Arc hero Daryz fit and firing for Ganay return

Daryz returns to the scene of his finest hour on Sunday as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero heads to ParisLongchamp for the Prix Ganay.

The son of Sea The Stars, who had built a fearsome reputation when winning his first four outings last year, finished the season with the ultimate high by denying Minnie Hauk to win Europe’s most prestigious middle-distance contest.

Now one of Francis-Henri Graffard’s leading lights drops back to an extended 10 furlongs for the first assignment of his four-year-old season, with Christophe Ferland’s top-class mare Aventure, Jean Claude-Rouget’s Prix Royal-Oak winner Arrow Eagle and Andre Fabre’s First Look and Bright Picture taking him on.

Nemone Routh, racing manager for the Aga Khan Studs in France, said: “It’s going to be quite a tactical race as it’s not a particularly big field and he will come on for this run as it is his seasonal debut, although he has done enough work to be fit enough to run well.

“It’s always been the plan to start him off here and we’re looking forward to getting him back over a mile and quarter because he’s probably going to be a bit fresh.

“I’m not sure he’ll be keen but he’s happier when they’re going fast, so a mile and a quarter is probably better for him at this time of year. We can’t wait to get him back and the ground won’t be an issue.”

Daryz could become well acquainted with the French capital in the first half of the new campaign, with the Prix Aga Khan IV (formerly the Prix d’Ispahan) a potential next port of call before thoughts turn to a potential appearance at Royal Ascot.

“We’re hoping that the Prince of Wales’s at Royal Ascot will be his summer objective,” Routh continued.

“We’ll see how it goes on Sunday, but ideally we’d like to give him one run in between as well because he’s a horse that seemed to thrive last year when we kept him on the go. He needs to race or he can get too fresh.

“The Prix Aga Khan IV would be a possibility. That would be our ideal next race and it’s quite nice that they’ve renamed it after the Aga Khan IV.

“It (nine furlongs) is obviously quite sharp for him, but at home you don’t get a feeling that would be an issue. We’ll get Sunday out of the way, but ideally the Prix d’Ispahan would be his next race as a stepping-stone for Royal Ascot.”