Prix Noailles History: The ancient road to the French Derby

18 April 2022

2019 finish: scoopdyga.com

April, ParisLongchamp

Prix Noailles

Group3, 3-year-olds, 2,100m/10.5F, €80,000

Created in 1878 as the Prix du Nabob

Last winner: Junko (g3, GB by Intello ex Lady Zuzu, by Dynaformer), owned by Wertheimer & Frère, bred by Wertheimer & Frère, trained by André Fabre, ridden by Maxime Guyon.

Record time: 2’ 7’’4, by Soldier of Fortune (2007).

The race would be run for the 94th time in 2023

The 2022 edition

April 17, 2022, ParisLongchamp Racecourse (Paris). - He beat Prix de Fontainebleau (Gr3) winner Welwal over Chantilly's all-weather last time out, for his second run after his winning debut in February, and the gelded Junko (Intello) confirmed that he was up to something in the Prix Noailles (Gr3) over 2,100m/10.5f. The Wertheimer & Frère homebred had to fight off a pugnacious, front-running Maximus (Intello), who finally lost by a neck on the wire. Less than a length behind them, Garachico (Ribchester) beat Master Gatsby (The Grey Gatsby) by a short head for third place… It was a heated finish indeed!

As a gelding, since September 2021, Junko won't be able to run in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby, Gr1), the usual aim of the Prix Noailles best runners.

The Wertheimer & frère, who paid $2,350,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Breeding sale in 2016 for his dam, the US Group 3-placed Lady Zuzu (Dynaformer) in foal to War Front, are used to international routes and will probably find a good fit for the gutsy youngster.

Sinc her purchase, Lady Zuzu gave 4 foals, and all won, except the Frankel 2-year-old colt who's now in training with Carlos Laffon-Parias. The War Front filly she gave after her sale won one race and was sold by Wertheimer & Frère, and then by Haras d’Étreham, last December at Tattersalls, in foal to Persian King, for £115,000 to Chantilly Bloodstock Agency (Gérard Larrieu).

History

Created in 1878 under the name of the Prix du Nabob, this race was rechristened the Prix Noailles in 1896 to honour the memory of one of French racing’s foremost administrators.

For many years, the Prix du Nabob was one of the five races set up by the Société d'Encouragement as trial events for the Prix du Jockey Club – the French Derby – successively in 1841 (Poule des Produits, became Prix Daru* in 1877), in 1855 (Prix de l'Empereur, became Prix Lupin in 1896), in 1861 (Prix de Longchamp, became Prix Hocquart in 1885), in 1878 (Prix du Nabob, became Prix Noailles in 1896) and in 1882 (Prix Greffulhe).

Apart from the Prix Lupin, which had no restrictive conditions, the other four each envisaged specific qualification conditions based on the nationality of the product’s sire or dam. The Prix Noailles was restricted "to foals out of mares covered by stallions born outside France".

These five "Poules de Produits" had been introduced in order to strengthen the emergence of 3-year-old horses who had previously only benefited from one important race on route to the Classic event par excellence, the Prix du Jockey Club. This was the "Poule d'Essai" – then run over 7 ½ furlongs (1 mile from 1867) like the "Guineas" in England – created in 1840 and mixed until 1883 when it was split into two events, one for colts and the other for fillies.

These five stakes races were contested over distances of between 1 mile 2 furlongs and 1 mile 4 ½ furlongs, a similar length to the Jockey Club’s mile and a half. For these five races, entries were submitted before the birth of the produce, in the very year of their conception. The aim was to bring together a large number of paying entries whose volume would permit the race concerned to be funded. This practice of pre-birth race entries continued right up to the 1968 "Poules de Produits".

Not held from 1915 to 1919 or in 1940 due to war, the Prix Noailles, normally run at Longchamp, was switched to Tremblay in 1943 and to Maisons-Laffitte in 1944 and 1945. It was run at Chantilly in 2016 and 2017 due to the new Longchamp building. From 1943 to 1946, the Prix Noailles merged with the Prix Daru, the two races being held under the banner of the Prix Daru-Noailles". Originally 1 mile 4 ½ furlongs, its distance was reduced to a mile and a half in 1942, and then to 1 mile 2 ½ furlongs from 1944 to 1946. Between 1947 and 2004, it was 1 mile 3 furlongs. In 2005 it was brought down to 1 mile 2 ½ furlongs in order to correspond to the shortened distance of the Prix du Jockey Club, then was further reduced to 1 mile 2 furlongs in 2011 before being lengthened once again to 1 mile 2 1/2 furlongs in 2012.

