€135,000 Carmarthen Hurdle Race (Gr3): Jeu de Thaix is getting bigger

Auteuil, France – October 19, 2024 – The €135,000 Prix Carmarthen (Gr3) hurdle race at Auteuil on Saturday served as a key prep for the €390,000 Prix Serge Landon - Grand Prix d'Automne (Gr1), the autumn highlight for hurdlers at Auteuil, which will be run in four weeks. The race attracted the leading contenders for the Grand Prix d'Automne except the defending champion, Thélème, winner of the last two editions but sidelined this year. This prep race is contested over 3,900 meters (2m3 1/2f), rather than the 4,800 meters (3m) of the Grand Prix d'Automne on November 16, but it has often identified the eventual Grand Prix winner. Thélème captured both races in the last two years, and Galop Marin, who won the Grand Prix four times, took the Carmarthen in 2018. He likely needed the very soft ground and longer distance of the Grand Prix d'Automne for his best efforts.

On Saturday, the first three finishers were separated by two lengths on heavy ground. The favourite, Losange Bleu (Martaline), carried a four-kilo penalty and finished a length and a half behind the winner, but his chances in the Grand Prix d'Automne remain intact.

The winner, Jeu de Thaix (Authorized), made all the running and never relinquished his lead, even when challenged by fellow AQPS Heloy Delabarrière (Chœur du Nord) in the final 100 meters. These two, along with Losange Bleu, had been prominent throughout, and they finished eight lengths clear of their four rivals. A short neck separated the brave winner from his challenger.

Jeu de Thaix carried a two-kilo penalty for his June victory in the Prix La Barka (Gr2). He was coming off a second-place finish in the Prix de Compiègne (Gr3). That day, he finished 1.5 lengths behind Losange Bleu, who conceded him two kilos. Heloy Delabarrière also competed in the Prix de Compiègne, carrying the same weight as in the Prix Carmarthen. Jeu de Thaix has now won eight of his ten starts over jumps, including three wins on the flat from four attempts. His most significant victory on the flat was the Prix de Craon (Gr1 AQPS).

Like Losange Bleu, Jeu de Thaix is owned by the Papot family. He is out of Victoire de Thaix (Voix du Nord), who finished second in the Prix Glorieuse, now a flat Group 2 race for AQPS horses. He is her fourth foal and her best runner to date.

Following Jeu de Thaix, Victoire de Thaix produced Kent de Thaix (Cokoriko), who was exported to Ireland; Légende de Thaix (Goliath du Berlais), in training with Laurent Viel for his breeder, Michel Bourgneuf; and Magister de Thaix (Ivanhowe), a 2022 foal.