Sunly
Sunly did really well to get as close as she did in the Prix Vermeille, after she stumbled at the start. She was last of the 13 runners, more than two lengths behind the 12th filly after they had gone 100 yards as a result of her awkward start, and she was playing catch-up thereafter. They didn't go a great pace either, James Doyle was allowed to set his own fractions on Friendly Soul in an uncontested lead. Colin Keane didn't panic on Sunly, he allowed her find her rhythm in rear and, still only 12th as they raced down the false straight, she angled towards the outside early in the home straight, but she got squeezed out of it and had to check her run at the two-furlong marker. Taken to the outside by her rider at that point and into clear sailing, she stayed on strongly, moving from 12th to third by the time she reached the winning line, beaten just a length by Friendly Soul, who made all.
It was a nice performance by the Juddmonte filly on her first run back after a short break. Winner of a Group 3 race at Saint-Cloud on her seasonal return in early May, she stayed on nicely to take second place behind recent Prix Jean et Louis Romanet winner Aventure in a Group 2 race at Longchamp in late May before she probably put up a career-best in finishing a close-up third behind Calandagan in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in early July. This was her first run since, it was just the eighth run of her life, she didn't race as a juvenile, so she should progress for it. Her owners and trainer Francis Graffard obviously have a strong hand in the Arc, but she would be an interesting outsider if she was allowed to take her chance in it. If she doesn't, she will be of interest wherever she goes next.
Longchamp, 5th September 2026
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