*The Prix Daru was scrapped in 1978. Originally (1868) without conditions, it was reserved, from 1885, for "products of mares born outside France."

The Nabob

Born in 1849 at Hampton Court, the English royal stud, The Nabob contested twenty-six races, winning only six of them (including the Chesterfield Cup as a 4 year-old) but frequently being placed, most notably 2^nd in the Ascot Cup behind the invincible West Australian. After a short spell at stud in England where he sired Rupee (Ascot Gold Cup 1860), The Nabob was imported into France in 1857 and installed at Martinvast in the Manche department. Having been purchased for 30,000 F by Baron Arthur de Schickler, he soon rewarded his new owner by siring Choisy le Roi (Prix Lupin 1862) and Suzerain, the first (in 1868) of his five Prix du Jockey Club winners. However, The Nabob is best known for having sired, in the same year, Bois Roussel and Vermout who, in 1864, recorded respective triumphs in the Prix du Jockey Club and the Grand Prix de Paris in the colours of Henri Delamarre, a rival owner of Baron de Schickler.

The Noailles family

Four members of this illustrious family have particularly strong links with the history of racing.

It is the memory of Count Alfred de Noailles (1823-1895) which the Société d'Encouragement wished to honour when it renamed the Prix du Nabob in 1896. Made a deputy member of the society’s board in 1850 and then an executive member in 1860, as well as serving as a race steward in 1886 and 1892, Alfred de Noailles had previously been an embassy secretary. He played a key role during the period of development of the Société d'Encouragement, particularly in the negotiations with the City of Paris concerning the creation of Longchamp Racecourse, which opened in 1857. A member of the Jockey Club from 1848, he was appointed its vice-chairman in 1890.

An uncle of the former, the Marquess Emmanuel de Noailles was made a deputy board member of the Société d'Encouragement in 1854. In 1856, he experienced the pleasure of seeing Lion win the Prix du Jockey Club in the colours of Prince Marc de Beauvau, in whose stable he was a partner. Due to the demands of his diplomatic career – he served as France’s ambassador in Rome, Vienna and most notably Berlin – he was compelled to leave France and withdraw from the committee in 1858.

Duke Maurice de Noailles (died in 1953) was made an executive member of the Société d'Encouragement in 1926. An owner and breeder, he declared his colours (green jersey, red and green-striped sleeves, red cap) in 1897, finding immediate success with Fée Printemps (1895), who obtained four victories as a 2 and 3-year-old, including the Prix Vanteaux at Longchamp and also a 4^th-place finish in the Prix de Diane. Shortly after, he commenced breeding operations at his family property (the château de Maintenon in Eure-and-Loir). In 1902, he imported the stallion Ravensbury (1890), an excellent horse which had been unlucky to be a contemporary of the great Isinglass, behind whom he finished second successively in the Two Thousand Guineas, the Derby and the St Leger, the same position he had occupied by a short head from Ragotsky in the Grand Prix de Paris. As a sire though, Ravensbury proved to be a flop.

It was in February 1954 that the Duke François de Noailles (born in 1905), who in his youth, had been a successful amateur rider, was made an executive member of the Société d'Encouragement’s board. He also served as a race steward from 1956 to 1969, and then again – after the adoption of the principle of alternating 3-year terms of duty - from 1972 to 1975 and from 1978 to 1981.

The Prix Noailles as a Prix du Jockey Club trial

The winner of the Prix Noailles has succeeded in winning the Prix du Jockey Club twelve times. These double winners are: Zut (1879), Ajax (1904), Le Corrège (1928), Château Bouscaut (1930), Pharis (1939), Prince Chevalier (1946), Val de Loir (1962), Le Fabuleux (1964), Goodly (1969), Val de l'Orne (1975), Bering (1986) and Anabaa Blue (2001).

Prix Noailles winners have also been placed twenty-two times in the Prix du Jockey Club: seventeen times in 2^nd place with Achille (1889), Cherbourg (1895), Flacon (1897), Quo Vadis (1903), Querido (1906), Combourg (1911), Biribi (1926), Actor (1937), Corindon (1952), Vimy (1955), Match (1961), Diatome (1965), Sancy (1972), Twig Moss (1976), Dancehall (1989), Super Célèbre (2003) and Planteur (2010); and six times in third place with Tibère (1901), His Eminence (1945), Giafar (1947), Flush Royal (1948), Lacaduv (1950) and Tanerko (1956).

