Tuesday’s Big Races At Saint-Cloud, In France!

There’s a huge day of action to look forward to, at Saint-Cloud today in France, with 4 black-type encounters on an exceptional midweek card.

Charlie Appleby’s D’Bai looks up against it, in the Listed Prix de Pontarmé (12:10pm). William Buick will be on-board, but his mount looks held by both Trais Fluors and Pascal Barry’s Ratiocination.

Freddy Head’s Terrakova heads the betting, in the G3 Prix Cléopatre (1:20pm). The biggest challenge is likely to come from Jean-Claude Rouget’s Rythmique, who will be partnered with Christophe Soumillon.

The feature contest is the G2 Prix Corrida (1:50pm) and while there are no UK/Irish raiders, in this one, Buick has been given steering duties on Henri-François Devin’s Haggle. Armande and Left Hand are finding more friends in the market, however.

The G3 Prix du Lys (3:00pm) will feature the German colt Walsingham. Waldemar Hickst’s charge looks very useful, but will need to run the race of his life to beat the likes of Shakeel, Ice Breeze and Falcon Wings.

Racing At Saint-Cloud

Edmond Blanc, who was both a politician and a breeder of racehorses, built this facility at the turn of the 20th century. Saint Cloud is just outside of Paris and this racecourse is used for flat racing.

There are a number of important fixtures that are held at Saint Cloud, each year. The Grand Prix de Saint Cloud is for thoroughbred horses that are aged 4 years or more. This event takes place in the month of June and is a mile and a half race that offers a purse of around £350,000.

Grand Prix

The Grand Prix de Saint Cloud was inaugurated in 1904. Back then, it was known as the Prix du President de la Republique. However, up until the First World War, the race was held at Maisons Laffitte.

From 1915-1918, the race was not run at all – as was the case with many fixtures in France. It wasn’t until 1919 that it was resumed at Saint Cloud. In 1940, the race was cancelled again, but the interruption only lasted for a year. Longchamp and Maisons Laffitte were briefly used again to hold the race in until the war was over. Since 1946, the Grand Prix has remained at Saint Cloud.

The event was classed as G1, as soon as the new classification system was introduced in the early 1970s. Until 2005, 3 year old horses were also allowed to compete. In 2011, the fixture was made part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge. This meant that winners of this race get an automatic invitation to the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Famous Grand Prix Winners

Some top-class horses have won the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud, in recent years. Youmzain took the spoils in 2008. Sired by Sinndar and out of a dam called Sadima, this Irish stallion was trained by Mick Channon. The horse was also a winner of the Preis von Europa, in 2006.

However, Youmzain will always be remembered as the horse that finished runner-up on three occasions in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. This frustrating hat-trick saw him beaten by Dylan Thomas, Zarkava and Sea The Stars. Had he finished first in these three races (2007-2009), Youmzain would be among the most feted horses of modern times.

Novellist was the 2013 champion. Owned by Cristoph Berglarand and trained by Andreas Wöhler, this Irish colt ended his career with nine wins from eleven races. Notable victories included the Grosser Preis von Baden, the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Frühjahrs Dreijährigen-Preis, the Union-Rennen, the Gran Premio del Jockey Club and the Grosser Preis der Badischen Unternehmen. Since then, this famous race has been won by Noble Mission (2014), Treve, (2015) and Silverware (2016).

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