The Prix Matchem is a

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

open to three-year-old

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

colts and

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

s. It is run at

Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the northern Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of northwestern Paris, from its ...

over a distance of 1,800 metres (1⅛ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in May or June.

History

The event was established in 1931, and it was originally held at

Le Tremblay Le Tremblay () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Ombrée d'Anjou.Prix Herod The Prix Herod is a Listed flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year i ...

. The two parts were named after Herod and

Matchem Matchem (1748 – 21 February 1781), sometimes styled as Match 'em, was a Thoroughbred racehorse who had a great influence on the breed, and was the earliest of three 18th century stallions that produced the Thoroughbred sire-lines of today, in ...

, foundation sires in the 18th century. The Prix Matchem was transferred to Évry in the 1970s. For a period it took place in April or May, and its regular distance was 1,800 metres. It was cut to 1,600 metres in 1986, and restored to its previous length in 1990. The race was switched to

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

in 1997, and to Maisons-Laffitte the following year. It began a longer spell at Chantilly in 1999, and returned to Maisons-Laffitte in 2002. It was extended to 2,100 metres in 2005, and from this point it was staged in late May or early June. The Prix Matchem was contested over 2,000 metres at

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...

in 2006 and 2007. It was run over 1,800 metres at Maisons-Laffitte in 2008, and over 2,000 metres at

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest towns ...

from 2009 to 2011. It reverted to 1,800 metres at Maisons-Laffitte in 2012.

Records

Leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

since 1979 (7 wins): *

Olivier Peslier Olivier Peslier (born 12 January 1973 in Château-Gontier) is a French thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Peslier competes in flat racing mainly in France but travels often around the world for the big international races. He was a retained jockey ...

– ''Le Balafre (1993), Martiniquais (1996), Val Royal (1999), Vahorimix (2001), Thattinger (2002), Pilote (2013), Matematica (2019)'' ---- Leading trainer since 1979 (13 wins): *

André Fabre André Fabre (born 9 December 1945) is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer. The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He began by working in t ...

– ''Kitwood (1992), Bobinski (1995), Martiniquais (1996), Visionary (1997), Val Royal (1999), Vahorimix (2001), Kiddy Sing (2003), Valixir (2004), Kocab (2005), Russian Desert (2007), Cavalryman (2009), Pilote (2013), Alson (2020)'' ---- Leading owner since 1979 (4 wins): *

Jean-Luc Lagardère Jean-Luc Lagardère (10 February 1928, Aubiet – 14 March 2003, Paris) was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardère Group, one of the largest French conglomerates. Jean-Luc Lagardère was a '' Supelec'' engineer. He began his caree ...

– ''Alzao (1983), Visionary (1997), Val Royal (1999), Vahorimix (2001)'' * HH Aga Khan IV - ''Mourtazam (1981), Dilek (2006), Valiyr (2011), Rickfield (2015)''

Winners since 1979

Earlier winners

* 1931: Pulcherrimus * 1932: Laeken * 1933: Scolopax * 1934: Antiochus * 1935: Ipe * 1936: Petit Jean * 1937:

Clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

* 1938: Castel Fusano * 1939: Etalon Or * 1947:

Pearl Diver Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On the ...

* 1962: Violon d'Ingres * 1963: Montsoreau * 1974:

Caracolero Caracolero (1971 – after 1987) was a Kentucky-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed some promise as a two-year-old in 1973, winning one of his three races, but was rated well behind the best of his year in France. ...

* 1976:

Exceller Exceller (May 12, 1973 – April 7, 1997) is widely considered one of the best horses to race in the United States not to win a year-end championship. Despite his exemplary achievements as a racehorse, and his unique accomplishment in being the ...

* 1978: Dom Racine

History

Records

Winners since 1979

Earlier winners

See also

References