Graffard unleashes another exciting prospect in Daryzan
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 5 May 2026
Francis-Henri Graffard appears to have another potential star on his hands after unleashing Daryz’s half-brother Daryzan at Saint-Cloud on Tuesday.
Daryz emerged as one of the biggest names of last season after winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October and he recently picked up where he left off with a stylish comeback victory in the Prix Ganay.
Like Sea The Stars colt Daryz, Daryzan – a son of Zarak – was unraced as a juvenile but there were inevitably plenty of eyes on him for his competitive debut as a three-year-old in the hands of Mickael Barzalona.
After being given plenty of time to find his feet, the Aga Khan Studs-owned colt really found his feet late on and fairly sprinted clear for an emphatic success.
“I’m very pleased. He was very, very immature this horse, so a lot of work was done at the yard to calm him down and build him in progression,” Graffard told Sky Sports Racing.
“He was ready to make a nice debut. I didn’t know about the (soft) ground, but I think he was nicely impressive today – as soon as Mickael hit him once to see if he was going to respond, he really flew home.
“I think he has some improvement (to come), obviously the mother (Daryakana) is incredible.”
Daryzan’s debut success came over a mile, but Graffard feels he will follow in the footsteps of his sibling by stepping up in trip in due course.
He added: “I think he will stay 10 furlongs no problem, but Mickael said he didn’t understand everything today, so he was not confident about stepping him up in trip straight away.
“I will look at the programme and see how he comes out. He has a whole season ahead of him.”
Graffard will go in search of more big-race success in ParisLongchamp this weekend as he looks to win a first French 2000 Guineas and claim a third successive victory in the French 1000 Guineas.
Poule d’Essai des Poulains contender Rayif has not been seen since finishing third in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in the autumn, having missed his intended prep run, while Narissa is expected to improve from her comeback second to Karl Burke’s subsequent Newmarket Guineas runner-up Evolutionist when she looks to claim Classic glory in Poule d’Essai des Pouliches.
Of Rayif, Graffard said: “He worked really well this morning. I like Rayif, I think he’s a nice horse.
“It’s not ideal to start the season in the Poule d’Essai and it just depends on the ground – if the ground goes too soft I won’t run him, if not I think we will start the season there.
“He will probably not be as fit as horses that have had a few runs, but he’s a nice horse and knows Longchamp and after the work this morning he can have a go.
“Narissa is a lovely filly. She’s quite tricky in her mind and had hard races last year, so we decided to give her a good comeback from behind and she finished really nicely.
“The form is strong and she worked well this morning too.”
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