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Prix Royal-Oak

Flat horse race in France

Summary

Flat horse race in France

Field	Value
class	Group 1
horse race	Prix Royal-Oak
(French St. Leger)
location	Longchamp Racecourse
Paris, France
inaugurated	1861
race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
website	france-galop.com
distance	3,100 metres (1m 7½f)
surface	Turf
track	Right-handed
qualification	Three-years-old and up
weight	55½ kg (3yo); 59 kg (4yo+)
Allowances
1½ kg for fillies and mares
purse	€350,000 (2021)
1st: €199,990

(French St. Leger) Paris, France Allowances 1½ kg for fillies and mares 1st: €199,990 |} The Prix Royal-Oak 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 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October.

It is France's equivalent of the St. Leger Stakes, a famous race in England.

History

The event was established in 1861, and it was initially called the Grand Prix du Prince Impérial. It was originally restricted to three-year-olds, and was part of a series of races based on the English Classic system. Its original distance was 3,200 metres.

The race was renamed the Prix Royal-Oak and shortened to 3,000 metres in 1869. It was named after Royal Oak (foaled 1823), a key stallion in the establishment of thoroughbred breeding in France. Due to the Franco-Prussian War, the race was not run in 1870 and 1871.

The Prix Royal-Oak was abandoned throughout World War I, with no running from 1914 to 1918. It was cancelled twice during World War II, in 1939 and 1940. It was staged at Le Tremblay in 1943 and 1944.

The event was extended to 3,100 metres in 1964. The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Prix Royal-Oak was classed at the highest level, Group 1. For a period it was held in mid-September. It was switched to late October in 1977.

Formerly France's equivalent of the St Leger Stakes in England, the Prix Royal-Oak was opened to horses aged four or older in 1979 and to geldings in 1986. Since then the race has dropped significantly in prestige.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):

Amilynx – 1999, 2000
Westerner – 2003, 2004
Tac De Boistron – 2013, 2014
Vazirabad – 2015, 2016
Double Major - 2023, 2024

Leading jockey (6 wins):

Freddy Head – Dhaudevi (1968), Bourbon (1971), Busiris (1974), Gold River (1980), Agent Double (1984), Top Sunrise (1989)

Leading trainer (7 wins):

François Mathet – Vamour (1959), Match (1961), Relko (1963), Reliance (1965), Sassafras (1970), Henri le Balafre (1975), Exceller (1976)
André Fabre – Star Lift (1988), Top Sunrise (1989), Raintrap (1993), Sunshack (1995), Amilynx (1999, 2000), Be Fabulous (2011)

Leading owner (6 wins):

Frédéric de Lagrange – Palestro (1861), Fille de l'Air (1864), Gladiateur (1865), Nelusco (1868), Inval (1878), Zut (1879)

