Royal-Oak History: Where stayers finally meet

October, ParisLongchamp

PRIX ROYAL-OAK

Group 1, 3-year-olds and up, 3,100m/15.5f, €350,000

Created in 1861

2024 Winner: DOUBLE MAJOR (g4, IRE by Daiwa Major ex Dancequest by Dansili), owned by Wertheimer & Frère, bred by Wertheimer & Frère, trained by Christophe Ferland, ridden by Maxime Guyon.

Race Record: 3'15"50, by Allegretto in 2007

The race will be run for the 136th time in 2025.
 

The 2024 Edition
 

Sunday, October 27, 2024, Saint-Cloud Racecourse (Hauts-de-Seine). - Contested over 3,100 meters with two 3-year-old Anglo-Irish runners at the start against six older horses, including the titleholder, a two-time winner of the "Cadran," and the 5th-place finisher in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Prix Royal-Oak (Gr1) had a good look to it and did not disappoint. It was a lively race led by Trueshan (Planteur), 2nd in the last Prix du Cadran after having won two editions, with Double Major (Daiwa Major) at his side, winner of the 2023 "Royal-Oak" but disappointing in the "Cadran" recently, the 3-year-old Grosvenor Square (Galileo) on the outside and in their wake Sevennah's Knight (Camelot), favorite after his fine 5th place in the Arc. Posted on the outside in second, Al Qareem (Awtaad) gradually drifted towards the inside while Grosvenor Square leveled off, like the other 3-year-old Align the Stars in the middle of the pack. In the final straight, Trueshan continued his action but Double Major dominated him while, in the middle of the track, Sevennah's Knight tried to progress. Until one hundred meters from the post, the latter pretended to be able to compete with Double Major but it was in vain: he remained 2nd a good length behind Double Major, only a head in front of an always courageous Trueshan. Al Qareem finished 5 lengths behind.

Bred by Wertheimer & Frère, Double Major started in March with a second place at Deauville, transformed by a first victory, at Toulouse over 2,100 meters. Three times second recently at Listed level, including once at Vichy in the Prix Frédéric de Lagrange (L), he found his way over long distances with, as a consecration, a success in the Prix Royal-Oak (Gr1) in 2023.

He is the fourth foal out of Dancequest (Dansili), winner at Deauville and Listed-placed, and already the dam of the good Flop Shot (New Approach), but above all the daughter of Featherquest (Rainbow Quest), from whom came Plumania and Balladeuse, good racemares and broodmares.

Entered in the Arc 2023 sales, he was not presented...

His sire Daiwa Major, a champion sprinter/miler in his country, is a son of the American Sunday Silence, a major sire of Japanese breeding, and a daughter of Northern Taste, a stallion imported from France, where he was very successful for the Yoshida family. This chestnut with a lot of white, like Sunday Silence, also had a considerable influence on the rise of production at Shadai Farm, where these two stallions were based and are buried today.
 

History

This prize commemorates a stallion who played an important role in the foundation of Thoroughbred breeding in France (read more below). It was created in 1861 under the name Grand Prix du Prince Impérial over a distance of 3,200 meters. It became the Prix Royal Oak in 1869, the year in which its distance was reduced to 3,000 meters. It was not until 1964 that it would be increased to 3,100 meters. The race was reserved for 3-year-olds only, like all so-called classic races, until 1978. It was opened to geldings in 1986.

It was held in 2018 at Chantilly to preserve the ParisLongchamp tracks for the spring.

When it was founded in 1861, the Grand Prix du Prince Impérial was intended to complete the program of classic races on the model of the English system. It constituted, with the Poule d'Essai and the Prix du Jockey Club, the three races corresponding to the Guineas (1,600 meters), the Derby (2,400 meters), and the St Leger (2,920 meters) in order to assess the value of 3-year-olds over progressive distances according to the periods, May, June, and September. But the creation in 1863 of the Grand Prix de Paris, run in June over 3,000 meters, would modify the mission of the race soon to be named Prix Royal Oak. Over the years, the Prix Royal Oak would become the counter-test to the Grand Prix de Paris. This role would be its own for a century and would only be abandoned with the reform of the program which, in 1979, also opened the race to older horses.
 

