Why the Longines Prix De Diane is a bucket list event

The Nassau Stakes (15:35) at Goodwood on Thursday is available as a free Race Pass, which means logged-in customers can view all our premium comments and ratings. Thursday's highlight at Goodwood is the Group 1 Nassau Stakes (15:35) for fillies over a mile and a quarter which sees a clash between the last two winners of the Prix de Diane,…

The 2023 Qatar Goodwood Festival takes place between 1-5 August and betting sites are already offering odds on the meeting better known as'Glorious Goodwood'. It's one of the highlight events of the racing calendar and punters can enjoy five days of quality racing, with many of the star performers at the recent Royal Ascot descending on the scenic…

Churchill Downs Incorporated has announced a thoughtful donation. Home of the Kentucky Derby, they have contributed an inspiring bronze statue titled'Against All Odds.' The statue, made by renowned artist Edwin Bogucki, is to be housed in the prestigious National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. This meaningful addition commemorates a significant…

Running Lion will bid for Classic redemption when she attempts to give John and Thady Gosden back-to-back victories in the Prix de Diane Longines at Chantilly. A daughter of Clarehaven's multiple Group One winner Roaring Lion, she has been unbeaten in four since finishing fourth on debut last summer and took her form to the next level when claiming…

Sky Sports Racing's senior analyst Jamie Lynch is on hand to analyse every runner in this Sunday's Prix de Diane (French Oaks). A fortnight ago, we were treated to a vintage renewal of the Prix du Jockey Club, and these fillies could serve up a similarly rousing rendition, as it's rare that you see such quality and quantity combined in the Prix de…

Blue Rose Cen can join a pantheon of racing legends if she prevails in the Prix de Diane (French Oaks) at Chantilly on Sunday with her main obstacle the unbeaten Jannah Rose. Blue Rose Cen if successful would join Allez France (1973), Zarkava (2008) and Divine Proportions (2005) in winning the Prix Marcel Boussac, the Prix de Poule d'Essai des…

Blue Rose Cen will break from stall one when she attempts to complete a historic Group 1 treble at Chantilly in the Prix de Diane Longines on Sunday. Fifteen fillies were declared on Thursday morning for the €1 million Classic, including two runners each trained in Britain and Ireland. Clifford Lee has a first ride in a French Classic aboard…

There may be more than a few raised eyebrows at the presence of Princess Anne in the Racehorse Lotto Henry II Stakes (7.12 RUK), a first runner in Britain for Chantilly-based Hiroo Shimizu. The five-year-old daughter of Anodin was last seen running down the field in a Longchamp handicap over a mile and a half and has an official handicap rating in…

Blue Rose Cen ticked off the latest stage of a meticulously laid plan when roaring to success in the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches to claim a first Classic victory for Christopher Head and jockey Aurelien Lemaitre. The trainer had surprised some observers with his serenity when the daughter of Churchill provided him with a Group 1…

The daughter of Churchill made a splash for trainer Christopher Head during her two-year-old season, providing the the son of Freddy Head with his first Group One success when striking in style on Arc day. The filly ran out an impressive five-length winner of the Boussac on her final start as a juvenile and it is perhaps no surprise Blue Rose Cen…

Ladies' Day in horse racing is one of the most popular days of any festival, and over the past 30 years the concept has grown to encompass pretty much every major meet around the world. From the Grand National and Cheltenham Festival, to the Melbourne Cup and Hong Kong's Ladies' Purse, it's fair to say the sport has fully embraced Ladies' Day. In…

The late Queen Elizabeth II won the French Oaks in 1974 with Highclere and French racing paid their respects with a minute's silence at Longchamp / ©AFP The late Queen Elizabeth II's French and knowledge of racing was impeccable whilst she was blessed with "a typical British sense of humour", the former head of French racing Louis Romanet told AFP…

