After a breakout performance in the Queen Anne (G1) at Royal Ascot, Charyn delivered an encore in Sunday’s Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) at Deauville to confirm his newfound status as a star miler. The Roger Varian trainee was also picking up a second ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), with both the Queen Anne and Marois serving as “Win and You’re In” events.
The complexion of the race changed at the gate. Smart sophomore Haatem was a last-minute scratch, while two-time Marois champion Inspiral undermined her chances by getting off to a terribly sluggish start.
Charyn, the odds-on favorite, made no mistake in a thoroughly professional display. Stalking the habitual frontrunner Big Rock early, the gray traveled well at every stage for regular rider Silvestre de Sousa. When Big Rock began to flail about a quarter-mile from home, Charyn seized command and drew off to an emphatic three-length victory. His final time for the metric mile down the Deauville straight, on good ground, was 1:33.98.
Charyn’s romp in the Marois was even more significant than his first Group 1 tally at Royal Ascot. Aside from winning by a bigger margin than his 2 1/4-length decision in the Queen Anne, Charyn dispatched an arguably deeper field Sunday.
Runner-up Metropolitan, who stayed on to edge Inspiral and Quddwah in a battle for the placings, furnished a key piece of collateral form. Metropolitan, the lone three-year-old left following the withdrawal of Haatem, was coming off a third to the exciting Rosallion in the St James’s Palace (G1) at Royal Ascot. Rosallion had beaten Metropolitan by 3 1/4 lengths that day, and Charyn nearly matched that margin while conceding six pounds to his younger rival.
Inspiral cost herself dearly in her bid for an historic three-peat, fueling more questions about whether she’ll regain her old form. Since her brilliant rally in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), the Cheveley Park homebred has been lackluster in both starts this season. Inspiral’s distant fourth in the Lockinge (G1) could be excused as a fitness-builder off the layoff, and her sixth in the Prince of Wales’s (G1) appeared to be a case of not staying 1 1/4 miles around Ascot.
The Marois was the acid test, eliminating those variables and returning to conditions that have suited Inspiral. The Cheveley Park team also made the controversial decision to replace jockey Kieran Shoemark with Ryan Moore. Shoemark wasn’t to blame for her losses — as co-trainer John Gosden emphasized — and the jockey switch did not put her back in the winner’s circle. Although a sensible start would have put her in a better position, Inspiral is acting like a horse who’s just going through the motions.
In contrast, fourth-placer Quddwah is still on the upward curve of his career trajectory. The Simon and Ed Crisford pupil was sustaining his first loss, but he ran creditably in this Group 1 debut. Advancing smoothly into contention before Charyn pulled away, Quddwah was beaten just two heads for second.
Big Rock continued his implosion this term by retreating to fifth. King Gold, best known as a sprinter, never factored, and Marhaba Ya Sanafi wound up last.
Charyn became the latest Deauville success for owner Nurlan Bizakov, who celebrated a Group race double last Sunday courtesy of homebred sophomores Lazzat and Ramadan. Lazzat remained undefeated when beating older horses in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (G1), and Ramadan rebounded back over a metric mile in the Prix Daphnis (G3).
Purchased for approximately $357,420 as a Tatterslls October yearling, Charyn has compiled a record of 16-6-3-4. The Dark Angel colt was a useful juvenile, placing third in the 2022 Mill Reef (G2) and improving next time to score in the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte (G2). Charyn gained a reputation as a bridesmaid when collecting a series of minor awards at three, notably as the third-placer in the St James’s Palace, Sussex (G1), and Celebration Mile (G2).
In his striking reappearance in the March 23 Doncaster Mile, Charyn served notice that he would be much better as a four-year-old. He made it two straight in the Sandown Mile (G2), and in a somewhat strangely run Lockinge, he finished a commendable second behind the pacesetting Audience. That made Charyn a lukewarm favorite in the Queen Anne, where he left no doubt about his Group 1 talent, and he backed it up in the Marois.
Charyn’s prospects of lining up at Del Mar, however, are less certain. Varian is leaving the Breeders’ Cup option open, but he’s reportedly more focused on the Oct. 19 Queen Elizabeth II (G1) on Champions Day.
Bred by Grangefort Stud in Ireland, Charyn is a full brother to Wings of War, who won the Mill Reef the year before Charyn tried the same race. Their dam, the Kodiac mare Futoon, is a multiple stakes-placed sprinter from a family of speedy types. Her maternal relatives include Galeota, the 2004 Mill Reef victor and 2005 Golden Jubilee (G1) runner-up, as well as Justineo, Burnt Sugar, Brown Sugar, and Logo Hunter.
