Rayif gained revenge on Puerto Rico as he took the shortest route to land the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp on Sunday, continuing an already fine season for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard.

In the colours of the Aga Khan Studs, Rayif was beaten into third by Aidan O’Brien’s Group 1 hat-trick seeker Puerto Rico in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in October, but it was a different story in the French 2000 Guineas on a gloomy afternoon in the Bois de Boulogne.

Karl Burke’s Hankelow set the pace stalked by Puerto Rico as Mickael Barzalona hugged the rail on the 4/1 winner and bided his time before pushing the button to accelerate and sending him on, holding Andre Fabre’s fast-finishing Komorebi by a length, with Hankelow a brave third just ahead of Puerto Rico and Ryan Moore.

Graffard said: “I always prefer to prepare the horses I train with races that gradually bring them towards the major targets. But this time I didn’t really have a choice, I was forced to skip the prep races. It wasn’t easy. That said, the horse was in very good shape. We needed to find him a race, so we made that decision.

“Then the rain arrived and complicated things a little for us. But we were fortunate to have a very good draw, which allowed us to race close to the pace. From there, everything unfolded perfectly. The horse was able to quicken again, reaccelerate at the right moment and put everything together perfectly.

“It’s true that I’ve been enjoying a very good spell over the last few months. We had a solid foundation to work from and we managed to stay faithful to it. Right now, several horses from the stable are performing at a very high level. It’s hugely satisfying and I hope this momentum continues because it’s only the beginning of the season and it’s already been a wonderful period for us.”

On plans for his winner, he added: “We’ll see how he comes out of the race, but the idea is to continue along this path. The St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot will be his next target.”

Princess Zahra Aga Khan told Sky Sports Racing: “I wasn’t sure he would stay the distance, but he did very, very well. His older sister (Rayevka, won earlier on the card) is a sprinter and he can get a good mile.

“Francis has an amazing training method. It’s amazing to watch around our training yard and Mickael has the most amazing timing. It’s lovely to see.”

Rayif is by Sea The Moon (by Sea The Stars) and his dam Rayisa (by Holy Roman Emperor) was listed placed. She is also the dam of the four-year-old Rayevka (by Blue Point) who won a Group 3 race over five furlongs on Sunday's card and looks set to be one of Europe's top sprinters this season.

Representing Godolphin, Louise Benard said of Komorebi: “We believe he can be stepped up in trip. The question is, how far? We’ll take our time to analyse things and make a decision, but in any case William Buick was not negative about trying him over a longer distance from a jockey’s perspective. The Prix du Jockey Club has not been ruled out at this stage.”

Burke was proud of Hankelow’s effort, saying: “At the 400-metre mark, I thought we might actually win it. But he’ll stay further and he simply lacked the winner’s turn of foot. He came back again strongly at the finish. I think with another 10 strides he might even have regained second place. But he’s a very good horse.

“We always believed he needed this type of ground and it was the first time he had raced on it. Longchamp suits my horses very well. We’ve had a lot of success here. I think he’ll come back for the Prix du Jockey Club. But first we’ll take him home before making a decision. The French Derby will certainly be high on the list.

“Maybe the winner is an exceptional horse. Francis can do no wrong at the moment, can he?”

O’Brien said of Puerto Rico: “He ran very well. He was a bit rusty.

“We kind of prepared him to run at Newmarket and then we skipped it and maybe he was kind of ready to peak last week and maybe in the week he just went down a little bit.

“That could be the reason, but we were very happy to run and for a first time back it was a very respectable run and you’d be very happy and looking forward to him running next time.

“The penny just really didn’t drop until the race was over.”