Prix du Jockey Club

As old-fashioned as it may now seem, in this small corner of the bloodstock world a strong personal preference it still held for the Derby above all races. And by that, of course, we are talking about the original version, at Epsom, with that piece of wood at the end of the unique mile-and-a-half challenge which was made famous in a quote from the revered breeder Federico Tesio.  We can't all agree on everything though, can we? That would just be dull. But beyond the stifling and shouty sphere of...

In a numerically-strong renewal of the G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey-Club featuring a Group 1-winning Classic-placed Ballydoyle representative and some customary trial winners, would it be weird to focus on a once-raced colt with no pattern-race experience? Usually yes, but not in this case when we are dealing with a Wertheimer homebred trained by Andre Fabre and given a major vote of confidence from Maxime Guyon. Step forward Sinileo, a son of Siyouni from the same Galileo cross as two recent winners in Sottsass and St Mark's Basilica who has...

Sunday, Chantilly, France, post time: 16:05, QATAR PRIX DU JOCKEY CLUB-G1, €1,500,000, 3yo, c/f, 10 1/2fT Field: Azimpour (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Ridari (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}), King Of Cities (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Al Aali (Fr) (City Light {Fr}), Leffard (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), Cualificar (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Detain (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Heybetli (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), Bowmark (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Curragh Camp (Fr) (Romanised {Ire}), Luther (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Trinity College (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Parachutiste (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Tipinso (Fr) (Pinatubo {Ire}), Camille Pissarro (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Nitoi...

Charlie Fellowes could be forgiven for any lingering frustration over the events at Longchamp just over a fortnight ago. After all, there he was, poised to receive the trophy for winning his first Classic. Shes Perfect was in the winner's circle after the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and the photos had been taken with her throng of happy owners. Then came the dreaded verdict.  By now, the records show that after a stewards' enquiry and subsequent unsuccessful appeal, the hampered Zarigana was the winner of the race. Who knows what...

"What is important for a man can only happen in spite of him," writes Marcel Proust in In Search of Lost Time. This cherished quote sprang to mind after contacting Joelle Mestrallet to ask if she would agree to an interview for the TDN in the wake of the awesome victory of Look De Vega (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in the Prix du Jockey Club. Without knowing her well, I was aware of her modesty and the fact that she enjoys keeping a low profile. As much as this...

On the 15th anniversary of the passing of Vincent O'Brien, his successor at Ballydoyle, Aidan O'Brien, extended his record at Epsom to 10 wins in the Derby. Vincent O'Brien's daughter and son-in-law Sue and John Magnier were not at Epsom on Saturday but several of the late, great trainer's grandchildren were in the winner's circle to greet City Of Troy. Their own family is now so strongly enmeshed with the man who shares their grandfather's surname but is no relation to the creator of Ballydoyle. Just like City Of Troy,...

The Prix du Jockey Club winner Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), who is currently the top-rated three-year-old in Europe, is to continue his racing career for a partnership which consists of his original owner Serge Stempniak and the Chehboub family. Upon his eventual retirement, he will stand at the Chehboub-owned Haras de Beaumont, close to Deauville. Unbeaten in four starts to date, Ace Impact set a new race record in winning his Classic for Stempniak and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. From the first crop of Cracksman, who was one of the...

In setting a new record time in last Sunday's Prix du Jockey Club, Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) became the first Classic winner for his breeder Waltraut Spanner and the first to be raised at Barbara Moser's Haras du Long Champ.  Moser had previously come close to tasting Jockey Club victory as a breeder herself when Patascoy (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) finished second in the 2018 edition, just half a length off Study Of Man (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). "To win a race, any race, is always special, and this victory...

Trainer Christopher Head and owner-breeder Leopoldo Fernando Pujals have already taken home the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches trophy with Blue Rose Cen (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) and their year could become even more memorable should favourite Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) take another step forward in an impressive season to date. There's a strong homebred feel to the line-up, and only five of the runners have ever appeared at an auction. Four are graduates of the Arqana August Yearling Sale, while Winter Pudding (Fr) will be flying the flag...

Twelve horses stood their ground for Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, led by Jaber Abdullah's homebred G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}), and there will be one supplementary entry in Feed The Flame (Fr) (Kingman {GB}). The Andreas Schutz-trained Marhaba Ya Sanafi is joined by Yeguada Centurion's Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who has won a pair of Group 3 contests for Christopher Head this season and is the current market favourite. The unbeaten Feed The Flame is trained by...

It has been a good spell for Christopher Head. On Sunday, his colt Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) became the latest group winner for owner-breeder Yeguada Centurion, followed two days later by a TDN Rising Star award for the trainer's first juvenile runner of the season, Ramatuelle (Justify), who demolished her opposition in the Prix du Premier Pas at Chantilly. This prominent start to the season picks up where Head left off last year: his first Group 1 success came in October's Prix Marcel Boussac with Blue Rose...

Mishriff (Ire), the brilliant Prix du Jockey Club winner and globetrotting star, has met with a minor setback at Montfort et Preaux in France and is unlikely to cover mares until mid-March as a result. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Mishriff amassed almost £12 million in career-earnings and is set to stand for €20,000 for his debut season at stud.  A spokesperson for stud said, "Sumbe regrets to announce that our new stallion Mishriff has suffered a minor setback which may delay his stud duties until mid-march 2023. "Although...