Winners since 1969

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1969	Le Chouan	3	André Jézéquel	Freddie Palmer	Geoffroy de Waldner	3:41.30
1970	Sassafras	3	Yves Saint-Martin	François Mathet	Arpad Plesch	3:21.30
1971	Bourbon	3	Freddy Head	Alec Head	Germaine Wertheimer	3:32.50
1972	Pleben	3	Marcel Depalmas	Geoffroy Watson	Baron de Redé	3:30.60
1973	Lady Berry	3	Marcel Depalmas	Geoffroy Watson	Guy de Rothschild	3:26.10
1974	Busiris	3	Freddy Head	Maurice Zilber	Nelson Bunker Hunt	3:25.90
1975	Henri le Balafre	3	Henri Samani	François Mathet	Claude Puerari	3:29.00
1976	Exceller	3	Gérard Dubroeucq	François Mathet	Nelson Bunker Hunt	3:33.80
1977	Rex Magna	3	Philippe Paquet	François Boutin	Elisabeth Couturié	3:28.70
1978	Brave Johnny	3	Henri Samani	Mick Bartholomew	Mireille Darc	3:30.10
1979	Niniski	3	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Lady Beaverbrook	3:39.90
1980	Gold River	3	Freddy Head	Alec Head	Jacques Wertheimer	3:39.50
1981	Ardross	5	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	Charles St George	3:37.70
1982	Denel	3	Yves Saint-Martin	Bernard Sécly	Mrs Salomon Nathan	3:44.20
1983	Old Country	4	Pat Eddery	Luca Cumani	Mrs O. Abegg	3:24.90
1984	Agent Double	3	Freddy Head	Criquette Head	Jacques Wertheimer	3:42.20
1985	Mersey	3	Jean-Luc Kessas	Patrick Biancone	Daniel Wildenstein	3:22.70
1986	El Cuite	3	Steve Cauthen	Henry Cecil	Sheikh Mohammed	3:29.60
1987	Royal Gait	4	Alfred Gibert	John Fellows	Manuel Pereira-Arias	3:34.60
1988	Star Lift	4	Cash Asmussen	André Fabre	Daniel Wildenstein	3:29.80
1989	Top Sunrise	4	Freddy Head	André Fabre	Charles Schmidt	3:22.00
1990
(dh)	Braashee
Indian Queen	4
5	Michael Roberts
Walter Swinburn	Alec Stewart
Lord Huntingdon	Maktoum Al Maktoum
Sir Gordon Brunton	3:38.40
1991	Turgeon	5	Tony Cruz	Jonathan Pease	George Strawbridge	3:23.40
1992	Assessor	3	Richard Quinn	Richard Hannon Sr.	Bjorn Nielsen	3:35.80
1993	Raintrap	3	Pat Eddery	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	3:45.80
1994	Moonax	3	Pat Eddery	Barry Hills	Sheikh Mohammed	3:28.90
1995	Sunshack	4	Thierry Jarnet	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	3:16.20
1996	Red Roses Story	4	Vincent Vion	Corine Barande-Barbe	Corine Barande-Barbe	3:38.40
1997	Ebadiyla	3	Gérald Mossé	John Oxx	Aga Khan IV	3:26.50
1998	Tiraaz	4	Gérald Mossé	Alain de Royer-Dupré	Aga Khan IV	3:58.40
1999	Amilynx	3	Olivier Peslier	André Fabre	Jean-Luc Lagardère	3:40.60
2000	Amilynx	4	Olivier Peslier	André Fabre	Jean-Luc Lagardère	3:33.40
2001	Vinnie Roe	3	Pat Smullen	Dermot Weld	Sheridan / Balzarini	3:37.80
2002	Mr Dinos	3	Dominique Boeuf	Paul Cole	Constantine Shiacolas	3:38.50
2003	Westerner	4	Dominique Boeuf	Élie Lellouche	Ecurie Wildenstein	3:31.20
2004	Westerner	5	Stéphane Pasquier	Élie Lellouche	Ecurie Wildenstein	3:28.90
2005	Alcazar	10	Micky Fenton	Hughie Morrison	Repard / Melrose et al.	3:27.30
2006	Montare	4	Olivier Peslier	Jonathan Pease	George Strawbridge	3:20.30
2007	Allegretto	4	Ryan Moore	Sir Michael Stoute	Cheveley Park Stud	3:15.50
2008	Yeats	7	Johnny Murtagh	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier / Nagle	3:19.30
2009	Ask	6	Ryan Moore	Sir Michael Stoute	Patrick Fahey	3:32.17
2010	Gentoo	6	Christophe Lemaire	Alain Lyon	Serge Tripier-Mondancin	3:36.00
2011	Be Fabulous	4	Maxime Guyon	André Fabre	Godolphin	3:21.47
2012	Les Beaufs	3	Julien Guillochon	Valérie Seignoux	Stéphane Seignoux	3:36.22
2013	Tac de Boistron	6	Martin Harley	Marco Botti	Aust Thoroughbred Bldstck	3:38.12
2014	Tac de Boistron	7	Martin Harley	Marco Botti	Aust Thoroughbred Bldstck	3:32.73
2015	Vazirabad	3	Christophe Soumillon	Alain de Royer-Dupré	Aga Khan IV	3:27.61
2016	Vazirabad	4	Christophe Soumillon	Alain de Royer-Dupré	Aga Khan IV	3:29.23
2017	Ice Breeze	3	Vincent Cheminaud	Pascal Bary	Khalid Abdullah	3:25.40
2018	Holdthasigreen	6	Tony Piccone	Bruno Audoin	Jean Gilbert	3:18.17
2019	Technician	3	Pierre-Charles Boudot	Martyn Meade	Team Valor 1	3:40.13
2020	Subjectivist	3	Joe Fanning	Mark Johnston	Dr Jim Walker	3:38.68
2021	Scope	3	Rob Hornby	Ralph Beckett	J H Richmond-Watson	3:27.35
2022	Iresine	5	Marie Velon	Jean-Philippe Gauvin	Bertrand Milliere	3:31.34
2023	Double Major	3	Maxime Guyon	Christophe Ferland	Wertheimer et Frère	3:35.89
2024	Double Major	4	Maxime Guyon	Christophe Ferland	Wertheimer et Frère	3:33.16
2025	Arrow Eagle	4	Cristian Demuro	Jean-Claude Rouget	Mrs Waltraut Spanner	3:23.68

