix Saint-Alary at ParisLongchamp, before finishing third in the German Oaks at Düsseldorf on 2 August 2026 on fast ground. Barberot said of her running style: “She doesn’t have a lightning change of gears but can sustain a long burst of acceleration from the back as she did at Longchamp.”
Pink Panthera, runner-up in the Prix de Diane, also finished second in the Prix de Malleret over the same course and distance she tackles again on Sunday. Sunly, now four years old and still seeking a first Group One win, finished third behind Calandagan and Cualificar in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Rabbit’s Foot, trained like Sunly by Francis Graffard, showed her well-being with a win in the Prix Alec Head at Deauville.
Ireland’s Sparan Nua, second to Kalpana in the Yorkshire Oaks, and Survie, French-bred but trained in Great Britain by George Boughey, represent the overseas challenge to the home team in the Vermeille.
O’Brien Leads Strong Niel Challenge
The Gr.2 Qatar Prix Niel features a strong Irish challenge, with Aidan O’Brien fielding two runners including Benvenuto Cellini. The Frankel colt won the Irish Derby at the Curragh in June 2026 by a length and three quarters, a result that gave O’Brien a record 18th victory in the race and a Ballydoyle 1-2-3, having earlier been declared a non-runner at the Epsom Derby after a stalls mishap.
For France, Pearled Majesty, unlucky in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, went on to win the Prix Eugène Adam with authority and is one to watch in the Niel. Alam and Varandir, third and fourth in the Grand Prix de Paris after a fiercely contested finish over the same course on Bastille Day, make up the home challenge to the Ballydoyle pair. Both colts arrive with the form of that tightly run Grand Prix de Paris behind them, giving connections reason to believe they can trouble the Irish raiders over the extended distance of the Niel.
The Gr.1 Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp fields seven runners including three Group One winners. Erdenali, whose granddam Ervedya won the race, and Nighttime are the only French-trained runners, taking on international opposition headed by Ireland’s Gstaad and Godolphin’s Opera Ballo, who was bred in France at Haras des Capucines.
In the Gr.3 Qatar Prix La Rochette, Avec Toi puts an unbeaten record on the line for trainer Christopher Head, who is also represented by Data in the Gr.2 Qatar Prix d’Aumale. Head won both races in 2025 and could repeat the feat on Sunday, having established himself as a specialist in developing juvenile Thoroughbreds at his Chantilly base.
The Gr.1 Qatar Cup – Prix Dragon (PA) is headed on paper by HM Alchahine, the defending champion, who recently won again at this level at Deauville. The Purebred Arabian feature rounds out a Sunday card at ParisLongchamp built almost entirely around the road to the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on 6 October 2026.