DARYZ, a likely heir apparent to his sire”. In case you think this is an obvious thing to say after last Sunday’s Group 1 Qatar Pric de l’Arc de Triomphe, I am chuffed that it was my headline back in June when the three-year-old colt, trained by Francis Graffard, won the Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam.

The Aga Khan family was celebrating another big race success on the same day and on the same card at Saint-Cloud, as Calandagan was victorious 90 minutes later in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, and he went on to win the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes a month later. Calandagan would have been an obvious choice for the Arc but there was one major obstacle – geldings are not allowed to compete in the best autumn race in Europe.