25 February 2017
Photos scoopdyga.com
The first ever French Charity Mile, supported by Princess Charlène of Monaco, along with France Galop President Édouard de Rothschild and the Riviera racecourse President François Forcioli-Conti, received a warm welcome on Saturday at Cagnes-sur-mer, while the local Grand Prix (L) went to one of our top stayers, Nahual, for Marseilles owner-breeder Emile Eyvaso.
Saturday, February 25th 2017, Cagnes-sur-mer. - Corine Barbe-owned and -trained Miracle des Aigles (Siyouni) made a bit of history as he won the first ever French Charity Mile, a race created by Princess Charlene of Monaco to support local, national, child support and equine charities.
Miracle des Aigles was representing Action Innocence and thanks to his narrow success with Ronan Thomas up, the charity will receive a donation of €10,000. Action Innocence works on promoting a secure Internet practice for children.
The Grand Prix du Department 06 (L), first stage of the Défi du Galop, went to Nahual (American Post), trained in Maisons-Laffitte, near Paris, by Jehan Bertran de Balanda for breeder-owner Émile Eyvaso, from Marseilles.
Ridden by Maxime Guyon, Nahual had the top rating in the field (109Lbs) but hadn't had a run since his Nov12 win at Saint-Cloud over the Prix Denisy (L)'s 3,100 metres trip (100 yards short of 2 miles). Two months earlier, he was only beaten a short neck by top European stayer Vazirabad in the Qatar Prix Gladiateur (Gr3).
Favorite My Valentine (Rock of Gibraltar) won the Cagnes-sur-mer 3yo Grand Prix, the Prix Policeman (Classe 1), for trainer Frédéric Rossi and owner Jean-Claude Seroul. The colt was purchased as a yearling at the 2015 Arqana August sale for €125,000.
The winter meeting in Cagnes-sur-mer ends on Monday.