Classic Winners

The Prix Royal Oak has allowed some classic winners to prove that their intrinsic class was supported by unfailing stamina. Here are the winners of the Prix Royal Oak who had previously won one or more of the classic races in England or France. In all, there are thirty-eight, and they belong to the elite of French breeding.

• Gladiateur (5 classics in 1865): 2,000 Guineas (May 2), Derby (May 31), Grand Prix de Paris (June 11), St Leger (September 13), and Grand Prix du Prince Impérial (September 24).
• Perth (4 classics in 1899): Poule d'Essai, Jockey Club, Grand Prix, and Royal Oak.
• Reliance (3 classics in 1965): Jockey Club, Grand Prix, and Royal Oak.
• Relko (3 classics in 1963): Poule d'Essai, Derby, and Royal Oak.
• Le Pacha (3 classics in 1941): Jockey Club, Grand Prix, and Royal Oak.
• Fiterari (3 classics in 1927): Poule d'Essai, Grand Prix, and Royal Oak.
• Zut (3 classics in 1879): Poule d'Essai, Jockey Club, and Royal Oak.
• Boïard (3 classics in 1873): Jockey Club, Grand Prix, and Royal Oak.
• La Toucques (3 classics in 1863): Diane, Jockey Club, and Royal Oak.
• Fille de l'Air (3 classics in 1864): Oaks, Diane, and Royal Oak.
• Tourment (2 classics in 1947): Poule d'Essai and Royal Oak.
• Brantôme (2 classics in 1934): Poule d'Essai and Royal Oak.
• Gamin (2 classics in 1886): Poule d'Essai and Royal Oak.
• Archiduc (2 classics in 1884): Poule d'Essai and Royal Oak.
• Stockholm (2 classics in 1883): Poule d'Essai and Royal Oak.
• Souvenir (2 classics in 1862): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Patricien (2 classics in 1867): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Kilt (2 classics in 1876): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Jongleur (2 classics in 1877): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Beauminet (2 classics in 1880): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Chêne Royal (2 classics in 1892): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Champaubert (2 classics in 1896): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Maintenon (2 classics in 1906): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Ksar (2 classics in 1921): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Verso II (2 classics in 1943): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Sassafras (2 classics in 1970): Jockey Club and Royal Oak.
• Bavarde (2 classics in 1887): Diane and Royal Oak.
• Clyde (2 classics in 1905): Diane and Royal Oak.
• Médéah (2 classics in 1908): Diane and Royal Oak.
• Uganda (2 classics in 1924): Diane and Royal Oak.
• Exceller (2 classics in 1976): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
• Pleben (2 classics in 1972): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
• Dhaudevi (2 classics in 1968): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
• Souverain (2 classics in 1946): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
• Caracalla (2 classics in 1945): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
• Filibert de Savoie (2 classics in 1923): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
• Brûleur (2 classics in 1913): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
• Le Roi Soleil (2 classics in 1898): Grand Prix and Royal Oak.
   

The Contemporary Royal Oak

Since the race was opened to older horses in 1979, older horses have prevailed over 3-year-olds. The 46 winners – there was a dead-heat in 1990 – are divided as follows:

• 3-year-olds: 19
• 4-year-olds: 15
• 5-year-olds: 5
• 6-year-olds: 4
• 7-year-olds: 2
• 10-year-olds: 1
• Females: 8 winners, including 3 at age 3.

• Only five horses have managed to win twice: Amilynx (1999, 2000), Westerner (2003, 2004), Tac de Boistron (2013 and 2014), Vazirabad (2015 and 2016), and Double Major (2023 and 2024).
   

