The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat

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 ...

in France open to

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 ...

s 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 A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a '' ...

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

s 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'' Leading jockey (6 wins): *

Freddy Head Freddy Head (born 19 June 1947, in Neuilly, France) is a retired champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and currently a horse trainer. Known also as "Freddie", his grandfather was a jockey as was his father Alec Head who also became a succe ...

– ''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

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 Maintenon () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located southwest of the center of Paris. Maintenon, together with the neighbouring commune of Pierres, form an urban area of 7,075 inhabitants (2017).Ksar Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the North African term for "fortified vill ...

* 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 Eclair au Chocolat (1935 – ca. 1945) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a three-year-old he won the Grand Prix de la Ville de Vichy and then established himself as one of the best of a strong generation of European horses wit ...

* 1939–40: ''no race'' * 1941: Le Pacha * 1942: Tifinar * 1943: Verso II * 1944: Samaritain * 1945:

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor ...

* 1946:

Souverain Souverain (foaled 1943) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning his only race in 1945 he emerged as the leading European three-year-old of 1946 when his wins included the Grand Prix de Paris and the Prix Royal Oak in France an ...

* 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 A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

* 1962: Sicilian Prince * 1963:

Relko Relko (1960–1982) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from 1962 until 1964 he ran thirteen times and won nine races. His most notable win came in the 1963 Derby. Background Relko was a "strong, co ...

* 1964: Barbieri * 1965:

Reliance Reliance may refer to: Companies * Reliance Controls, an American electrical products company founded in 1909 in Wisconsin * Reliance Home Comfort, a Canadian water heater rental and HVAC service company * Reliance Industries, an Indian co ...

* 1966: Vasco de Gama * 1967: Samos * 1968: Dhaudevi

References

France Galop France Galop is the governing body of flat and steeplechase horse racing in France. It was founded on May 3, 1995, as the result of the amalgamation of four different industry organizations. Prominent owner/breeder Jean-Luc Lagardère was elected t ...

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of ...

: ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , * galop.courses-france.com: *
1861–18891890–19191920–19491950–19791980–present

– ''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.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Prix Royal Oak Open long distance horse races Longchamp Racecourse Horse races in France

History

Records

Winners since 1969

Earlier winners

See also

References