By Tom Frary
Coming into Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp very much under the radar, Al Shaqab's Sahlan (Wootton Bassett) became the latest of Francis Graffard's brigade to enter the spotlight during the trainer's unforgettable year. Edging a tight photo ahead of Rosallion (Blue Point), the highly-regarded three-year-old whose finest hour prior to this had been a latest win in the G3 Prix Daphnis landed odds of 16-1 from racing's relentless hard-luck story.
Securing an unexpected eighth top-level victory for the stable in 2025, Mickael Barzalona thrust him to a short head verdict at the line, with a neck back to The Lion In Winter (Sea The Stars) and a further half length to Alcantor (New Bay), who had tried to break free in the straight.
“I said to the owner 'it's a big gamble' but that we had very few options and he believed in me, so it's great that it paid off,” Graffard said in what has become familiar territory in the winner's enclosure, only a matter of minutes after the yard's Goliath had captured the Grosser Preis von Baden. “We've had some tricky moments with him, but I always liked this horse–not long ago, if I had said I'd win the Moulin, people would have thought I was crazy but the owners' trust really helped.”
“I took a risk, especially since his owners had already turned down some big offers but I told them we would win a Group 1 with him, even if it wasn't this year,” Graffard added. “I insisted they keep him and so I'm over the moon. He has such a powerful turn of foot and I also want to congratulate my team, who have done an extraordinary job with him.”
Introduced at Deauville in November, Sahlan did enough to warrant a tilt at the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau over this course and distance in April and after losing out by a nose to Ridari was pitched into the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. Drawn 13 for the mile Classic, he suffered traffic issues to compound the disadvantage he already faced from that stall and wound up under five-lengths ninth but by the time he re-emerged to be sixth in the Listed Prix de Saint-Patrick connections were beginning to harbour doubts.
Given some time, he was back where he belonged in Deauville's Daphnis and with a kinder post position here was able to race perfectly to par in mid-division with the pace strong up ahead. Where he was in the pack, he always had a length headstart on Rosallion with that rival having to tuck in from stall 11 and when it was time to wind up in early straight Sahlan had space to do so whereas the Hannon runner was having to wait in behind.
By the time the winner was in full flow and getting to the enterprisingly-ridden Alcantor and the game The Lion In Winter late on, Sean Levey was flying on Rosallion but the line came too soon yet again for the British raider whose frustrating campaign lingers on. It will surprise nobody that the runner-up's closing three-furlong sectional was the fastest of the race and it is safe to say that the draw beat him this time.
For Graffard, the outcome was the important part as he revealed the issues the team had endured with the lightly-raced three-year-old. “He had a lot of excuses in the Poule d'Essai and was then sick after running in his Listed race–when things don't go right, you have to know how to sit tight,” he said. “I won't run again on soft ground–that's the softest I'd run him on–and after speaking to the owners, if he is well the Breeders' Cup Mile could be a target–we will probably keep him in training at four.”
Al Shaqab's racing manager Rupert Pritchard-Gordon said, “This represents real teamwork between the Bouquetot Stud team and Francis-Henri Graffard's yard. He has a genuine turn of foot, which he had already shown in the past, and we've learned how to use that. He's fresh, in the right frame of mind and he has gained strength. He's on the upgrade. Back in November, after his debut at Deauville, we asked ourselves how far he could take us and the answer is very far!”
Richard Hannon was again left to ponder what might have been with the second. “It's extremely disappointing and hard to take,” he said. “Rosallion is tough and was the best horse in the race. Nobody did anything wrong. He will end up winning one, everybody agrees on that. In fact, he hasn't really been beaten, has he?”
Wayne Lordan said of The Lion In Winter, who emerged with great credit having been closer to the early pace, “He enjoyed getting a lead today and he enjoyed the turn. I thought he ran a very good race and I'm very pleased with him.”
Alcantor was even more compromised by the run of the race and ran a career-best for Edouard de Rothschild, who said, “He got a bit keen because of the pacemaker, who kept pressuring him in the false straight, but he put in a very good performance and showed real quality. We'll see him again in a month, as he's entered in the [G2] Prix Daniel Wildenstein.”
Sahlan just manages to repel Rosallion to land the Group One Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/XdBQFMHTzY
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 7, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Becoming the 16th Group 1 winner for his sire, Sahlan is the first foal out of the German Listed scorer Wasmya (Toronado) who is kin to the Group-placed duo Wahdan (Siyouni) and Talbah (Style Vendome). The third dam is the G2 Blandford Stakes-placed Love To Dance (Sadler's Wells), a half to the stellar trio of Dylan Thomas (Danehill), Queen's Logic (Grand Lodge) and Homecoming Queen (Holy Roman Emperor) who produced the GII Miss Grillo Stakes-placed Jazzique (Kingman). Also connected to the Derby hero Serpentine (Galileo), Wasmya's two-year-old filly by Mehmas is named Demah while she also has a yearling filly by Starspangledbanner and a colt foal again by Mehmas.
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX DU MOULIN DE LONGCHAMP-G1, €800,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-7, 3yo/up, 8fT, 1:35.39, g/s.
1–SAHLAN (IRE), 123, c, 3, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Wasmya (Fr) (SW-Ger & SP-Fr), by Toronado (Ire)
2nd Dam: Lamorlaye (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
3rd Dam: Love To Dance (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Al Shaqab Racing; T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Mickael Barzalona. €457,120. Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-0, €524,710. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Rosallion (Ire), 129, c, 4, Blue Point (Ire)–Rosaline (Ire), by New Approach (Ire). O/B-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; T-Richard Hannon. €182,880.
3–The Lion In Winter (Ire), 123, c, 3, Sea The Stars (Ire)–What A Home (Ire), by Lope De Vega (Ire). TDN Rising Star. (€375,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Sunderland Holding Inc; T-Aidan O'Brien. €91,440.
Margins: SHD, NK, HF. Odds: 16.10, 3.30, 36.00.
Also Ran: Alcantor (Fr), Henri Matisse (Ire), Quddwah (GB), Lead Artist (GB), Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire), Dancing Gemini (Ire), Serengeti (Fr), Go To First (Jpn), Persica (Ire).
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