  Royal Oak

  
  Royal Oak, a dark bay or brown stallion by Catton out of a daughter of Smolensko, was foaled in 1823 in England, where he won eleven races, four at age 3 and seven at age 4... "Of medium size, well set on his limbs, with a perfect conformation and magnificent lines, his joints were irreproachable, and his limbs combined strength and distinction. His head, without being perfectly square, had the most beautiful expression and joined the neck with a graceful and supple attachment. Royal Oak realized the ideal of the good and beautiful horse such as our latitude and climate can produce."

  This is how this stallion, imported into France in 1833 by Lord Seymour, who put him to stud in his breeding establishment located in Sablonville (Neuilly), near Porte Maillot, is described by a connoisseur, Ephrem Houël. The price of his stud fee was the highest in France at the time: 250 francs plus 10 francs "to the stable staff." At the liquidation of Lord Seymour's stable in June 1842, Royal Oak was acquired by the Haras Administration. He was first placed at the Paris depot, then at the Haras du Pin in 1845 until 1849, when, worn out, he was retired. In England, Royal Oak sired Slane (1833), who proved to be a very good stallion. In France, Royal Oak had 171 Thoroughbred progeny registered in the stud book. His influence was great. He sired three winners of the Prix du Jockey Club and two of the Prix de Diane. His best offspring was the mare Poetess (1875, Jockey Club), who gave birth to Hervine (Diane and ancestress of the famous mares Plaisanterie and Ténébreuse); then to the illustrious Monarque, a remarkable horse and above all a very great sire.
   

  Foreign Runners

  
  Before the Prix Royal Oak was opened to older horses, foreigners were not interested in the race, and only one of them, the British-trained Sicilian Prince, had made a winning attempt in 1962. Since this expansion, they have come in large numbers. From the first year, the signal was given by Niniski, trained by Major Dick Hern, who carried the colors of Lady Beaverbrook to victory. Seven other English trainers would follow his example: Henry Cecil with Ardross (1981) and El Cuite (1986), Luca Cumani with Old Country (1983), Alec Stewart and William Hastings-Bass with Braashee and Indian Queen, the dead-heaters of 1990, Richard Hannon with Assessor (1992), Barry Hills with Moonax (1994), and Paul Cole with Mr Dinos (2002). And the Irish would not be outdone, with John Oxx winning with Ebadiyla (1997) and Dermot Weld with Vinnie Roe (2001). To these foreigners was added in 2005 the veteran British-trained Alcazar, aged 10 and placed in the two previous years. This Prix Royal Oak was only the twenty-eighth race contested since the age of 2 by Alcazar, his career having been interrupted several times by leg problems.

  In the last fifteen years, foreign runners have won five times: in 2007, the filly Allegretto, in record time, trained in England by Michael Stoute; in 2008, the glorious veteran Yeats, trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien, who beat that same Allegretto; and in 2009, the English-trained Ask, also trained by Michael Stoute. But in 2010, this series was interrupted by the French-trained Gentoo, who thus confirmed his victory in the Prix du Cadran three weeks earlier; and in 2011, by another French-trained runner, Be Fabulous, imitated in 2012 by her compatriot Les Beaufs, aged 3. But what about the 2013 winner, the 6-year-old Tac de Boistron? He had raced in France before being acquired in the autumn of 2012 by Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock, who entrusted him to the Italian Marco Botti, who trains in England, and he won again the following year for the same connections. Since then, there has been another double by Vazirabad for the French stable of the Aga Khan before another English victory, that of Logician in 2019, followed by those of Subjectivist in 2020 for M. Meade, and that of Scope in 2021, for the English trainer Ralph Beckett.
   

