On Sunday, 5 June 2022, the Chantilly racecourse hosts the 182nd renewal of the Gr1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, which is sponsored by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC), as part of the partnership agreement between QREC and France Galoop. This highly anticipated day in the French racing calendar is also a popular family day out thanks to its many free activities on the racecourse.
As to the sport, the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is open to 3-year-old horses, the next generation of champions. It is run over 2100 metres, with a 3-furlong uphill finish, and is one of the “classic” races in the French flat racing programme. The cream of this year’s three-year-old crop will take to the course in a bid to clinch this title, one of the most prestigious in Europe. These champion thoroughbreds have only one chance to win this hotly contested race! This event is one of the most selective races of the season and is won every year by the fastest 3-year-old thoroughbred.
Worth €1.5m in prize money (of which €857,000 goes to the winner), the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, also known as the French Derby, is the most valuable race in the French racing program after the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the world’s best horse race that takes place in the autumn.
162 horses have been entered for the 2022 renewal of the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club. The first and the second forfeits or withdrawals will be on 30 and 31 May. The supplementary entries will be on 1 June. The final declarations will be announced on 2 July.
Long list of champions
ST MARK’S BASILICA (FR) (Siyouni x Cabaret) was the comfortable winner of the 2021 renewal in the colours of Coolmore for trainer AP. O’brien and jockey Ioritz Mendizabal. The now 4-year-old colt remained unbeaten then as he went on to land two more group one victories when he won the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown in July 2021 and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown two months later, which was his swansong as he then retired to stud. Other recent winners of the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, to name but a few, include MISHRIFF (IRE) (Make Believe x Contradict) (2020) whose latest victory was in the Gr1 Juddmonte International Stakes last August, SOTTSASS (FR) (Siyouni x Starlet’s Sister) (2019) who went on to score on the world’s highest level when he landed the Gr1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 2020 before he retired to stud, STUDY OF MAN (IRE) (Deep Impact x Second Happiness) (2018) and Al Shaqab Racing’s BRAMETOT (IRE) (2017) (Rajsaman x Morning Light) who had won the French Guineas earlier and who has sired several winners and placed runners. The list is long and it confirms one year after another that the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is the stepping stone for future world-class stars and champions.
One of the oldest sporting challenges
The Prix du Jockey Club’s history dates back almost 200 years. A group of sportsmen, led by the famous English dandy Lord Henry Seymour, were returning to the Chantilly Chateau on horseback when they discovered the pleasant underfoot conditions in front of the Chateau, which was ideal for a racecourse.
The viewing stands had just gone up when one of the first initiatives was to create a major race where the
winner would go on to stud to ensure that his outstanding genes were passed on to the next generation. It was the birth of the Prix du Jockey Club! The inaugural running of this great sporting challenge took place on 24 April 1836 at Chantilly. Today, it is one of the oldest sporting challenges.
Mario Luraschi’s team on show between the races
The teams of famous stunt rider and horseman Mario Luraschi come together at the Chantilly racecourse for a demonstration of Haute Ecole in between races on the day of the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club.
Spectators always appreciate these demonstrations, which reflect the strong connection between the rider and the horse.
Source: Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club