Devoted couple race, say, with girl around ring (5,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
darby and joan
'devoted couple race' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'with girl around ring' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'with' could be 'and' and 'and' is located in the answer.
'girl' could be 'darby' and 'darby' is present in the answer.
'around' could be 'o' (a round letter) and 'o' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'jan' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'say' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for darby and joan that I've seen before include "Romantic oldies" , "Devoted old married couple" , "Elderly married couple in domestic harmony" , "Archetypal devoted elderly married couple" .)