The four-year-old became the third winner of this race by Sea The Stars, with Aga Khan stallions now responsible for five of the last 10 winners. Daryz is also the fifth winner of the Ganay for the Aga Khan Studs, who last won with his half-brother Dariyan in 2016. The pair are out of Group 1 heroine Daryakana.

“The horse is definitely stronger and is more mature,” said trainer Francis-Henri Graffard. “It was the perfect race to make his comeback in. They didn’t go fast but he was perfectly in tune with what Mickael [Barzalona, jockey] was asking him to do. He got there without being woken up and when Mickael asked him to accelerate he reacted immediately."

Graffard continued: “His objective will be the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Ascot in June, and the race that falls in between is the Prix Aga Khan IV [(formerly the Prix d’Ispahan], so we’ll discuss that as an option.”

“That was a super first run of the year,” added Barzalona. “He’d been working very well at home and looked in magnificent condition today. He was very relaxed even though they didn’t go fast and he really picked up strongly, so much so that it was all over well before the line. 

“On what he’s done there he showed he’s still a real force and in terms of distance he looks very versatile.”

Princess Zahra Aga Khan was delighted with Daryz’s comeback. She said: “It’s a difficult feeling to describe but once he took that stride that took him out of the pack, all worries were lifted and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is a very good horse’.”