Arc clues were in abundance at ParisLongchamp on Sunday and the first piece of the puzzle was put in place by Japan as Byzantine Dream (Epiphaneia) upstaged the Euro contingent in the G2 Qatar Prix Foy. Earning the special voyage with a win in Riyadh’s G2 Red Sea Turf Handicap and a second in the G1 Tenno Sho Spring, Kazumi Yoshida’s four-year-old was sprung from his cover by Oisin Murphy to overwhelm the 8-5 favourite Sosie (Sea The Stars) in the final yards and record a half-length success.
“He has a hot temperament, but he relaxed very well and was very strong in the finish, although he doesn’t do a whole lot in front,” Murphy said of the Tomoyasu Sakaguchi-trained 11-1 shot. “If the ground is nice, he will have a chance in the most important race in the world. He has a very good turn of foot, but does want fast ground. He was much heavier today than in January and I’d hope he can be even better on Arc weekend–it’s good ground today and that was a true-run race.”
In one of the strongest renewals of this course-and-distance prep for the older horses, Almaqam (Lope De Vega) and Los Angeles (Camelot) were third and fourth, two lengths and a head further behind. With the ground riding good-to-soft in likely contrast to what will be expected on the first Sunday in October, the winning time off an honest, pacemaker-led tempo was 2:28.32 to help with comparisons with the upcoming Vermeille and Niel.
Thriller!
Byzantine Dream 🇯🇵 and @oismurphy get up to beat Sosie in the Group Two Qatar Prix Foy! 🇫🇷#ビザンチンドリーム | @netkeiba pic.twitter.com/FdEOKImjW5
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 7, 2025
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX FOY-G2, €119,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-7, 4yo/up, 12fT, 2:28.32, g/s.
1–BYZANTINE DREAM (JPN), 128, c, 4, by Epiphaneia (Jpn)
1st Dam: Japoni Chara (Jpn), by Jungle Pocket (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Glitter Chara (Jpn), by French Deputy
3rd Dam: Fusaichi Airedale (Jpn), by Sunday Silence
O-Mme Kazumi Yoshida; B-Northern Racing; T-Tomoyasu Sakaguchi; J-Oisin Murphy. €67,830. Lifetime Record: MGSW & G1SP-Jpn, 10-4-1-0, €2,697,727. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sosie (Ire), 128, c, 4, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Sosia (Ger), by Shamardal. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere; T-Andre Fabre. €26,180.
3–Almaqam (GB), 128, c, 4, Lope De Vega (Ire)–Talmada, by Cape Cross (Ire). O-Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum; B-Godolphin; T-Ed Walker. €12,495.
Margins: HF, 2, HD. Odds: 11.00, 1.60, 5.10.
Also Ran: Los Angeles (Ire), Iresine (Fr), Arrow Eagle (Fr), Map Of Stars (GB), Cheeky Boy (Fr), Mont St Michel (Ire).