Erdenali Smashes Track Record In Prix Du Moulin Triumph
"He Was Special Today," Says Routh
Erdenali smashed the track record to end a Group One wait for the Aga Khan Studs, defeating a strong British and Irish raiding party in the Gr.1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at Paris Longchamp on 6 September 2026.
The gelded son of Caravaggio arrived at Paris Longchamp unproven in Group One company. Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, he had won his first three starts before an unlucky third in the Gr.3 Prix Messidor at Chantilly in July, his only defeat. Aidan O'Brien's Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Gstaad, Charlie Appleby's Opera Ballo and the Ed Walker-trained Ten Bob Tony completed a strong raiding party from Britain and Ireland. Gstaad arrived unbeaten in ten starts bar defeats to Bow Echo, with runner-up finishes in the 2,000 Guineas, the St James's Palace Stakes and the Sussex Stakes to go with his Irish Classic win, while Ten Bob Tony was making his seventh start of the season on the back of victory in the Gr.1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
The Gr.1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp was run over 1m on Turf at Paris Longchamp, where Erdenali, a 3YO gelding trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, beat Ten Bob Tony by one and a quarter lengths in a track-record time of 1m 33.01s on Good To Firm ground. Owned and bred by the Aga Khan Studs and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, the win was worth US$498,000 (€457,000) of the US$872,000 (€800,000) purse and lifted the gelding's career earnings to US$569,000 (€522,000).
“He's not a horse that shows very much in the morning – if you'd seen him work this week you wouldn't have been particularly impressed, but it all comes together in the afternoon,” said Nemone Routh, French racing manager and director for the Aga Khan Studs. “It was always the plan to come here, we needed to find out if he was a Group One horse and I think he's done that quite resoundingly.”
Erdenali travelled with an ease his homework rarely hints at, tracking the pace before angling for the lead approaching the final furlong. Once clear, Barzalona's mount went on with authority, holding off the renewed threat of Ten Bob Tony to score by one and a quarter lengths, while Gstaad, briefly outpaced as the front two kicked for home, stayed on for three lengths back in third.
Gstaad Has No Answer In Third
Aidan O'Brien had described a smooth build-up for Gstaad, whose only interruption all season had been a deep cut sustained in the Sussex Stakes that forced him to miss the Prix Jacques le Marois. None of that preparation showed in defeat. “Gstaad came home well and was coming back again at the line,” O'Brien said afterwards. “He looks like he'll potentially stay further, and we're pleased with him.”
Opera Ballo, A GR.1 JEBEL HATTA WINNER AT MEYDAN IN JANUARY [LINK: https://tenfurlongsmagazine.com/reviews/item/4872-fashion-friday-at-meydan-seemar-s-masterclass-dominates-dubai-s-premier-race-night.html], was taken on for the lead by Gstaad's pacemaker Dorset and had nothing left once the front two kicked clear, finishing fourth for Charlie Appleby. Ten Bob Tony chased home the winner without ever threatening to reel him in, a placing that keeps his own Group One credentials firmly intact. “I'm a bit gutted because I thought we had it,” said Ed Walker, the gelding's trainer. “I could see we had Gstaad and Opera Ballo beaten, and I probably didn't give the Graffard horse enough respect. The winner looked really good and we'll try to avoid him.” Walker confirmed the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes remains the plan for Ten Bob Tony, with a possible Breeders' Cup run still undecided.
Christopher Head's Nighttime filled fifth, having previously finished third in the Prix Jean Prat behind that race's Maurice de Gheest and Jacques le Marois winners, with Dreamliner sixth and the Ballydoyle second string Dorset seventh having done his pacemaking job for Gstaad.
Prix Du Moulin Repeats For Graffard
The Aga Khan Studs' broodmare band has long been built around Europe's middle-distance and mile divisions, and Erdenali's pedigree carries a direct line back to this same race: his second dam, Ervedya, won the Prix du Moulin herself, making the 2026 renewal a rare instance of a family's name returning to the race a generation on. “The granddam won this a few years ago and we are so lucky we have a new legacy that is forming,” Routh said.
The result also completed back-to-back Prix du Moulin victories for Graffard and extended a banner day for the operation. The trainer also saddled Daryz to a straightforward defeat of Bay City Roller in the Gr.2 Prix Foy, with Barzalona completing a treble aboard Varandir in the Gr.2 Prix Niel, giving one trainer-jockey axis three Group races on a single card. The Foy result carried its own significance for the Aga Khan Studs, with Daryz using the run as his final prep before defending the Gr.1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at the same track on 4 October. Graffard reported a marked improvement from the reigning champion's below-par Royal Ascot run: “He's a lot stronger and you can see he was mentally in a much better place today. He wasn't the same horse I saw at Ascot. He was sick that day and this was the best possible preparation for him.”
Graffard put Erdenali's leap in class down to racing luck rather than raw improvement. “We kept faith in the horse, stuck with the program and he's shown we weren't too far wrong,” he said. “He's quite cold in the mornings and some days he works better than others, but he's always very impressive in his races, and he's broken the track record there.”
Graffard confirmed he plans to send Erdenali to the Gr.1 Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland on 3 October, with an eventual run in the Breeders' Cup Mile the longer-term aim. Routh confirmed the stable's other contenders would take separate routes, with Samangan for the Prix de la Foret and Rayif for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, leaving Erdenali's own entry for that race unlikely to be used.
For a result built on a single explosive turn of foot, the reaction afterwards carried more relief than surprise. “We were wondering if he was going to the Arc sale or not after this, but I don't think we will now!” Routh said. A gelding once bound for the sales ring left Paris Longchamp a track-record Group One winner, a family legacy that had rested on a granddam's win now running through him as well.
Race Info
Prix du Moulin: 17:25 GST (15:25 CEST) | Group One | FOR 3YO+ | Thoroughbred | Turf | 1m | US$872,000 (€800,000) | Rail Position: NA | Track Condition: Good To Firm | Safety Limit: NA | Track Record: Erdenali, 1m 33.01s, 6 September 2026 | Prize Breakdown: 1st US$498,261 (€457,120.00) | 2nd US$199,339 (€182,880.00) | 3rd US$99,670 (€91,440.00) | 4th NA | 5th NA
Result
Prix du Moulin: 1 Erdenali (T: Francis-Henri Graffard / J: Mickael Barzalona) | 2 Ten Bob Tony (T: Ed Walker / J: Tom Marquand) | 3 Gstaad (T: Aidan O'Brien / J: Ryan Moore)