Rayif bags another French G1

DEAUVILLE – French runner Rayif stuck his neck out where it mattered to land the €1 million (S$1.48 million) Group 1 Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques Le Marois (1,600m) at Deauville on Aug 16.

The French feature garnered a lot of attention when it was announced that the George Boughey-trained Bow Echo had to pull out from the race after his recent retirement from racing.

The absence of the British champion made the race wide open, but Rayif still had nine other rivals to beat.

Ridden by his regular partner Mickael Barzalona, the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained three-year-old colt was held up for a long time in a pack of eight on the far side of the track.

But the son of Sea The Moon soon made his move 300m from the finish.

The $37 shot prevailed by a neck over the trainer Karl Burke’s British runner Zeus Olympios (Clifford Lee), who looked a possible winner but whose jockey lost his whip.

Irish raider Precise (Ryan Moore), trained by Aidan O’Brien, finished strongly to take third another half-a-length back.

Japanese raiders Strauss (Joao Moreira) and Sixpence (Yutaka Take) raced away from the rest of the field on the grandstand side, but they were never able to get involved and filled the last two places.

With his second Group 1 success after the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (1,600m) – also known as the French 2000 Guineas – on May 10, Rayif gave his owner and breeder, the Aga Khan Studs, a first victory in the race since Kalamoun in 1973.

Coincidentally, Kalamoun had won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains before going on to win the Prix Jacques Le Marois.

This rare double had not been achieved since Vahorimix in 2001.

Based in Chantilly, Graffard has also won the Prix Jacques Le Marois for France since legendary French trainer Andre Fabre last won it in 2017 with Al Wukair.

A pleased Graffard, who was having his first success in the Prix Jacques Le Marois after taking out another Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest with Samangan on Aug 9, said the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1,600m) at Ascot on Oct 17 could be next for Rayif.

“I think what Rayif has already achieved is magnificent. He has won the Poule d’Essai and the Jacques Le Marois,” he said.

“His next races will always be stressful, but he has already achieved a great deal.

“I never thought he was a horse who needed soft ground or that he had won because of the soft ground. He is simply a good horse.

“He had already shown that in the Poule d’Essai, where he had a somewhat similar trip. He came through on the inside, quickened well and, when he was challenged, he found more.

“Mickael actually told me: ‘I was never worried.’ You must not lose faith in horses.

“He is a fantastic horse and, when he was beaten, we had excuses. It is wonderful to win this race for these colours with this horse.

“My job is to try to get the best out of the horses and bring them to the major races. I have an extraordinary team around me and I think that helps.

“Ideally, the race at Ascot, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, could be interesting, particularly because it is run on a straight course.

“If the ground is soft, he can handle it; if it is fast, he can handle that too. If I had to set him one target for the end of the year, that would be it.”

Barzalona, who was on board Rayif when he finished fifth behind Thesecretadversary in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat (1,400m) on July 12, gave credit to the whole team for his first victory in the Prix Jacques Le Marois.

“It’s incredible. I’m part of a team where everything is working extremely well.

“Everyone has tremendous confidence in each other, there is a lot of communication and the horses are delivering. At the moment, it feels a little like a waking dream.

“Once I had found my position during the race with Rayif, I was well placed, with horses who had good chances right beside me and others who were a little exposed. The race was run at a very even pace.” FRANCE GALOP