Favourite Daryz handed stall five in Arc defence

Daryz will break from stall five in his attempt to win back-to-back Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe’s at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.

No colt since Alleged in 1977 and 1978 has won the race two years in a row but with the ground in his favour and a good draw, Francis-Henri Graffard’s four-year-old will have a better chance than most.

Diamond Necklace’s fans will have been cursing her luck, however, as she will have to overcome the widest stall of all in 16. Her Aidan O’Brien-trained stablemate Minnie Hauk, second 12 months ago, will leave from stall 10 with Benvenuto Cellini on the rail in stall one.

George Scott’s Bay City Roller will need all of Oisin Murphy’s skills in the saddle in stall 15 while Maltese Cross will need to break the recent hoodoo of stall 11.

King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Kalpana is next to Daryz in stall six with Friendly Soul in seven and Roger Varian’s Saddadd in nine.

Joseph O’Brien’s Thundering On, so impressive at Epsom in the Oaks, has a seemingly plum draw in stall three.

Bookmaker reaction to the draw was mixed with Brian O’Keeffe of BOYLE Sports saying: “Daryz has come out of the draw unscathed in stall five but the ante-post plunge horse, Diamond Necklace hasn’t been so lucky in 16.

“We had seen considerable support for her in the ante-post book but expect that to dry up with leading British hope Maltese Cross also a likely drifter in 11.”

Paddy Power cut Kalpana into 5-1 from 7-1 following her draw in six while William Hill pushed Diamond Necklace out to 12-1 from 8-1.