There's a real bonus this weekend as the ITV Racing cameras travel to Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the most prestigious middle-distance contest on turf. ITV is not only covering the feature race, where there is plenty of British and Irish interest, they are also showing three other Group 1 contests, including the Prix Marcel Boussac…

On what has already been a turbulent week for all things Arc related, the pressure surrounding Europe's richest horserace is cranked up another notch with Sunday's Qatar Arc Trials at ParisLongchamp - a huge 10-race card worth over €1.2 million in prizemoney. The Group One Prix Vermeille is the feature on the card and boasts ante-post Arc favourite…

Bay Bridge, the exciting Sir Michael Stoute-trained favourite for next Friday's King Edward VII Stakes, will miss Royal Ascot after sustaining a setback. An impressive four-length victory in Newbury's London Gold Cup - traditionally one of the season's most informative three-year-olds' handicaps - had led to him being quoted at between 11-4 and 7-2…

It's home to not only one of the world's most iconic racecourses and to busiest training centres, it's also one of the most important cultural sites in France. But historic Chantilly just north of Paris is in dire trouble these days because of the effects of the Covid pandemic. The renowned Chateau backdrop and adjacent Grandes Ecuries (grand…

Donnacha O'Brien: aiming at a Group 1 with his first runner in Britain Starting at the top leaves you with an awful long way to fall but Donnacha O'Brien has never looked afraid of heights. Having the favourite for a Group 1 race as your first British runner might faze many trainers, particularly if they were only months into their new career and…

Ghaiyyath, shown, held off Enable to win the Coral Eclipse on Sunday at Sandown. Photo by Kassandro / Wikimedia Commons July 6 (UPI) -- Ghaiyyath held off Enable to win the Coral Eclipse on Sunday at Sandown -- a race that put the cap on a compressed weekend of Group 1 events that comprised the Investec Derby and Oaks at Epsom and the Prix du…

Fancy Blue and Pierre-Charles Boudot after a hard-fought success in the Prix de Diane Longines at Chantilly They say if you're good enough you're old enough and that certainly bore fruit as Fancy Blue led home a historic Irish 1-2-3 in the Prix de Diane Longines for Donnacha O'Brien, trainer of precisely three winners before landing his first…

Our virtual trip around the international world of horse racing continues over the July 4-5 weekend with a bevy of important races in England and France. Four postponed classics are on the agenda, including the coveted Oaks and Derby in England, but the highlight of the weekend is undoubtedly the Coral-Eclipse Stakes, in which superstar Enable will…

Timeform provide all the essential information as racing returns in France, including how to place your bets and where you can watch all the action. How can I bet on French racing? Bookmakers in Britain will be offering traditional fixed-odds prices on racing in France. However, punters with some firms also have the option of betting into the PMU,…

High fashion, breathtaking architecture and the world's best horses - there is nothing quite like the Prix de Diane Longines. One of the jewels of European racing, it tests the very finest fillies in the world but Sunday's event, dripping in glitz and glamor, is so much more than sport. It's also an opportunity for spectators to bask in the…

Horse racing is really about elegance - the way the animals move as they gallop, the dressed up day out for the spectators, and of course the hats. France, as you may imagine, takes this sort of thing to a whole new level. I have attended horse races in other countries and I can attest that they are not usually the luxurious spectacle as the Prix…

Although Criquette Head-Maarek does not have a runner in the Prix de Diane on Saturday, the memory of her victory in the race last year at Chantilly remains. Head-Maarek, whose first of three Oaks victories came in 1982, had been called foolish for putting Trêve, a filly with such little experience, in the race that day. But Trêve, sent off at 11-1…

Chantilly? Come on, get 2009! The top French trainer is Jean-Claude Rouget and he is based in unfashionable Pau, a town in the Pyrenees.. Dozens of congratulations cards fell onto Jean-Claude Rouget's doormat in the days that followed Le Havre's Prix de Jockey-Club win - but not many bore a Chantilly postmark. The home of the Derby is the powerbase…