French racing

A savings plan created by France Galop's Task Force and approved by the board of directors, is expected to save the organisation approximately €29.8 million, according to Jour de Galop. France Galop's president Guillaume de Saint-Seine gave members of the committee the first look at the plan on Thursday morning after its approval on Tuesday. The savings is largely borne by France Galop itself, and, unlike the 2025 plan, it does not rely on reductions in prize-money or incentives. No closures of France Galop sites are being considered at this...

Closers are often victim to whatever pace unfolds in front of them, but Parfois (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) missed that memo, and rolled into the lane on this American debut with so much momentum that it took her almost nine wide. In the end it didn't matter in the slightest as she rolled home by daylight and more than handily earned her stamp of approval as the newest 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. Parfois actually had a successful debut at La Teste Buch in France last August where she...

The French training ranks lost one Spaniard at the end of 2024 with the retirement of Arc-winning trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias, but they have quickly gained another in Patrik Olave. The trainer has been licensed in his native country since 2017, and was based at Spain's largest training centre at La Zarzuela racecourse in Madrid. In early February he set up camp in Pau with a number of horses for Spanish owners and, after a settling-in phase, was rewarded with his first French winner last Thursday with Cashlyn Cavalier at Royan....

There is now a 15-day training rule required to participate in French races which will go into effect on Nov. 12. In accordance with Article 111 of the Rules of Racing (Entrainement d'un cheval entrainé hors de France du Code des Courses au Galop), any horse trained outside of France and entered in a public race in France must be duly declared by its trainer via the France Galop website (Site Pro) at least 15 days before the race the horse will be entered. From now on, if a horse...

The recently announced merging of the stables of leading French trainers Jean-Claude Rouget and Jerome Reynier will now not take place. Rouget, the five-time champion trainer in France, has been undergoing treatment for lymphoma and in August announced that he would take out a joint-licence with Reynier from January 2025. He said at the time, "I have known Jerome for some years and when I looked at the way he works, everything about it pleased me." In the days following the announcement, the Aga Khan Studs relocated its horses from...

Sunday's racing is more low-key than we have been used to this week, but Chantilly stage a significant juvenile staging post in the G2 Prix Robert Papin in which Rockcliffe Stud's Listed Empress Stakes winner Celandine (GB) (Kingman {GB}) takes the next step in her career. With Arabian Dusk (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) boosting that Newmarket form, the Ed Walker-trained homebred takes pole position for this six-furlong contest which also hosts Mohamed Saeed Al Shahi's course-and-distance G3 Prix du Bois scorer Arabie (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}). Strangely exclusively contested by...

Stuart McPhee can blame Emma Balding for the fact that he has now accumulated interests in more than 20 mares worldwide, but the man who prides himself on his bargain buys can now call himself a Classic breeder. Metropolitan (Fr), who also became a first Classic winner for his sire Zarak (Fr) in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains, has delivered a dream for his British breeder, who has mares not only in his home country, but increasingly in France and also Australia.  "I've had black-type horses before, but a...

We have heard much about Christopher Head as he has stamped his name firmly in the book of young trainers to follow, and it will undoubtedly be wise also to pay attention to his sister, Victoria Head, who trains in her own right in Chantilly.  It is exactly two years since the 28-year-old sent out her first runner for Jean-Louis Bouchard, and her stable has now grown from five horses in her debut season to 25. She is currently operating at a strike-rate of 25 per cent, with six winners...

For some, Deauville is a summer playground. Horse sales, racing, good food and a spot of shopping. We have the Duc de Morny to thank for that. Having been instrumental in the construction of the racecourse at Longchamp in 1857, Napoleon's half-brother turned his attention to the Normandy seaside and by August 1864, racing was underway at Hippodrome la Touques in the town which has continued to draw the rich and famous, both for horse racing and film festivals. Nowadays, Deauville is no longer home solely to the August meeting....

After expanding its team to meet the increasing demand of racehorse management and administrative concierge, Racing Admin launched its new website (click here). Launched in 2020 by Charlotte Le Metayer to provide an effective solution to owners facing French administrative complexity, Racing Admin offers premium, independent and tailor-made services; from the implementation of appropriate ownership structure for new comers to the day-to-day management of owner's duties, including admin, account, legal and ownership management. For more information, visit https://www.racingadmin.fr/.

The ten-time champion jockey in France sits down in a Deauville restaurant and starts speaking. For 45 minutes, Christophe Soumillon barely draws breath as he outlines in almost evangelical terms his plans to teach children to ride. His dream, of course, in establishing the Soumillon International Pony Academy, is to teach one or more of them to ride as well as he does. On Monday, the Société d'aménagement foncier et d'établissement rural (SAFER), a Normandy organisation charged with preserving green spaces, announced that Soumillon had beaten seven other applicants in...

Fillies and mares are forbidden from racing in France after they have been covered by a stallion due to a change to the French rules of racing, France Galop announced. The amendment brings the rules for Thoroughbred racing in France into line with those for Arabians and for Standardbreds used for trotting. However, it is a move which puts France at odds with its fellow European Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions. In Britain and Ireland, fillies and mares can continue to compete for up to 120 days after being covered. If not...