DARYZ is only the sixth horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice since World War II.

He has won nine times in his 12-race career and eight of those wins have come at ParisLongchamp. Interestingly, two of his three defeats have come when he has travelled to the UK, losing at York last year and Ascot this year.

I would be reluctant to say he prefers Longchamp to any other track - after all he has raced there nine times in those 12 starts - but races can be steadily-run at that venue and that plays to his main asset, his turn of foot. Daryz is seemingly able to use his speed, irrespective of the trip that he is asked to race over. That speed was crucial in this year’s Arc which was not run at a strong tempo.

This was a race that was heavily influenced by the early gallop. Pace makes the race and, with just four and a half lengths separating the first 10 home, it is fair to assume that this was not an attritional affair. That assertion is backed up by the fact that all of the 16 runners were able to save enough energy to post their fastest furlongs in either the third or second-last furlongs of the race.

The race became a test of speed, run under quicker conditions than we are used to seeing recently in October in Paris.

Daryz endured a moderate trip through the race, forced three wide by his stablemate Varandir. He raced a bit keenly on account of the modest early gallop but, when asked for his effort, he flashed home, producing some impressive splits, which are reproduced here, courtesy of the France Galop tracking data.

Daryz’s final four furlongs

Furlong 9: 11.84s

Furlong 10: 11.00s

Furlong 11: 10.84s

Furlong 12: 11.47s

His 11th furlong time was the fastest posted by any horse in the race and is a rare display of such speed for a horse in a Group 1 over this trip. He is now unbeaten in three starts at a mile and a half but, given his speed, it is not surprising that connections have primarily campaigned him at shorter distances.

Daryz was not the only horse in the race to show plenty of speed. Both Varandir and Benvenuto Cellini need to be upgraded, given the way things panned out for them in last Sunday’s race.

Varandir was particularly eye-catching. He was shuffled to the back of the field turning for home before unleashing a very fast finish that saw him run two sub-11sec furlongs in the final half mile.

Varandir’s final four furlongs

Furlong 9: 12.03s

Furlong 10: 10.95s

Furlong 11: 10.95s

Furlong 12: 11.53s

No other horse in the race ran two sub-11.00sec furlongs, let alone be able to produce them in consecutive furlongs. Varandir has only had six starts, winning four of them. With Daryz likely to retire, he looks to be a very talented replacement for Francis Henri Graffard and the Aga Khan Studs team.

The race did not pan out well for Benvenuto Cellini either. All the talk in the lead-up to the race was the necessity for a low draw, but stall one proved to be something of a poisoned chalice for Ryan Moore’s mount. The Irish Derby winner has shown in the past a tendency to be slowly into stride and that was the case here, which meant horses cut across him and he was shuffled back into a poor position amongst horses in mid-division.

He never got a clean shot at the leaders, but the sectionals he produced in the closing stages - whilst not being given a hard time by Moore - suggest he is in good form. Only Daryz and Varandir ran a faster final three furlongs than him, which suggests that, without the early race problems that he encountered, he would have finished closer than ninth. Benvenuto Cellini’s big, long-raking stride will always be seen to better effect on fast ground, the sort he is likely to get in Keeneland later this month should he contest the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Final three-furlong splits

Daryz: 33.32s

Varandir: 33.44s

Benvenuto Cellini: 33.65s

AMUSINGLY was Francis Henri Graffard’s other Group 1 winner on Arc day. In beating the boys in the Lagardere, she became only the third filly in 40 years to win this race.

The No Nay Never filly is a keen-going sort, whose zestful nature got her beaten over a mile in the Prix d’Aumale at ParisLongchamp in September, but she made no mistake here with the drop in trip to seven furlongs proving ideal.

The pace was strong, which allowed Amusingly and the runner-up Folsom Blues to get involved, having been held up in rear.

Raced keenly

Even though the field went through the first two furlongs in a fast 22.10s, Amusingly still raced keenly and it is to her credit that she was able to produce a strong finish, having exerted plenty of energy in the first half of the race.

She is all about speed and that speed took her from last place with three furlongs to go to the front inside the final furlong and eventually a length and a quarter clear. This is nicely illustrated by her closing half-mile sectionals.

Amusingly’s final four furlongs

Furlong 4: 11.71s

Furlong 5: 11.20s

Furlong 6: 10.73s

Furlong 7: 11.31s

Folsom Blues also quickened up smartly from the back of the field, also running a sub-11s furlong (10.85s) between the two- and one-furlong markers, but he couldn’t quite match the filly’s speed. This performance backs up his impressive six-length Vincent O’Brien National Stakes victory over Monogram.

Whilst the speed that Amusingly showed suggests she may be a Commonwealth Cup horse, Folsom Blues will be suited by a mile and a tilt at the 2000 Guineas will surely be on the cards for him.