Earlier winners

1861: Palestro
1862: Souvenir
1863: La Toucques
1864: Fille de l'Air
1865: Gladiateur
1866: Etoile Filante
1867: Patricien
1868: Nelusco
1869: Clotho
1870–71: no race
1872: Barbillon
1873: Boiard
1874: Mignonette
1875: Perplexe
1876: Kilt
1877: Jongleur
1878: Inval
1879: Zut
1880: Beauminet
1881: Perplexite
1882: Clio
1883: Stockholm
1884: Archiduc
1885: Escarboucle
1886: Gamin
1887: Bavarde
1888: Galaor
1889: Pourtant
1890: Alicante
1891: Berenger
1892: Chene Royal
1893: Ramleh
1894: Gouvernail
1895: Bombon
1896: Champaubert
1897: Chambertin
1898: Le Roi Soleil
1899: Perth
1900: Ivoire
1901: Jacobite
1902: Fer
1903: Torquato Tasso
1904: Macdonald II
1905: Clyde
1906: Maintenon
1907: Anemone
1908: Medeah
1909: Aveu
1910: Reinhart
1911: Combourg
1912: Gorgorito
1913: Bruleur
1914–18: no race
1919: Stearine
1920: Embry
1921: Ksar
1922: Keror
1923: Filibert de Savoie
1924: Uganda
1925: Priori
1926: Biribi
1927: Fiterari
1928: Cacao
1929: Calandria
1930: Taicoun
1931: Deiri
1932: Laeken
1933: Jumbo
1934: Brantôme
1935: Bokbul
1936: Fantastic
1937: Victrix
1938: Eclair au Chocolat
1939–40: no race
1941: Le Pacha
1942: Tifinar
1943: Verso II
1944: Samaritain
1945: Caracalla
1946: Souverain
1947: Tourment
1948: Spooney
1949: Ciel Etoile
1950: Pan
1951: Stymphale
1952: Feu du Diable
1953: Buisson d'Or
1954: Sica Boy
1955: Macip
1956: Arabian
1957: Scot
1958: Wallaby
1959: Vamour
1960: Puissant Chef
1961: Match
1962: Sicilian Prince
1963: Relko
1964: Barbieri
1965: Reliance
1966: Vasco de Gama
1967: Samos
1968: Dhaudevi

References

France Galop / Racing Post:
- , , , , , , , , ,
- , , , , , , , , ,
- , , , , , , , , ,
- , , , , , , , , ,
- , , , , , ,
galop.courses-france.com:
- 1861–1889, 1890–1919, 1920–1949, 1950–1979, 1980–present
france-galop.com – A Brief History: Prix Royal-Oak.
galopp-sieger.de – Prix Royal-Oak.
horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Prix Royal-Oak (2018).
pedigreequery.com – Prix Royal-Oak – Longchamp.

References

(12 October 2018). "Longchamp loses final pair of Group 1s as ground maintenance takes priority". [[Racing Post]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

open-long-distance-horse-races longchamp-racecourse horse-races-in-france 1861-establishments-in-france horse-races-established-in-1861

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