Saint-Cloud launches the Group race season for Thoroughbreds in France

The Flat season truly gets underway in France. On Sunday, Saint-Cloud racecourse will stage the first Group race of the year for Thoroughbreds on French soil, with the Prix Exbury (Gr.3, 2,000m) serving as the highlight of the card.

The race will notably bring back into action several horses who left their mark on the 2025 season, starting with First Look. Since the decision was made by his connections to geld him, he appears to have taken a step forward. Last year, he made his mark by winning a Group 3 followed by a Group 2, before taking his chance at the highest level in England. There, he finished a creditable fifth in the Champion Stakes (Gr.1) against the international elite.

Alongside this feature event, three Listed races will also give the 3-year-olds an early opportunity to measure themselves at the start of the season, with the major Classics (Poule d’Essai, Prix du Jockey Club, Prix de Diane…) firmly in their sights.

The meeting will open with the Prix François Mathet (L, 2,100m), where Waybreaker will be among those in action, already a Group 3 winner over this very course at Saint-Cloud. It will be followed by the Prix Omnium II (L, 1,600m), a particularly open contest in which the seven colts declared to run all appear capable of playing a leading role.