The Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques Le Marois (Group 1)
AS the saying goes: ‘when you’re hot, you’re hot, when you’re not, you’re not’. That’s how it played out in last Sunday’s Group 1 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques Le Marois.
The race sponsor combined in its owner-breeder capacity with trainer Francis Graffard to land the Deauville Sunday feature for the second week running while, three weeks on from two Japanese King George challengers falling out of the back of the screen at Ascot, another pair of ambassadors from The Land Of The Rising Sun filled the last two positions.
Despite his trailing only Aidan O’Brien in the European rankings with seven top-level triumphs, the 2026 season has not been a smooth ride for Graffard. He has been forced to deal with an intermittent ailment afflicting his Chantilly yard, not least to Daryz, who submitted an unsatisfactory blood test after finishing a below par third at Royal Ascot.
His Marois representative, the Poule d’Essai des Poulains victor, Rayif, has suffered not one but two bouts of sickness.
The first ruled him out of his intended seasonal debut in April and meant that he had to go to the Poulains without a prep race, while the second denied us a chance to see him take on Bow Echo in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
On all cylinders
Then, once he was firing on all cylinders again, he could manage only fifth place in the Prix Jean Prat. Consequently, he was allowed to go off at odds of 5.3/1 on Sunday - even though Bow Echo’s shock retirement had left the race up for grabs.
As expected, Christophe Soumillon adopted the front-running tactics on Fozzy Stack’s Thesecretadversary that had proved so effective in the Jean Prat, where he beat Rayif by more than two lengths.
After three furlongs, he was almost joined in the centre of the course by the Karl Burke-trained Zeus Olympios, while Joao Moreira and Yutaka Take, the highly-experienced riders of the Japanese raiders, Strauss and Sixpence, for some reason chose to race alone close to the stands rail, a part of the track that had proved disadvantageous in the earlier seven-furlong handicap.
Zeus Olympios got past Thesecretadversary approaching the furlong marker, but was immediately pressed on both sides by the second Irish challenger, Precise, and by Rayif, who had come from last.
Precise cried enough 100 yards out and had to settle for third, three places in front of Thesecretadversary, but Rayif quickened up well for three smacks of Mickael Barzalona’s whip to win cosily by a neck.
Superb horse
Graffard said: “Rayif is a superb horse, and there were valid reasons for his recent defeat. The Marois is probably the second most famous race in France after the Arc - so it’s a wonderful race to win, especially for the race sponsors. We could now decide to go for the Prix du Moulin [on September 6th] or give him more time and go for the Prix de la Foret [over seven furlongs on October 4th].
I wouldn’t be afraid to drop him back in distance. Then there is the QEII at the back end and we know that he can handle soft ground.”
Nemone Routh, racing manager for the Aga Khan Studs, added: “Rayif is a true champion with an exceptional temperament. He was caught for speed a bit in his previous outing, but this time he arrived with the preparation he needed.
No setbacks
“In a way, this was the first time he’s been able to target a big event with a proper prep race and no setbacks. And that made the difference.
“He loves Deauville - this is his third win on the straight track here, and you can see that he thrives on it. He’s a very calm horse in his daily routine - almost placid - and he spends a lot of time sleeping in his stall in the morning. As soon as he steps onto the track, he turns into a formidable competitor. He has a steely temperament and immense quality.”
Barzalona was similarly effusive, saying: “He seems like he’s improved since the Poulains and he’s just a very good horse who can go wherever.
“We had plenty of excuses last time, they went very slow and the first three during the race were the first three at the line. So we were expecting a huge run today and he proved he’s a proper horse.”
James recommended Rayif in last week’s preview column
THE other colt to really catch the eye on Sunday afternoon was Avec Toi, a Coolmore-owned two-year-old home-bred son of No Nay Never.
He had his young trainer, Christopher Head, who has already handled the likes of Blue Rose Cen, Big Rock and Ramatuelle, in raptures following his victory in the Group 3 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Francois Boutin over seven furlongs.
“He’s an absolute machine,” Head exclaimed after Avec Toi had taken his record to a perfect three-from-three with a four-length defeat of the British visitor, Silver Dominion. “I’ve trained some very good ones, but he ranks right up with the very best.
“He can be ridden from behind or from the front, handles any ground, and performs on both turning tracks and straight courses. Plus, he has the right mindset.”
“The Prix La Rochette or heading straight to the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere are both options and we can already start looking ahead to his three-year-old season. I always dream of having one good enough to take to England and the 2000 Guineas could be a race for him.”
Sunday’s third pattern contest, the mile, four furlongs and 110 yards Group 3 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Lady O’Reilly for three-year-old fillies, went the way of Charlie Appleby’s Romantic Symphony, who took revenge on the most recent horse to beat her, Calasita, by half a length.
“She’s a full-sister to my Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, Yibir, and she loves coming from off the pace,” Appleby said. “The family get better with age and I think that we might send her to Canada for the EP Taylor Stakes [on September 12th] after this.”
CHARLIE Appleby was also on the mark at Deauville on Saturday with another Godolphin three-year-old filly, when Hassaleh followed up last month’s listed success at the Normandy venue by leading home a British 1-2-4-5 in the Group 3 Darley Prix Lieurey over a mile.
And Avec Toi’s jockey, the former French Champion Pierre-Charles Boudot, who returned to the saddle in June following a five-year absence, notched his biggest victory of the season when the Andre and Lavinia Fabre-trained Baroud proved two lengths too strong for Daryz’s half-brother, Daryzan, in the mile and two furlongs Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano. Montreal, representing Aidan O’Brien, was sent off favourite and made the running, but could finish no better than fourth of five.
Saturday’s highest-calibre race was probably the mile, two furlong Group 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club, which witnessed Wimbledon Hawkeye turn the tables on his Royal Ascot conqueror, Map Of Stars, by a neck.
Trainer George Scott said afterwards that this effort may have earned Wimbledon Hawkeye a supplementary entry for the Irish Champion Stakes.