2025 News
Byzantine Dream fifth in Arc for JRA's best finish; Croix du Nord, Alohi Alii end up double digits
The ultimate Japanese racing dream will have to wait for another day - again. The JRA trio of Byzantine Dream, Croix du Nord and Alohi Alii failed to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamps on Sunday (October 5), when they fell well short of expectations of winning arguably Europe’s most prestigious race. The Tomoyasu Sakaguchi-trained Byzantine Dream, the fourth betting favorite (JRA betting odds) overall, was the highest finisher from Japan with fifth place - but six lengths off the pace of winner Daryz. The 3-year-old Daryz, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, held off Aidan O’Brien’s filly Minnie Hauk, under Christophe Soumillon, by a head for the 2.86 million euros victory. Daryz - who went off as the No. 10 pick - covered the 2,400 meters in 2 minutes, 29.17 seconds on not particularly good going due to the downpour that began to fall just before post time. Third choice and this year’s Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) champion Croix du Nord, trained by Takashi Saito, finished 14th out of 17. Alohi Alii, the sixth favourite, slumped to next to last on a disappointing afternoon for the Japanese contingency. Even the top pick, 4-year-old filly Aventure trained by Christophe Ferland and straddled by Maxime Guyon, faded to 11th in a difficult race for all starters. Hopes were especially high for Croix du Nord, who was actually coming off victory over Daryz in the Prix du Prince d’Orange, but it was not meant to be. The Kitasan Black colt departed from the No. 17 post and the draw proved to too much to overcome. “He took the bit early,” Saito said. “We had an outside draw, struggled to get in and had to push him up unfortunately. Being honest, it turned out to be a pretty tough race for us. “The horse we beat in the previous start ended up winning, which tells us that our horse has what it takes to win here. I like to think it’s everything but ability. We will reevaluate everything once we get back to Japan.” Added jockey Yuichi Kitamura, “I just feel incredibly bad for everyone who backed us to win. I was completely aware it was not going to be easy with the outside barrier. “The first thing that comes to mind is how I wish I could have done a better job of getting him to settle. I felt like the horse was in better shape since his last race - to the point of refreshed, even. He’d been trained to travel off the pace and we weren’t able to recreate that in the race.” Like Croix du Nord, both Byzantine Dream and Alohi Alii had won their stepping-stone races to the Arc - the Qatar Prix Foy and Prix Guillaume d’Ornano, respectively. Yet it did not tie into things when the chips were down. “The horse as well as the jockey gave it their all so while the result is a little disappointing, I really have no regrets,” Sakaguchi said. “We left the race plan up to the jockey and he said he would decide after the start. “The horse was responding well as he came home and looked like he would show his stuff on the straight but wasn’t his usual self. He checked out fine after the race, and we’ll be counting on him the next time around.” Byzantine Dream’s rider Oisin Murphy tried to put a positive spin on his colt’s future prospects. “I like to think I rode a good race, finding a way through on the inside. But it wasn’t good enough,” Murphy said. “The patch of the turf on the inside was in really good condition so I wanted to take advantage of that. He’d shown that he can finish strong in his last start and other races but the going today was a bit soft for his liking. “It took away his sharpness. There’s no denying his ability - he has European, Grade 1 potential. He is that fantastic of a horse.” Thirty-eight Japanese-trained horses have taken a crack at the Arc since Speed Symboli in 1969. Four have finished runner-up, the most recent of which was Orfevre in 2013. The challenges continues for Japan. Said trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka of his Alohi Alii, “He got off to a solid start. It wasn’t the race we had hoped for but we were aware it was one of the possible scenarios. “The jockey told us he was out of gas by the time he hit the stretch so long story short, he simply was not fit enough to last the 2,400m at Longchamps. Alohi Alii didn’t seem uncomfortable at all with himself or the race. We do not think the going was the only reason. I think there is a lot we can and need to review looking ahead to his next race. “He showed a lot of maturity, the way he carried himself during the paddock and in surroundings completely different to what he’s used to in Japan. “That said, we now know he’s not where he needs to be physically at this level. We’ve found out what he needs to work on going forward and that’s something we will take a look at once we get back to Japan.” The JRA’s French rider Christophe Lemaire added: “He broke well and we took good position four, five from the front. But then we ran into some obstacles and had to drop back. “With the going not easy, he began losing steam. He felt pretty good until the stretch but couldn’t keep up once the pace quickened. It’s unfortunate, the way the turf was. He is not used to it and it was not easy for him.”
Official result
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