ENGLISH VERSION around its early September date. The alternative would be to move the Critérium International back another month to the second part of November, and run it over 1600 on Chantilly’ s psf. There has been one two year old Group 1 run on the all weather as Kameko won Doncaster’ s Futurity at Newcastle in 2019 when Doncaster was waterlogged. It is an anomaly that so much racing in Britain and France is on all weather surfaces, 40 % in England and 23 % in France, and yet so few of its Group races are. France Galop is in this respect making an effort with both the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon and Miesque due to be run on the psf this year. An all weather two year old Group 1 could work, after all the list of top horses who ran on all weather tracks at two is a very long one. The certainty is that the current program of French two year old group races doesn’ t work as a means of selection, as part of the preparation for the three year old Classic races, or as either a spectacle or a betting medium. The correct answer as to why the best two year old races in France are dominated by foreign trained runners lies partly in the bloodstock business, and partly in the prizemoney structure. The best two year old races, or at least those run at less than 1600 metres, these days are not won by the best horses of their generation and future three year old stars but by horses raised and bred with these races as the major objective. This type of horse, and the stallions which produce them, are based in Ireland and England, and not in France. And then the prizemoney structure in Britain and Ireland means that few owners are interested in keeping horses in training at four or upwards and so it makes sense for everyone involved to exploit them when they are young. In France there is still plenty of money available for four year olds and upwards with more than average ability and so many owners try to preserve their horses and not overuse them when they are young. The programme of course pushes people in these directions, 18 % of all races in England and Ireland are restricted to two year olds, only 12 % in France.
INTER- NATIO- NAL
CHAMPIONS ACROSS THE BOARD
BY KATHERINE FORD
BACK TO ARTICLE
We saw true world champions out on the track, and it’ s great to see everyone having such a good time. It’ s on days like this that you realise just how wonderful our sport is.” Arms raised to the cheers of the crowd, William Buick was over the moon at Ascot after a superb hattrick on Qatar Racing British Champions Day, a fixture that ticked every box.
ASCOT GOES ALL OUT FOR YOUTH With a race for 2-year-olds to open the card, five Group 1s and a big, valuable handicap to close it, this end-of-season fixture has now firmly found its place in the British calendar. It also holds a special place in Ascot’ s diary, at a racecourse that knows how to reinvent itself for each of its fixtures. After the elegance and tradition of Royal Ascot, the classic feel of the“ King George” and the fun of the Shergar Cup, Champions Day is all about sport and youth. As well as the five championship races across the different categories, the day also marks the end of the race for the jockeys’ title and the induction of the latest names into the Hall of Fame. For racegoers, Ascot pulls out all the stops to win over the younger generation, with meet-and-greets and activities with star jockeys, followed by a DJ set after racing. The day drew 32,140 racegoers, only 200 fewer than in the record year of 2012, when the crowds were boosted by the presence of Frankel( Galileo).“ We are not ashamed to say that we are targeting the next generation,” Ascot’ s director Nick Smith told the Racing Post.“ There were 10,000 young people here with the INVADES agency
171 # 22