The fillies

Up until the First World War, it was a common occurrence for fillies to go to post in the Prix Noailles. Seven of them were victorious: Clémentine (1878), Aïda (1885), Verdière (1886), Alicante (1890), Primrose (1891), Riposte (1896) and La Serqueuse (1907). Of these, only Primrose managed to also win the Prix de Diane.

Although the race is still open to them, the fillies have been notable for their absence, the last one to be placed in the event having been Vigilance, who came second in 1942.

Owners

The Wildensteins (5 wins) : Catus (1977), Pistolet Bleu (1991) et Gunboat Diplomacy (1994) for Daniel, then Super Célèbre (2003) & Planteur (2010) for the Wildenstein family.
Marcel Boussac (4 wins): Irismond (1924), Pharis (1939), Giafar (1947) & Faublas (1953).
Guy de Rothschild (4 wins): Diatome (1965), Premier Violon (1966), Luthier (1968) & Jeu de Paille (1983).
The Wertheimers (4 wins) : Val de l'Orne (1975) for Jacques Wertheimer, Special Quest (1998), Slalom (2019) & Junko (2022) for Wertheimer & Frère.
Alphonse de Rothschild (3 wins): Forum (1881), Aïda (1885) & Glacier (1902).
Edmond Blanc (3 wins): Quo Vadis (1903), Ajax (1904) & Jardy (1905).
A. K. Macomber (3 wins): Pendennis (1920), Red Hawk (1925) & Bengal (1933).
Edouard de Rothschild (3 wins): Bosphore (1932), Zenodore (1934) & Anchois (1938).
Mme Léon Volterra (3 wins): Le Grand Bi (1954), Noelor (1958) & Cariellor (1984).
Jean-Luc Lagardère (3 wins): Walk on Mix (1995), Fragrant Mix (1997) & Slickly (1999).
Sue Magnier (3 wins): Ballingarry (2002), Soldier of Fortune (2007) & Tableaux (2014).

Trainers

André Fabre (13 wins): Jeu de Paille (1983), Cariellor (1984), Dancehall (1989), Fort Wood (1993), Walk on Mix (1995), Fragrant Mix (1997), Slickly (1999), Gentlewave (2006), Grand Vent (2011), Tableaux (2013), Soleil Marin (2017), Slalom (2019), Junko (2022).
Lucien Robert (5 wins): Le Corrège (1928), Château Bouscaut (1930), Bosphore (1932), Zenodore (1934) & Anchois (1938).
François Mathet (5 wins): Le Grand Bi (1954), Tanerko (1956), Noelor (1958), Match (1961) & Calchaqui (1963).
Elie Lellouche (5 wins): Pistolet Bleu (1991), Gunboat Diplomacy (1994), Helissio (1996), Super Célèbre (2003) & Planteur (2010).
George Cunnington senior (4 wins): Gournay (1887), Primrose (1891), Aveu (1909) & Aloès III (1910).
Christiane Head-Maarek (4 wins): Lydian (1981), Bering (1986), Special Quest (1998) & Full of Gold (2008).
Jean-Claude Rouget (4 wins): Ruwi (2005), Grandcamp (2009), Pharrell (2018), Cheshire Academy (2021).

Riders

Freddy Head (6 wins): Goodly (1969), Dragoon (1970), Val de l’Orne (1975), Lydian (1981), Nerio (1988) & Grand Plaisir (1992).
Charles Bouillon (5 wins): Bosphore (1932), Zenodore (1934), Anchois (1938), Prince Chevalier (1946) & Rancio (1949).
Jean Deforge (5 wins): Le Ventoux (1960), Diatome (1965), Premier Violon (1966), Roi Dagobert (1967) & Luthier (1968)
George Stern (4 wins): Ajax (1904), Jardy (1905), Impérial II (1912) & Irismond (1924).
Roger Poincelet (4 wins): Prince Bio (1944), Giafar (1947), Corindon (1952) & Le Grand Bi (1954).
Yves Saint-Martin (4 wins): Match (1961), Calchaqui (1963), Catus (1977) & Sadjiyd (1987).
Christophe Soumillon (4 wins): Anabaa Blue (2001), Voix du Nord (2004) & Soldier of Fortune (2007.
Maxime Guyon (4 wins): Grand Vent (2011), Tableaux (2013), Slalom (2019), Junko (2022).