11 April 2024
photo scoopdyga.com
Scheduled for Sunday, June 2, 2024, at Chantilly on the day of the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, the Prix du Gros-Chêne (Group 2 – 1,000m/5f – for 3-year-olds and upwards) will be automatically downgraded at the end of the season if its 2024 edition does not achieve a rating of 110 (handicap value 50kg).
Its Group 2 status was already saved following a majority vote at the European Pattern Committee meeting in February 2024, and, as with all Group 2 races run in Europe, its downgrade becomes automatic the following year if it does not reach the required rating.
In this context, the issue of the Prix du Gros-Chêne, and that of the sprint programme in general in France – since the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Group 1 – 1,000m/5f – for 2-year-olds and upwards) no longer achieves the rating required for a Group 1 and was subject to a majority vote at the start of 2024 – was discussed at the first meeting of the French Pattern Committee held on March 27 at the headquarters of France Galop.
One of the measures proposed to help the Prix du Gros-Chêne reach the required rating for 2024 is as follows: Winners of a selection of sprints run in France will be automatically and free of charge entered (with a reimbursement of the entry fee of €1,200 to the Owners' Pool) into the Prix du Gros-Chêne. The five sprints that offer this invitation to the Prix du Gros-Chêne are:
- Prix Cor de Chasse (Listed – 1,100m/5.5f - April 9, 2024, at Deauville), won by Vicious Harry;
- Prix Sigy (Group 3 – 1,100m/5.5f – April 15, 2024, at Chantilly)
- Prix Servanne (Listed – 1,200m/6f - May 2, 2024, at Chantilly)
- Prix de Saint-Georges (Group 3 – 1,000m/5f – May 12, 2024, at ParisLongchamp)
- Prix Texanita (Group 3 – 1,200m/6f – May 17, 2024, at Chantilly)