Daryz secures back-to-back Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp

Daryz won a second successive Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday, ridden by Mickaël Barzalona. Barzalona said: "To win this kind of race twice proves that Daryz is an exceptional horse."

Forty-eight years on from Alleged’s second victory in 1978 with Lester Piggott holding the reins, the new grandstand at Longchamp celebrated Daryz as its first modern legend after he produced the same powerful turn of foot down the straight that had taken him to the Arc a year earlier. Daryz and Barzalona did not hit the front until inside the final furlong, closing strongly on Bay City Roller, who had disputed the lead for much of the way. Oisin Murphy had worked to get Bay City Roller into contention from stall 15, while Christophe Soumillon brought Aidan O’Brien’s Diamond Necklace through from the widest draw to finish third.

Daryz’s sustained run from well over a furlong out removed any real doubt about the outcome, and unlike Enable’s narrow defeat of Sea Of Class in 2018 there was no sense that different draws would have altered the result. Daryz, quite simply, proved himself a class apart.

Barzalona added: "It was a really tough race, it didn't go as we expected but he showed his talent and that made the difference in the end. The pace was not strong, it was a rough race and nothing went to plan, but the horse deserved to win again and he’s proved all season he is the best one." For Francis-Henri Graffard, Daryz’s trainer, the victory rounded off another championship-winning season in which he has won more than twice as much prize money as the runner-up, André Fabre. Graffard said: "He’s a champion. It’s rare I’m confident before a race as it is so hard in a race like this, but I knew things were going right and he’d be very hard to beat. I was confident. but I was putting so much pressure on myself [before the race] and you can make yourself look a fool, so it is easier not to speak and not say anything. We kept losing position early, we were too far back, but we were lucky Daryz has good acceleration."

The only clear caveat after the race was that no horse has ever won the Arc three times and Daryz appears certain to begin his stud career with the Aga Khan Studs rather than return on the track next year. Princess Zahra Aga Khan, who has taken over the running of Aga Khan Studs since the death of her father in 2025, said afterwards: "We’re breeders. You get to the point where you’re taking a risk every time you run the horse. He’s improved with age, that’s true, and the dam [Daryakana] did, but would we want him to train on for another year? I’m not sure. I think he has other things to do."

In Daryz’s likely absence, the beaten horses will be left to represent the form next autumn, and George Scott’s Bay City Roller looks set to return after finishing strongly into second from out wide on ground that was quicker than ideal. Scott, who saddled a Group-race double on Saturday’s card at Longchamp, said afterwards: "I could see Daryz coming, but it was an incredible run. What an amazing racehorse he is and what an amazing ride. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s got all the talent and ability to go with it. Second in the Arc, but we need to go one better."

Daryz is expected to complete his first covering season at stud when the racing community reconvenes in Paris next year, and if Sunday was his final flourish on the track the sight of his first foals setting foot on a racecourse in 2030 will recall his performances at Longchamp.