Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Prix de la Forêt

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Inaugurated
  
1858

Sponsor
  
Qatar

Surface
  
Turf

Race type
  
Flat / Thoroughbred

Website
  
france-galop.com

Distance
  
1,400 m

Location
  
Longchamp Racecourse Paris, France

The Prix de la Forêt is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October.

Contents

Qatar prix de la for t 2013


History

The event was originally held at Chantilly, and it is named after Chantilly Forest. It was established in 1858, and was initially a 2,100-metre race for two or three-year-old colts and fillies. It took place in late October.

The Prix de la Forêt was not run in 1870, because of the Franco-Prussian War. It was cut to 1,600 metres and opened to older horses in 1878. It was cancelled again in 1906, and transferred to Longchamp in 1907.

The race was abandoned throughout World War I, with no running from 1914 to 1918. It was shortened to 1,400 metres in 1923. It was cancelled once during World War II, in 1939. It was staged at Auteuil in 1940, and Le Tremblay in 1943 and 1944.

The event was closed to two-year-olds in 1995, and opened to geldings in 2001. It was moved to the Saturday of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend in 2005. It was switched to the same day as the "Arc", the first Sunday in October, in 2010.

The Prix de la Forêt was added to the Breeders' Cup Challenge series in 2012. The winner now earns an automatic invitation to compete in the same year's Breeders' Cup Mile.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):

  • Azur – 1883, 1884
  • Caravelle – 1943, 1944
  • Fine Top – 1953, 1954
  • Sanedtki – 1977, 1978
  • Moorestyle – 1980, 1981

    • Leading jockey (5 wins):

  • Alfred Carratt – Normandie (1866), Mathilde (1871), Premier Mai (1874), Phenix (1878), Barberine (1885)
  • Alain Lequeux – Mirna (1963), Sanedtki (1977, 1978), Producer (1979), Procida (1984)
  • Freddy Head – Barbare (1966), Regent Street (1968), Lyphard (1972), Ma Biche (1983), Septieme Ciel (1990)
  • Olivier Peslier - Bigstone (1994), Poplar Bluff (1995), Etoile Montante (2003), Goldikova (2010), Make Believe (2015)

    • Leading trainer (8 wins):

  • Henry Jennings – Wedding (1859), Finlande (1860), Normandie (1866), Mathilde (1871), Christiania (1872), Barcarolle (1873), Premier Mai (1874), Peronne (1881)

    • Leading owner (9 wins):

  • Marcel Boussac – Durzetta (1920), Zariba (1921), La Moqueuse (1928), Esmeralda (1941), Caravelle (1943, 1944), Goyama (1945), Pharsale (1950), Pharaos (1951)

    • Winners since 1970

    a The 2016 running took place at Chantilly while Longchamp was closed for redevelopment.

    Earlier winners

    * The 1911 and 1932 races were dead-heats and have joint winners.

    References

    Prix de la Forêt Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA