Some of Europe's kingpins come out to play over the next two days, with a quartet of Group 1 contests and some key Arc trials and juvenile staging posts to savour.Saturday's action centres around Haydock Park's G1 Betfair Sprint Cup, where Shadwell's Almeraq (Dark Angel) bids to put a disappointing effort in the July Cup behind him. Springing a surprise in Royal Ascot's Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, the William Haggas-trained four-year-old has heavy ground to contend with after a downpour hit the Merseyside venue into Friday.Angus Gold is unconcerned about the dramatic shift in the going. “They've had the rain and it sounds like they're going to get a bit more, he's got form on soft and he's got the feet that would suggest he'll handle soft ground so I don't think that'll bother us,” he said.“At Newmarket, he broke without any cover and was a bit bold early,” he added. “It was faster ground than at Ascot and Tom [Marquand] said that he could feel him changing his legs, like the ground was a bit too quick for him. He also thinks cover is important for this horse, just to get him to relax and finish off his race so as he's drawn in the middle hopefully he can get a lead early.”Last year's first and second Big Mojo (Mohaather) and Kind Of Blue (Blue Point) are back for more, with the latter having also finished in the same spot in 2024. Fresh from a break since running unplaced at Royal Ascot, Wathnan's five-year-old is primed for a bold show according to James Fanshawe's son Tom. “He seems to have a real liking for the course and ran a great race in the Sprint Cup last year on quick ground,” he said. “Dad and Richard Brown decided to keep him fresh and space out his races, just to save him for this and the Champions Sprint, because they are the two. He seems in really good order, he seems to be just about peaking and is in good form.”Unproven on ground this testing but by Mayson who was a soft-ground specialist, the three-year-old Coppull comes back from a win in the Hungerford over seven and provided he acts on the surface is a key player for the Clive Cox stable.“I'm concerned and its unknown territory for us,” the trainer revealed on Friday. “He's very proven on a quicker surface, but that said his pedigree does have ingredients that suggest he could cope with it. He's by a Mayson mare and Bated Breath was also a horse who performed on easier ground. It's a difficult decision. We'll be watching the racing on Friday and will consult thoroughly with the owner over how we play it. We'll see how that conversation goes really.”Elsewhere on Saturday, the former Champion Hurdler Constitution Hill (Blue Bresil) tackles some class acts in this sphere in Kempton's G3 September Stakes. Among them is Wathnan's Gethin (Ghaiyyath) and the Aykroyds' Pride Of Arras (New Bay), so we will find out for certain where Nicky Henderson's changeling belongs on the level.Owen Burrows still believes that Gethin can emerge as a genuine Arc contender despite his flop in the Eclipse. “He came out of it fine and James [Doyle] felt it was quick enough for him that day,” he explained. “We've had this race in mind for quite a while now and if it went well then the Arc would still be under serious consideration.”“He's a Ghaiyyath out of a Dalakhani mare, so for me he's going to stay well,” he added. “He was very impressive on really soft ground as a two-year-old and he hasn't really had that since and I still don't think we've got to the bottom of him by a long way. He's a brute of a horse and physically it hasn't done him any harm to have a bit of a break since the Eclipse.”Daryz Leads Sunday's All-Star Longchamp Cast…ParisLongchamp plays host to an array of luminaries on Sunday, with last year's Arc hero Daryz (Sea The Stars) warming up for his repeat bid in the G2 Qatar Prix Foy. Francis Graffard issued a positive bulletin on The Aga Khan Studs homebred at the track on Thursday. “I couldn't be happier with the condition of the horse, he is in very good shape,” he said of the four-year-old, who had enjoyed a spin at Deauville in recent days. “It was a nice, strong piece of work and Mickael [Barzalona] was very pleased with the horse. He had a bit of weight to lose, which he did in that piece of work, so it was important to get him ready for Sunday.”Reflecting on the colt's sub-par third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, Graffard believes there was a valid excuse. “I was very disappointed people didn't see the right Daryz at Ascot–he spent a really bad day in the yard at Ascot and never really relaxed,” he explained. “His blood test showed that he wasn't right afterwards, he had a bit of an infection and some of my other horses were sick also so everything went against him.”“Last year he got beaten in his trial because of the way the race was run and we had a bit of a question mark about his ability on soft ground, so we weren't too hard on him,” he added. “I think this year he is ready, but he will come on a lot for the race to be at 100 per-cent for the Arc.”Daryz takes on four in the course-and-distance prep for the main event in four weeks' time, with Victorious Forever's Coronation Cup hero Bay City Roller (New Bay) his only serious rival. Trainer George Scott said, “Last year, he benefitted from a break at a similar sort of time and it was always my intention to miss the summer really. He's pretty ready and probably more fit than he's ever been coming off a break. We took him to Kempton, his metrics were excellent and he recovered very well. Oisin [Murphy] was very pleased with him and he's not going to be done for fitness on Sunday.”In the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille, Graffard also has the favourite in Juddmonte's Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud third Sunly (Night Of Thunder), with Jim Bolger confirming Newtown Anner Stud's Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Sparan Nua (Dawn Approach) and George Strawbridge's Nassau Stakes runner-up Friendly Soul (Kingman) one of two supplementary entries along with Godolphin's Prix Minerve winner Romantic Symphony (Dubawi). Also in the mix is the Tabors' Christophe Clement Turf Stakes heroine Survie (Churchill).Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) puts his Arc credentials on the line in the G2 Qatar Prix Niel, one of seven put forward for the established course-and-distance three-year-old prep for the Arc. Among his rivals is the Wertheimers' impressive Prix Nureyev winner Zaraki (Zarak), one of several leading contenders throughout the card for Andre and Lavinia Fabre along with their star two-year-old colt Avec Toi (No Nay Never) in the opening G3 Qatar Prix la Rochette and filly Kalimaat (Frankel) in the G2 Qatar Prix d'Aumale.In the G1 Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, Ballydoyle's Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) heads a seven-strong cast including Godolphin's Sussex Stakes third Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) after Notable Speech was withdrawn by Charlie Appleby.“Hopefully the weight-for-age will bring us a bit closer to Gstaad and he comes here in great order,” the Moulton Paddocks handler said. “I feel this track could suit him and he can maintain that gallop, even at Goodwood where he did things wrong in the first two furlongs and lost nothing in defeat.”Appleby added of Romantic Symphony, “She is progressive and like all the family loves quick ground. She doesn't look out of place and conditions will suit. We're shooting at the stars, but this could be her last start of the year as we'll be keeping her in training.”The Aga Khan Studs have a fascinating contender for the Moulin in their TDN Rising Star Erdenali (Caravaggio), who was unlucky when surrendering his unbeaten record in the Prix Messidor last time. Nemone Routh said of the unexposed gelding, “We had several horses entered in this race, including Rayif, but we decided to give him some time after his victory in the Prix Jacques le Marois and to give Erdenali his chance.“Last time he was really unlucky and should have won and after discussing it, we decided we would take our chance and find out where he stands at this level. In the mornings, he is a very understated horse who does the minimum, so is quite difficult to assess.”Also on Sunday is the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden, where the Hardwicke winner Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman) begins his journey back to the Hong Kong Vase. Compatriot Saddadd (Pinatubo) is among the eight runners and the Tattersalls Gold Cup third will probably give him most to do with the home defence looking likely to be overwhelmed.The post Big Players Out For Weekend Starfest appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.