Tayf was the winner of the Prix Dormane (Gr3 PA), which was run at La Teste de Buch, France, yesterday. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani’s colt was the favourite in the race and pulled clear in the straight. Aba’ath came to challenge, but the representative of Al Shaqab Racing, ridden by the Qatari jockey Faleh Nasser Bughenaim, went down by a neck. “I took off the blinkers for the first time”, explained the winning trainer Alban de Mieulle, “In the morning, he works well without the blinkers but he can be a bit fractious. I will see with jockey whether or not we out them back on. He is a very good horse, who has lots of improvement. He isn’t yet mature and still has lots to learn.” Tayf was coming off a second in a Gr1. His win of Prix Dormane is his first victory at Group level. He should be back in Group 1s in the future.