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Statistic Of The Week of French Racing News - 29th April 2021.
The G1 Prix Ganay (2100m) is a thoroughbred race open to four-year-olds and older at Longchamp on Sunday, May 2.
A big race in its own right with €300,000 prizemoney on offer, it is the first big stepping stone in the French turf season looking ahead to the pinnacle of the flat calendar, the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2400m) in October.
Over the previous ten years there has been a direct correlation between trainers targeting the Prix Ganay in the early stages of the campaign before a tilt at the Arc. During this period two horses have completed the double with both coming from seasons 2018 and 2019 – Waldgeist (Galileo) in 2019, trained by André Fabre, beating a G1 Prix du Jockey Club (2100m) winner in Study Of Man (Deep Impact) and 2020 Horse of the Year Ghaiyyath (Dubawi) in the Ganay prior to a 1.75L success over the wondermare Enable (Nathaniel) in the Arc.
In 2020 the race was postponed until June with Sottsass (Siyouni) landing the 'Ganay' on his second start of the season at Chantilly before defeats in the Deauville G3 Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club (2100m) and the G1 Irish Champion Stakes (2100m). The Jean-Claude Rouget-trained chestnut produced a career best to win France's most prestigious race last October, scoring over In Swoop (Adlerflug) by a neck.
Placed horses from the Ganay also have a good record in the Arc. Cloth Of Stars (Sea The Stars) was victorious in the 2017 Ganay and delivered a third-placed effort behind champion three-year-old colt and four-time G1 winner Cracksman (Frankel) in 2018. At the end of both campaigns, the Godolphin-owned stallion finished third in two Arcs, notable behind Enable twice. The queen of French racing, Treve (Motivator), was narrowly denied to another star in Cirrus des Aigles (Even Top) in the 2014 Ganay prior to producing one of the most striking Arc victories in recent times.
The table below identifies the link between the two G1 contests, symbolising the importance of them on the path to one of the world's most celebrated horseraces.