  Leading Owners
   

• Rothschild Family (8 wins): Stéarine (1919), Cacao (1928), Brantôme (1934), Bokbul (1935), and Eclair au Chocolat (1938) for Édouard; Ciel Etoilé (1949), Barbieri (1964), and Lady Berry (1973) for Guy.
• Frédéric de Lagrange (6 wins): Palestro (1861), Fille de l'Air (1864), Gladiateur (1865), Nélusko (1868), Inval (1878), and Zut (1879).
• Henri Delamarre (4 wins): Patricien (1867), Clotho (1869), Boïard (1873), and Clio (1882).
• Arthur de Schickler (4 wins): Perplexe (1875), Perplexité (1881), Escarboucle (1885), and Chêne Royal (1892).
• Marcel Boussac (4 wins): Tifinar (1942), Caracalla (1945), Stymphale (1951), and Macip (1955).
• Wildenstein Family (4 wins): Mersey (1985) and Star Lift (1988) for Daniel; Westerner (2003, 2004) for Ecurie Wildenstein.
• Karim Aga Khan (4 wins): Ebadiyla (1997), Tiraaz (1998), and Vazirabad (2015 and 2016).
   

Leading Trainers
 

• François Mathet (7 wins): Vamour (1959), Match (1961), Relko (1963), Reliance (1965), Sassafras (1970), Henri le Balafré (1975), and Exceller (1976).
• André Fabre (7 wins): Star Lift (1988), Top Sunrise (1989), Raintrap (1993), Sunshack (1995), Amilynx (1999 and 2000), and Be Fabulous (2011).
• Thomas Jennings (6 wins): Palestro (1861), Fille de l'Air (1864), Gladiateur (1865), Nélusko (1868), Inval (1878), and Zut (1879).
• Thomas R. Carter (4 wins): Patricien (1867), Clotho (1869), Boïard (1873), and Clio (1882).
• George Cunnington Sr. (4 wins): Gamin (1886), Bavarde (1887), Pourtant (1889), and Aveu (1909).
• Lucien Robert (4 wins): Keror (1922), Brantôme (1934), Bokbul (1935), and Eclair au Chocolat (1938).
• Percy Carter (4 wins): Priori (1925), Tourment (1947), Buisson d'Or (1953), and Wallaby (1958).
• Geoffroy Watson (4 wins): Ciel Etoilé (1949), Barbieri (1964), Pleben (1972), and Lady Berry (1973).
• Richard Carter Jr. (3 wins): Beauminet (1880), Perth (1899), and Macdonald II (1904).
• Robert Denman (3 wins): Archiduc (1884), Fer (1902), and Médéah (1908).
• Frank Carter (3 wins): Uganda (1924), Calandria (1929), and Victrix (1937).
• William Webb (3 wins): Perplexité (1881), Escarboucle (1885), and Chêne Royal (1892).
• Charles Semblat (3 wins): Tifinar (1942), Caracalla (1945), and Stymphale (1951).
• Alain de Royer Dupré: Tiraaz (1998) and Vazirabad (2015 and 2016).

• Three women have trained a winner of the race: Christiane Head-Maarek with Agent Double (1984), Corine Barande-Barbe with Red Roses Story (1996), and Valérie Seignoux with Les Beaufs (2012).

  
  Leading Riders
   

• Freddy Head (6 wins): Dhaudevi (1968), Bourbon (1971), Busiris (1974), Gold River (1980), Agent Double (1984), and Top Sunrise (1989).
• Charles Bouillon (4 wins): Cacao (1928), Brantôme (1934), Bokbul (1935), and Eclair au Chocolat (1938).
• Freddy Palmer (4 wins): Ciel Etoilé (1949), Buisson d'Or (1953), Wallaby (1958), and Match (1961).
• Yves Saint-Martin (4 wins): Relko (1963), Reliance (1965), Sassafras (1970), and Denel (1982).
• Charles Pratt (3 wins): Fille de l'Air (1864), Patricien (1867), and Clotho (1869).
• William Carver (3 wins): Boïard (1873), Mignonette (1874), and Perplexe (1875).
• F. Storr (3 wins): Kilt (1876), Archiduc (1884), and Galaor (1888).
• Edouard Watkins (3 wins): Bombon (1895), Champaubert (1896), and Chambertin (1897).
• George Stern (3 wins): Jacobite (1901), Fer (1902), and Médéah (1908).
• Guy Duforez (3 wins): Laeken (1932), Fantastic (1936), and Verso II (1943).
• Olivier Peslier (3 wins): Amilynx (1999 and 2000) and Montare (2006).