Maisons-Laffitte

Aktem will bid to throw down a marker with its first-ever breeze-up sale taking place at Maisons-Laffitte on Wednesday, where 81 juveniles will go under the hammer. The sales company's Daniel Cooper has outlined hopes for the breeze-up sale to grow and revealed that there could be considerable scope for a much bigger catalogue in the future provided Wednesday's first foray into the market goes well. Hot off the heels of Aktem's Grand Steeple Selection Sale, which saw prices as high as €510,000 paid for talented National Hunt prospects, the...

New French auction house AKTEM, dedicated to Thoroughbred and Arabian racehorses, was launched earlier this month. The new sales company will hold its physical sales at Maisons-Laffitte, as well as having an online auction presence beginning in the new year. Through an exclusive partnership with the French-based city of Maisons-Laffitte, AKTEM will benefit from the nearby racecourse and utlise the longest homestraight in Europe, which offers an ideal location and is perfectly suited infrastructure for hosting sales and welcoming horses and professionals. Recently renovated, the track offers optimal conditions for...

Trainer Adam West has sent 12 horses to Maisons-Laffitte in France and opened a satellite yard there, according to published reports. The 35-year-old is the trainer of G1 Nunthorpe Stakes hero Live In The Dream (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}), who has remained at Epsom, but is now housed at Gasston Stables, instead of Loretta Lodge Stables. "I immediately really liked Maisons-Laffitte," West told Jour de Galop from the track on Friday morning. "This centre has a lot of assets. I chose to come to France because the working conditions...

France Galop voted to sell the racecourse Maisons-Laffitte to a public land establishment in the town for €7,150,000 in a meeting on Monday, Dec. 12, according to the Jour de Galop. The racecourse has not been in operation since November 2019. The sale price stipulates that if the land is reused for the development of non-equestrian spaces at any time over the next 20 years, France-Galop will be due a supplemental fee, the story says. The JDG reports that discussions continue between France-Galop and the town of Maisons-Laffitte for an...