ParisLongchamp

Let go at 8-1 for Sunday's G3 Prix la Force at ParisLongchamp despite his trainer Andre Fabre holding the record of eight successes in the Prix du Jockey Club trial, Godolphin's Cualificar (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) emerged front and centre to extend that tally. Off the mark over 10 furlongs at Saint-Cloud last month, the son of the 2015 Oaks heroine Qualify (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) followed the early pace and had first run on The Aga Khan's Studs' 6-4 favourite Azimpour (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) to score by a...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Sunday's Observations features a colt out of the Hong Kong Vase heroine Daryakana. 1.58 ParisLongchamp, €27,000, Debutantes, 3yo, c/g, 10 1/2fT DARYZ (FR) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) hails from the all-powerful Francis-Henri Graffard stable and as a son of the 2009 G1 Hong Kong Vase heroine Daryakana (Fr) (Selkirk)...

Sunday's G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris at ParisLongchamp witnessed the return of the King George hero Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}--Gouache {Ger}, by Shamardal) and it was a case of plain sailing as he successfully prepped for the G1 Japan Cup. Always in cruise mode under Christophe Soumillon tracking the modest pace, the 6-5 favourite tanked his way to the front two out and was always holding Hamish (GB) (Motivator {GB}) comfortably at bay en route to a half-length success. "After the minor setback he had in September we had...

Francis-Henri Graffard trainee Azimpour (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}--Azmiyna {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), a half-brother to multiple Group 1-winning sire The Autumn Sun (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), sidestepped an engagement at Saint-Cloud earlier in the month and made no mistake in his debut proper with a 3/4-of-a-length tally in Sunday's €50,000 Prix de Belleville over nine furlongs at ParisLongchamp. 1st-ParisLongchamp, €50,000, Mdn, 10-20, unraced 2yo, c/g, 9fT, 2:04.32, hy. AZIMPOUR (IRE) (c, 2, Dubawi {Ire}--Azmiyna {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) was within range of the leaders racing at the tail of the seven-runner...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Sunday's Observations features a Dubawi (Ire) half-brother to multiple Group 1 winner and sire The Autumn Sun (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus]). 1.23 Parislongchamp, Debutantes, €50,000, 2yo, c/g, 9fT AZIMPOUR (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) bids to provide some post-Champions Day cheer for The Aga Khan and Francis-Henri Graffard and holds considerable...

Ramatuelle (Justify--Raven's Lady {GB}, by Raven's Pass), a 'TDN Rising Star' and recent winner of the G1 Prix de la Foret Stakes at ParisLongchamp, headlines the latest group of supplemental entries to Fasig-Tipton's November Sale which will take place on Monday, Nov. 4 beginning at 2 p.m. ET in Lexington, Kentucky, the auction company said in a release early Friday morning. The 3-year-old daughter of the Triple Crown winner and top sire will be offered as hip 310, and is consigned as a racing/broodmare prospect by Bedouin Bloodstock, agent. Winner...

Bouncing back to her best, Ramatuelle (Justify--Raven's Lady {GB}, by Raven's Pass) ended a frustratingly long wait for another career success in Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret to close out ParisLongchamp's elite contests in style. Completing another strong Arc day for the fillies, the 3-year-old whose owners include Tony Parker's Infinity Nine Horses had been without a win since the G2 Prix Robert Papin last July but was on her A-game from the outset here tanking on the heels of the leaders. Set alight by Aurelien Lemaitre approaching...

Ten Years on from the G1 Prix de l'Opera victory of her half-sister We Are (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), George Strawbridge's Friendly Soul (GB) (Kingman {GB}--In Clover {GB}, by Inchinor {GB}) stepped up to emulate her feat in ParisLongchamp's Longines-sponsored contest on Sunday. Brought through the educative stepping stones of Ascot's G3 Valiant Stakes and Deauville's G2 Prix Alec Head by John and Thady Gosden, the 9-1 shot tracked the early leader in second travelling sweetly. Committed by Kieran Shoemark two out, the 3-year-old responded generously to assert her superiority and...

In a renewal of ParisLongchamp's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe marred by a serious injury to the outsider Haya Zark (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) before halfway and shaped by persistent rain easing the ground by the minute, Juddmonte's rock-solid Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}--Emulous {GB}, by Dansili {GB}) came through once again to provide her owner-breeders with the shared record of seven wins in racing's great monument. As she had done in the course-and-distance G1 Prix Vermeille three weeks previously, the Ralph Beckett-trained 4-year-old who was supplemented this week had...

Back in 2010, when Wootton Bassett (GB) registered what would ultimately be his defining success in ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, few would have predicted the considerable impact he would have on the breed. Fourteen years on, the extent to which he has grown in stature during his second career was felt in the same Qatar-sponsored race as his son Camille Pissarro (Ire) stepped up to reward Coolmore's faith and investment in the sire's raw material. Up to seven furlongs and fitted with blinkers for the first time, Ballydoyle's TDN...

It was Francis-Henri Graffard celebrating after Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac which opened ParisLongchamp's Arc card, but not with the filly widely expected as Gemini Stud and Argella Racing's Vertical Blue (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}--Krunch {GB}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) denied her much-vaunted stablemate Zarigana (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) in a pulsating finish. Last seen finishing second in Lyon-Parilly's Listed Criterium de Lyon over this mile trip last month, the 32-1 shot was settled in mid-pack early enjoying crucial cover as Ballydoyle's Exactly (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) cut out the running....

There was a time when projecting the winner of the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was simple. Just look for the Andre Fabre-trained colt perfectly tuned for the ParisLongchamp monument and voila. Times change, of course, and the master of Chantilly no longer enjoys the same dominion over the great race he conquered on five occasions between his inaugural victory with Trempolino in 1987 and Sagamix (Fr) in 1998. Just a trio have managed to extend that tally subsequently, which interestingly features only two older horses. This year,...