Trainer Frederic Sanchez enjoyed his first big success when Hayyan won the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC)-sponsored Qatar Derby des Pur-Sang Arabes (Group 1 PA) for four-year-olds in Chantilly yesterday.
The 2,000m race is one of the major races in the European Arabian racing calendar, and the QREC’s sponsorship of the race is part of its strategy to have a strong presence and to facilitate the participation of Qatari-owned horses in Europe, and the world’s top racecourses and racing events.  Yas Horse Racing Management’s Hayyan was ridden to victory by Ioritz Mendizabal, and led a one-two-three for the owners with D Guillemin-trained Deryan and Kanaan in second and third respectively. F-X Bertras rode the runner-up to a close second, P-C Boudot helmed Kanaan to third three and a half lengths behind.
QREC Racing manager Abdulla Rashid al-Kubaisi presented the trophies to the winners. Yas Horse Racing Management racing manager Thierry Delègue said, “Our hopes were on Deryan. 
But Hayyan is a horse we have always estimated. He has a lot of speed and with him the difficulty was to stay relaxed. Thanks to a leader, we had a regular race and the conditions were ideal. 
Today, he managed to breathe well and so he could show his incredible turn of foot. We weren’t sure he would stay more than 1,600m but he proved that he is capable of it. The two others, Deryan and Kanaan ran well.”