French Horse Racing Classics
The French Galup, the equivalent of the Jockey Club in the UK organise four French Classic races per annum, these include the Arc de Triomphe but also the Prix de Jockey Club, which is the French Derby and for colts, the Prix de Diane, referred to as the French Oaks which is a fillies race and the Grand Prix de Paris which is for both colts and fillies.
Like our Arc de Triomphe Tips page, these races are very useful pointers for the Arc and this year they were won by:
- Prix du Jockey Club - Le Havre
- Prix de Diane - Stacelita
- Grand Prix de Paris - Cavalryman
These three races have produced many Arc winners, most recently Zarkave who won the 2008 Pix de Diane before going on to claim the Arc. Before her, the Andre Fabre trained Rail Link who won the Arc in 2006 had won the Grand Prix de Paris
On that basis both Cavalryman and Stacelita are worthy of consideration in 2009.
Important French Group One Races
Below is a list of Group One races that are run in France:
- Prix Ganay - Lonchamp in April
- Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Lonchamp in May
- Pouled'Essai des Poulains, Longchamp in May
- Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, St Cloud in June
- Prix Rothschild at Deauville in Jul/Aug
- Prix Vermeille at Longchamp in September
Most of these races have some bearing on the entrants and outcomes of the Arc de Triompe and they are worthy of further research. We have included information on their outcomes in our Arc de Triomphe Form guide
