Daryz wins second Arc at Longchamp as owner signals possible retirement

Daryz won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday to complete back-to-back victories in the race, but Princess Zahra Aga Khan, the horse’s owner, indicated he may be retired rather than aimed at a third title.

Princess Zahra Aga Khan was direct when asked about Daryz’s future: “Look, we’re breeders,” she said, “and you get to the point where you’re taking a risk every time you run the horse. Would we want him to train on for another year? I’m not sure. I think he has other things to do.” Daryz did not run at two and, like many Classic-winning three-year-olds, seems set to retire after a couple of seasons on the track. While two Arc wins is a major achievement, a third would be unprecedented; the horse had beaten the best of the 2026 Classic crop and the prospect of a fully mature five-year-old returning in 2027 was discussed among supporters.

The safety calculus around keeping Daryz in training was outlined with governing-body context: France Galop, the sport’s governing body, does not publish detailed statistics on fatal injuries while racing in the manner of the British Horseracing Authority or the Equine Injury Database in the US, but the fatality rate on the Flat in most major jurisdictions is about one for every 1,000 starts. The article estimated that a four- or five-race campaign focused on a return to Longchamp would be roughly 200-1 to end with a catastrophic injury, a figure owners weigh against potential racing glory.

The Aga Khan family’s breeding background was highlighted as central to the decision-making around Daryz. Princess Zahra’s family has been breeding and racing thoroughbreds since the third Aga Khan, her great-grandfather, made his debut on the British turf in the early 20th century. Hers is the fourth generation to own an Arc winner – there have now been nine in the famous silks – but the first to own a dual winner of the race.

Aga Khan Studs’ operating model was described in contrast to commercial operations: it is not a commercial operation in the manner of, say, the Coolmore Stud in Ireland, has five stallions on its roster, sends few of its home-bred yearlings to the sales and still operates in many respects like the traditional owner-breeders that were the bedrock of the turf before the shift to a commercial model in the 1970s. For the Aga Khan Studs, the potential loss of Daryz to a career-ending injury carries implications beyond immediate prize money.

Sunday’s event at Longchamp also produced business and crowd observations around the venue’s recovery after its €150m rebuild. In the first couple of years after its €150m rebuild, there were plenty from Britain and Ireland – who account for at least 25% of the attendance – saying “never again” as huge queues for toilets, food concessions and betting windows spoiled their days, but on this occasion there were no queues – that I could see, at least – on a half-hour walk around Longchamp in the hour between the Prix de l’Abbaye and the Arc itself. The weather was hot, the crowd was able to spread out, and another abiding memory of Sunday’s action, alongside the winner’s brilliant surge to victory, is of a race and an event that has rediscovered its confidence and poise.

Daryz will be elsewhere on the first Sunday in October next year, but many, if not most, of those who were there to see him win his second Arc may well have it inked into their calendars already.