The
Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, sometimes referred to
as the French 1,000 Guineas, is a Group 1 flat
horse race in France
which is
open to three-year-old thoroughbred
fillies. It is run at Longchamp
over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and
it is scheduled to take place each year in May.
History
A
mixed-sex race called the Poule d'Essai was
established in 1840, and it was initially held at the Champ de
Mars
. It was inspired by two "classic" races in
England, the
2,000 Guineas (for
both colts and fillies) and the
1,000 Guineas (for fillies only). Its
inaugural running covered one circuit of the Champs de Mars, about
2,000 metres, and this was cut to a three-quarter lap (1,500
metres) in its second year. On two occasions, in 1843 and 1844, the
event was cancelled due to an insufficient number of entries. It
was transferred to a new venue, Longchamp, in 1857, and its
distance was extended to 1,600 metres in 1867. It was abandoned in
1871 because of the
Franco-Prussian
War.
The
Poule d'Essai des Pouliches was created in
1883, when the Poule d'Essai was divided into two separate races.
The "Pouliches" was restricted to fillies only, and the other race,
the
Poule d'Essai des
Poulains, was reserved for
colts.
It was cancelled throughout
World War I,
with no running from 1915 to 1918, and it was also disrupted during
World War II.
There was no racing in
France in the spring of 1940, but a substitute event, which
combined both the "Pouliches" and the "Poulains", was held at
Auteuil
in October. This was titled the
Prix
d'Essai, and it was won by the colt
Djebel.
The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches was
temporarily switched to Le Tremblay in 1943, and for the following
two years it was run at Maisons-Laffitte
. It returned to Longchamp in 1946.
When the present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, the
Poule d'Essai des Pouliches was classed at the highest level, Group
1. The event formerly took place on Longchamp's middle course (the
moyenne piste), and the fastest winning time on this track
was 1m 38.4s. This was recorded by
Ivanjica in 1975. The
race has been staged on the main course (the
grande piste)
since 1987. The first foreign-trained horse to win was
Culture
Vulture in 1992, who was trained in England by
Paul Cole. The fastest time over its current
course is 1m 35.2s, which was achieved by
Zarkava in
2008.
Records
Leading jockey (8 wins):
- Freddy
Head – Ivanjica (1975), Riverqueen (1976), Dancing Maid
(1978), Three Troikas (1979), Silvermine (1985), Miesque (1987),
Matiara (1995), Always Loyal (1997)
Leading trainer (7 wins):
- Charles
Semblat – Esmeralda (1942), Caravelle (1943), Palencia
(1944), Corteira (1948), Coronation / Galgala (1949), Corejada
(1950), Djelfa (1951)
Leading owner (8
wins):
- Marcel
Boussac – Esmeralda (1942), Caravelle (1943), Palencia
(1944), Corteira (1948), Coronation / Galgala (1949), Corejada
(1950), Djelfa (1951), Apollonia (1956)
Winners since 1970
Price Tag finished first in 2006, but she was relegated to third place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
Earlier winners
* The 1949 race was a
dead-heat and has joint winners.
References
- Racing Post:
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- , , , , , , , , ,
- ,
- galop.courses-france.com:
See also
Wikis
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