Some credit should go to Man’s Best Friend in third, who was stepping up in trip here and did best of those horses who raced up with the strong pace. He kept on strongly to post a career-best. He will stay a mile and is a nice prospect for next year, without bringing the sort of excitement to the track that Amusingly will next year.

WHILE there was no exceptional or revelatory data produced in the Cadran by Caballo De Mar, it is a race worth a mention given what happened in the closing stages and the subsequent stewards’ enquiry - which surely should have been called without Scandinavia’s jockey Ryan Moore having to raise an objection.

Trainer George Scott had a fabulous meeting, with Wimbledon Hawkeye winning the Prix du Dollar and Bay City Roller finishing second in the Arc. In the Cadran Scott’s runner Caballo De Mar was very tough in defeating Scandinavia. He went toe-to-toe with the best stayer in Europe throughout the final quarter mile and gained a narrow success (short nose) in game fashion. He gradually made up ground on Scandinavia by running marginally faster than him through three of the final four furlongs, but it was in the final furlong where the controversial incident occurred.

Oisin Murphy, on board the winner, switched his whip hand and his mount lugged to the right, bumping Scandinavia and causing the runner-up to brush with the rail. Through this final furlong the sectional times show that, despite the interference Scandinavia completed this furlong marginally quicker than the winner. It begs the question as to whether he was in fact rallying in the final furlong, and would that rally have meant that he would have won had he not been bumped?

Final furlong times in the Cadran

Caballo De Mar: 12.30s

Scandinavia: 12.20s

It’s impossible to know if Scandinavia was rallying, but there was interference and, given the narrow margin of success, there was surely a very strong case for turning the result around. That would have certainly been the case in the USA and probably in the UK. But it should be noted that in recent times the interference rules in France - which used to be very harsh - have been somewhat relaxed.

THE Group 1 action last weekend was not just confined to France because Newmarket staged the Sun Chariot Stakes, which went to the prolific Blue Bolt - who is now unbeaten in six starts in 2026 and is now surely Breeders’ Cup-bound.

Blue Bolt is a strong-travelling miler who, in a slightly sub-standard renewal of the race, was able to overcome a steady gallop that caused her to be a lot keener than she normally is.

Colin Keane’s mount took a firm grip in third place - with no cover - as the field went through the first four furlongs in slower-than-par splits, which meant the race turned into a four-furlong burn-up.

Blue Bolt was allowed to stride on at halfway and she accelerated sharply to the front going to two out. This move effectively gave her first run on her rivals and, even though both Evolutionist (second) and City Of Memphis (third) ran faster than her in the penultimate furlong, she was already away and gone by the time they got to the furlong pole.

Her sectionals are worth highlighting because they illustrate just how much sustained speed she showed with each of her final three furlongs rated as being faster than the Race iQ par.

Blue Bolt’s final three furlongs

Furlong 6: 10.97s (Fast)

Furlong 7: 10.98s (Fast)

Furlong 8: 12.26s (Fast)

The good to firm ground that prevailed at Newmarket (meeting average time index of 6.9 out of 10) suited her speed and connections now face a Breeders’ Cup dilemma. They must decide whether to step up in trip for the Filly & Mare Turf or take on the boys in the Mile. The (likely) ground at Keeneland is going to suit her and the speed that she has will surely be better suited to the Mile. She has surely earned a tilt away from her own sex, given that she has dominated that division with ease this season.

AVENTURE was all the rage to win the Prix de l’Opera, having been targeted at this race rather than the Arc. The plan did not come to fruition due to the combination of a slow start, a wide trip and a slightly underwhelming finish.

The winner was the fast-improving three-year-old Miss Scott, who prevailed from a rejuvenated Precise.

This race is worth highlighting not just because of an impressive performance from the progressive winner, but for an eye-catching run from Precise in second, who put her run in the Matron Stakes behind her with the two-furlong step up in trip suiting her ideally. She has had a season that has been blighted by slow starts and, as a consequence, has been using her speed just to make up ground in the middle of her races. On this occasion, she was slowly away again, but was allowed to make up her ground steadily before using her speed at the business end of the contest.

She quickened up smartly through the penultimate furlong, with the fastest furlong of the race (10.77s), and backed that up with 11.40s in the final furlong, which was just 0.02s slower than the winner. This is the strongest finish that she has produced since winning the Irish 1000 Guineas and is encouraging for future assignments at this trip.

Connections will be eyeing a trip to the Breeders’ Cup for the Filly & Mare Turf over nine and a half furlongs, which should suit her ideally, particularly given that she is likely to encounter faster ground than she did here.

A slow start at Keeneland will not inconvenience her either, given that the turf course there lends itself to horses able to loop and swoop off the home bend with a fast final quarter mile. Precise is currently second favourite for the race at a generally available price of 7/2 and I would be surprised if she were not to go very close to winning if that is her chosen target.