Daryzan

Staged a week earlier than its customary slot, Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is threatening a serious case of oneupmanship over the Derby this year due to the presence of a true A-lister in the line-up. It is rare that the Chantilly Classic draws the very best from outside it's own country's frontier, but in enticing Constitution River away from Epsom it could end up with the trump card of Europe's "Derbys" in 2026. We've come a long way since the "sad, mad, bad" reaction of the press...

3.40 Saint-Cloud, Debutantes, 3yo, 8fT DARYZAN (FR) (Zarak {Fr}) is the latest progeny out of the Hong Kong Vase heroine Daryakana (Selkirk) to appear for the Aga Khan Studs and has big shoes to fill with six stakes performers among his half-siblings. Chief among them is last year's Arc hero Daryz (Sea The Stars), who looked potentially Europe's best in last month's Prix Ganay, while there was also Shamardal's Dariyan, another Ganay hero, and the dual Graded Stakes scorer Devamani by Zarak's sire Dubawi. Francis Graffard's blueblood, who is still...