Abu Dhabi Sports Council new partner of French Guineas weekend

(Press Release) Boulogne-Billancourt, 29 March 2017 - France Galop and ARQANA, in association with the AFAC, are delighted to announce a new partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council, a body aligned with the Abu Dhabi emirate’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities. The partnership will focus on three major events in the racing calendar that take place in mid-May at Deauville. They include the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches on May 13, the Poule d’Essai des Poulains on May 14, two classic races that will identify the winners as the very best amongst their generation over the mile distance, as well as a Breeze Up sale that will take place in the ARQANA auction ring on Friday, May 12. The two classic races also mark the start of the 2017 EpiqE Series. 

Prize-money for the Poules d’Essai increased to €600,000 and €500,000

Abu Dhabi Sports Council will be the title sponsor of a racing and sales weekend, which will not only enjoy an international participation, but will also draw spectators from all over the world. The feature races will be known as the Abu Dhabi Poule d’Essai des Poulains and the Abu Dhabi Poule d’Essai des Pouliches.
Thanks to the partnership, total prize-money for each of the races has been increased to €600 000 for the colt’s race (€342.840 to the winner) and €500 000 for the filly’s race (€284 700 to the winner).
It is important to remember, if the winner of each of those two races is born and bred in France or is an assimilated French bred, it will receive an extra 63% of the first prize-money. Therefore, if the winner qualifies for the owner’s premium, the total first prize-money for the Abu Dhabi Poule d’Essai des Poulains would reach €558.82, while the winner of the Abu Dhabi Poule d’Essai des Poulains would go home with €465.691 (prize-money and premium). 

In 2018 the Poules d’Essai will return to Longchamp from Deauville

The Poules d’Essai, or the French Guineas as they are also known, are the first events in the racing calendar that identify the best colts and fillies of the three-year-old generation before they are tested over the longer trips of the Prix du Jockey Club, the Prix de Diane Longines and the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris. Traditionally, both of these races have always been run at the Parisian Longchamp racecourse, the “shrine to Flat racing”, which has been undergoing important refurbishment since the autumn of 2015. Therefore, the races were moved to Deauville in 2016 and in 2017.
In 2018, the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches will return to the historic track, situated in new and bright surroundings that will welcome spectators with an unparalleled racing spectacle and state-of-the-art facilities. 

€100,000 for the Coupe d’Europe des Chevaux Arabes (European Cup for Arabians)

The partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council will also focus on the Coupe d’Europe des Chevaux Arabes, a Group 1 PA race for Purebred Arabians. The total prize-money for the event, which forms part of The President of the UAE Cup series, an International Challenge for Purebred Arabians, will be increased from €30,000 to €100,000. Thanks to the sponsorship agreement with Abu Dhabi Sports Council, this race will become one of the richest races for five-year-old and older Purebred Arabians in Europe.

ARQANA Breeze Up sales in partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council

On Friday, May 12, bloodstock auctioneers ARQANA are looking forward to its first major sale of the 2017 season, the Breeze Up sale in partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council. 137 two-year-old colts and fillies will be offered to buyers that will come from Europe, as well as the United States and Japan. All of these horses will work on the turf track at the Deauville racecourse on the eve of the sale, allowing potential buyers to evaluate their movement, temperament and general racing aptitude. 

Statement from Faisal Al Rahmani, spokesman for the Abu Dhabi Sports Council:
“Abu Dhabi has a long history of partnering with French racing. It was in France that the inaugural The President of the UAE Cup race was held, back in 1994. Since then, this program has expanded across Europe and into North America, with races held on the day of the Breeders' Cup, the King George Stakes, the Preakness Stakes, the Irish Guineas and the French & Russian Derby days. The President of the UAE Cup series provide some of the highest prize money for pure-bred Arabian racing, serving as a supporting incentive for owners, trainers, jockeys and breeders alike. We are very happy to now count a race within a race meeting as prestigious as the French Guineas and to extend this partnership to ARQANA, an agency with which we have had a very good relationship for many years thanks to the purebred Arabian sales.” 

Statement from Olivier Delloye, General Manager of France Galop:
“France Galop is delighted that the Abu Dhabi Sports Council has accorded France such a paramount place in its European sponsorship program. It is a clear recognition of France’s importance, of its Purebred Arabian races, as well as its thoroughbred racing. As early as next year, the Poules d’Essai will start a new chapter in its long history by returning to a completely new and modernised Longchamp, to the benefit of all, professionals as well as visitors. This relocation will create new prospects for the partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council that we intend to build on over many years.”

Statement from Eric Hoyeau, Chairman of ARQANA:
“We work very closely with the United Arab Emirates and in particular with Abu Dhabi regarding our Purebred Arabian sale. The Purebred Arabian is a breed that the Equestrian Authorities in the Emirate is keen to promote. We are honoured that the Abu Dhabi Sport Council is showing so much interest in the French breeding, racing and sales industry by agreeing to form this unique partnership with ARQANA and France Galop. The Breeze Up sale is an event that has really taken off over the last ten years, in terms of results in the sales ring, but also at the racecourses. These results reflect the efforts of our sales teams and also show how important the Deauville sales market is. Investors from all over the world are eager to come to Deauville to watch great quality racing and to buy their future champions.” 

Statement from Yves Plantin, Chairman of the AFAC:
“I would like to thank the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for its support, which has once more allowed an important Purebred Arabian race to feature on the card of a prestigious Flat race meeting. I am a staunch supporter of this type of synergy, which in my opinion has brought many breeders and owners who had started their careers in the world of Purebred Arabian racing to the thoroughbred industry and vice-versa.”

Poules d’Essai weekend info

Thursday, May 11: From 12 pm onwards, the “breeze” for the Breeze Up will take place at the Deauville-La-Touques racecourse

Friday, May 12: Breeze Up sale starts at 2 pm in the ARQANA sales ring

Saturday, May 13: 1.30 pm start to the meeting, featuring the Group 1 Abu Dhabi Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. First race at 2 pm

Sunday, May 14: 1.30 start to the meeting, featuring the Group 1 Abu Dhabi Poule d'Essai des Poulains, the Group 1 The Gurkha Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary and the Group 1 PA The President of the UAE Cup - Coupe d’Europe des Chevaux Arabes.

Regarding Abu Dhabi Sports Council

Abu Dhabi Sports Council was established in 2006 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The Abu Dhabi Sports Council is aligned to the emirate’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities. It organises many sporting events in Abu Dhabi and internationally, including golf, Formula 1, triathlon, sailing, cycling and horse racing.
http://www.adsc.ae/en/ 

Regarding France Galop

France Galop, is the association that runs and controls the racing sector in France. France Galop plays an essential role in the planning of more than 7,000 flat and jump races s in France each year. It also manages six prestigious racecourses (Auteuil, Longchamp, Saint-Cloud, Maisons-

Laffitte, Chantilly and Deauville) and three of the most renowned training centres in the world (Chantilly, Maisons-Laffitte and Deauville). France Galop is also the key organiser of major international events such as the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Prix de Diane Longines, the Prix du Jockey-Club and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. 

Regarding ARQANA

ARQANA was created in 2006 as the result of the merger between Agence Française de Vente de Pur Sand and Goffs France. ARQANA is the leading bloodstock auctioneer in France. Each year it organises 9 Thoroughbred sales, including the famous yearling sale in August. It also organises a Purebred Arabian sale at Saint-Cloud that takes place a few days before the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, as well as six sales for trotting horses. In 2016, the combined ARQANA sales volume was 140 Million Euros.
http://www.arqana.com/