Established in 1922 and upgraded to Group One status in 1995, the Prix Maurice de Gheest is run over six and a half furlongs at the picturesque Deauville racecourse, located on the northern coast of France.
The race is named in honour of Maurice de Gheest (1850 - 1920), a leading figure in French racing administration and also a prominent owner/breeder of the 19th and early 20th century, both of thoroughbred and half-bred racehorses.
During World War Two the Prix Maurice de Gheest was run at alternative venues; Maisons-Laffitte (1941-1943) and Auteuil (1944) and did not take place at all in 1940.
Together with the Group One Prix de l’Abbaye (first run in 1957) over five furlongs at Longchamp in October, the Prix Maurice de Gheest is the most prestigious sprint in France.
Only two horses have managed to win both races in the same year, the British raider Sweet Revenge in 1971 and Marchand D’Or in 2008. However, Lianga (1974) went on to win the Abbaye the following season, while Moorestyle (1981) had triumphed in the Longchamp contest a year earlier.
The great filly Zariba was the inaugural winner of the Prix Maurice de Gheest in 1922 and she became a very successful broodmare - with a race named in her honour at Longchamp.
Over the years, the Prix Maurice de Gheest has proved to be a good race for fillies, with a further 28 going on to success since Zariba, including two fairly recent victors, May Ball (2002) and Porlezza (2003).
Overseas raiders also have an excellent record in the Prix Maurice de Gheest. Drakkar, trained in Newmarket, England, by Harry Wragg, was the first non-French victor in 1948, while the Italian-trained Han D’Island triumphed in 1966.
In 1998, the filly Seeking The Pearl, trained by Hideyuki Mori and ridden by Yutaka Take, became the first Japanese-trained horse to win a Pattern race in Europe.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, British-trained horses had a great strike rate in the Prix Maurice de Gheest, with victories for Moorestyle (1981), Never So Bold (1984), Interval (1987), Dead Certain (1990) and Pursuit Of Love (1992).
The best of these were probably Moorestyle, European champion sprinter in 1980, and Never So Bold, awarded the same accolade in 1985.
Ireland’s greatest trainer, Vincent O’Brien, sent out three winners of the Prix Maurice de Gheest, two of whom were ridden by Lester Piggott. The famous duo teamed up for success with Abergwaun (1972) and College Chapel (1993).
By the time of College Chapel’s success, O’Brien was 76 and Piggott 56! O’Brien’s middle winner was Beaudelaire (1983), partnered by Pat Eddery.
Lester Piggott holds the distinction of being the most successful jockey in the Prix Maurice de Gheest. In addition to his two wins for O’Brien, the "Long Fellow" also scored on Mountain Call (1968) and Moorestyle (1981).
Gerald Mosse and Davy Bonilla have the best record of any current jockey with Mosse’s three wins coming on Cricket Ball (1989), Dolphin Street (1994) and May Ball (2002), while Bonilla completed a hat-trick on Marchand D’Or (2006, 2007 & 2008).
Among past trainers, Charles Cunnington holds the record with four victories in the 1930s, while siblings Freddie Head and Criquette Head-Maarek are the most successful current trainers with three successes apiece.
Freddie Head triumphed with the outstanding sprinter Marchand D’Or, successful in 2006, 2007 & 2008, while Criquette Head-Maarek took the spoils with Blue Note (1988), Anabaa (1996) and Occupandiste (1997). Freddie Head also rode Anabaa.
Two famous names from French racing dominate the owners’ roll of honour as Marcel Boussac and Pierre Wertheimer each enjoyed four victories.
Since the contest was upgraded to Group One status in 1995, the best winners have included Anabaa in 1996, who also won the Darley July Cup at Newmarket, and Godolphin’s Diktat (1999) who followed up his Deauville triumph by winning the Group One Sprint Cup at Haydock the following month.
Marchand D’Or has the notable distinction of being the only three-time winner of the Prix Maurice de Gheest, thanks to his recent hat-trick
The Marchand De Sable gelding pulled two lengths clear of Satri to win as a three-year-old in 2006 and followed up with a length defeat of Dutch Art in 2007. In 2008, Marchand D’Or was rated Europe’s champion sprinter and displayed a terrific turn of foot to take the spoils from African Rose, trained by Criquette Head-Maarek.
King’s Apostle, trained in England by William Haggas, emerged as a top sprinter with a half-length verdict over Mariol in the 2009 renewal. The five-year-old, who had progressed through the handicap ranks, scored under Britain’s champion jockey, Ryan Moore.
British-trained horses continued their run in the 2010 renewal when six-year-old gelding Regal Parade prevailed over the home-trained Joanna. The pair were well clear of the rest of the field as they battled it out in the final stages, with Regal Parade providing father and son team of David and Adrian Nicholls with Group One victory by a neck.
The 2010 Maurice de Gheest was at Deauville on Sunday, August 8, and had a total prize fund of 250,000 Euros.