Deauville

He has been out of action since his powerful display in the G2 Dante Stakes in May, but Isa Salman Al Khalifa's Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) has never been too far from the news given his obvious potential and so it is with more than a small sense of anticipation that the purists await his comeback in Thursday's G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville. Some of racing's kingpins have won this 10-furlong staging post in recent years, namely Almanzor (Fr), Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), Dubai Honour (Ire)...

It is 15 years since Gwen Monneraye and Lucie Lamotte launched their La Motteraye Consignment and since then they have built their business up from scratch to being responsible for topping the Arqana August Sale of 2018 with a €1.4m Dubawi colt.  Last year La Motteraye was the fourth-leading vendor with 16 yearlings sold at an average price of €201,563 and it would be no surprise to see them near the top of the table once more. The stud's draft of 30 yearlings are garnered from an international client base,...

Normandy resident and regular TDN contributor Alix Choppin uses her local knowledge to offer overseas visitors some valuable pointers on where to eat, drink and be merry after a long day at the Arqana sales Despite being home to no more than 5,000 souls in the heart of winter, Deauville in summertime turns into a buzzy, sleepless town where restaurants, bars, clubs and countless sorts of hybrid eating/drinking/partying venues combine to make stay-at-home nights an unlikely option. Perhaps one of the most iconic venues, to the extent that its name...

The colt crowned Cartier Horse of the Year in 2021 when he retired as a five-time Group 1 winner; an elite miler who also won five races at the top level, notably at Royal Ascot in both 2020 and 2021; and the GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero of 2021, speedy enough to win the previous year's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest over six and a half furlongs. Those three summations alone should give some idea of the calibre of racehorse we're dealing with when it comes to the 2025 crop...

Brought along quietly by the Gosdens so far this term, Godolphin's Ombudsman (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}--Syndicate {GB}, by Dansili {GB}) let the cat out of the bag on Sunday with a command performance in Deauville's Listed Prix Nureyev. Sent off the 1-2 favourite for the 10-furlong contest, the 340,000gns Tattersalls Book 2 purchase who had been educated at Newmarket and Leicester followed the leading trio under Ryan Moore before being stoked up turning for home. Storming to the front a furlong from home, he had opened up a 3...

While Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was blowing her history bid at the start of Sunday's G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville, Nurlan Bizakov's G1 Queen Anne Stakes hero Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Futoon {Ire}, by Kodiac {GB}) was getting ready to do his thing and wrap up another top-level triumph in contrastingly straightforward fashion. After Cheveley Park Stud's mare had forfeited several lengths out of the gates, this was down to who would profit and the answer was the 9-10 favourite as he supplemented his...

Finding his true trip at Deauville on Sunday, the Joseph O'Brien-trained Cowardofthecounty (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}--Hawaajib {Fr}, by Elusive City) turned around recent fortunes to gain a first black-type success in the opening seven-furlong G3 Prix Francois Boutin. Running below expectations when seventh in the G2 Coventry Stakes and G3 Anglesey Stakes having made such a big impression on debut when beating Whistlejacket (Ire) (No Nay Never) at The Curragh in April, the colt who represents Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables, Tracy Farmer and John Oxley was again sluggish away from...

Still one of the best of her sex on her day, Cheveley Park Stud's Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) heads back to Deauville on Sunday to bid to achieve what none other has in the G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois. So impressive here in 2022 and 2023, the John and Thady Gosden-trained 5-year-old is in unchartered territory tackling a third that the likes of Miesque, Spinning World and Palace Pier (GB) were never asked to entertain. Found out for lack of stamina in the G1 Prince of...

Cheveley Park Stud's Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will face seven rivals as she bids for a historic treble in Sunday's G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville. Aided by Ryan Moore for the first time, the John and Thady Gosden-trained 5-year-old will upstage fellow dual winners Miesque, Spinning World and Palace Pier (GB) if successful in the prestigious mile feature where last year's runner-up Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) is set to re-oppose. Yeguada Centurion's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes hero Big Rock has...

Next week, when the international sales scene shifts to France for the Arqana August Yearling Sale, a good chunk of American agents, owners, and trainers will head on over for the party. No one ever needs an excuse to go to Deauville, but if you're looking to justify your trip to your principals or partners, look no further. We've got you covered. The selected sessions of the Arqana sale run from the 16th to the 18th, Friday to Sunday, and are followed by the V2 sale on Monday. "This is...

Maintaining his unbeaten sequence in style, Nurlan Bizakov's Lazzat (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) proved the slight drop in trip to be no problem as he dominated Sunday's G1 ARC Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville. Having captured the seven-furlong G3 Prix Djebel here in April and the G3 Prix Paul de Moussac at Longchamp in June, the Jerome Reynier-trained homebred had a question to answer taking on the pure sprinters over this niche 6 1/2-furlong distance but travelled equally as strongly as them all from the outset. Looming on the front...

Having beaten the best sprinters around in the G1 July Cup, Peter Harris's Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) returns to familiar territory as he bids for a prestigious double in Sunday's G1 ARC Prix Maurice de Gheest. Starting to bloosom into the top-flight performer he now is at Deauville last summer, Jane Chapple-Hyam's project thrived in this Normandy air to record a brace of black-type successes in the Listed Prix Moonlight Cloud and G3 Prix de Meautry prior to his coming-of-age campaign this term. There is a danger that his...