 Tim Carroll 's Bio | |
|---|---|
| Tim started off as a jockey in Australia before pursuing a media career. He is a highly experienced and respected racing presenter who has been based in England since 2005. Tim has travelled the world covering many of the major meetings, including Royal Ascot, The Epsom Derby, The International meeting from Sha Tin, The Dubai World Cup, The Everest, The Saudi Cup and The Breeders. He is currently a presenter for Sky Sports Racing, specialising in both the local and international scene. Tim is a regular contributor to the At The Races Website where his twice weekly tipping column on Hong Kong racing has gathered a strong following. | |
Deauville Racecourse – Track Analysis (Prix Maurice de Gheest Day)
Situated on the North Coast of France, Deauville – long hailed as French Racing’s mid-summer haven – while being one of four French tracks to host G1 races on the flat, is not short of action, comes every August, both on and off the track. Its auxiliary Yearling Sales, in particular, is traditionally a prime marketplace for major owners and breeders to replenish their racing stock – and certainly scout for the next superstar on turf. Deauville Racecourse is comprised of two turf tracks – round and a straight course – both of which are relatively flat with only minor undulations.
The round course is oval in shape with right-handed sweeping bends and a circumference of 2200m, along with a straight run in of approximately 420m. The straight mile course conducts races from 1000m to 1600m, and joins the round course at the top of the home straight. In addition, there is a polytrack on the inside of the turf course, 2000m in circumference.
There are seven races for coverage on Prix Maurice de Gheest Day, one on the polytrack, and six on turf – including one on the round course and five up the straight.
The polytrack race is the 1500m Class 3 Handicap where they jump from the top of the back straight with a long run of nearly 500m before the first bend, thus there is little importance placed on the draw but speed horses are better drawn low to middle.
The only round course race on turf is the 2500m G3 Prix de Reux, where they start from approximately half way up the straight, but barriers are of little importance. However, keep in mind that middle distance and staying races in France can be run slowly, thus in bigger fields those at the back can find it difficult to pick up the leaders.
The five races on the straight course are a 1400m 3yo Handicap, a 1600m Class 1 Handicap,1200m Listed Prix Moonlight Cloud and Class 2 Allowance, and the feature race 1300m G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. The straight course is relatively flat, but as the draw is usually from the grandstand side, with barrier 1 being closest to the grandstand rail, the field tends to come down the grandstand side and the centre of the track. However, fields of fourteen or more can see the field split into two and even three groups.
The feature race Prix Maurice de Gheest has attracted large fields in recent times with only one renewal since 2011 having less than eleven runners, and during this time only three winners have drawn single figure gates, with gates 9 to 13 producing eight of the last ten winners. However, the very large majority of winners in that time have come down the middle and grandstand rail regardless of the draw.
In last year’s Prix Maurice de Gheest, the ground was Good and a field of eleven runners went to post. The favourite, EARTHLIGHT, was awkward out of the gates but soon took up a forward position in behind the leaders, GOLDEN HORDE and HELLO YOUMZAIN, with the field following the grandstand rail. The eventual winner, SPACE BLUES, was restrained to be near the rear, but in a compact field. At the 300m mark, EARTHLIGHT laid down the gauntlet to GOLDEN HORDE, but both were soon overhauled by SPACE BLUES, who showed a rapid turn of foot, going from near last at the 300m mark to the front 150m out to win by nearly a length from HELLO YOUMZAIN, who stuck on well and LOPE Y FERNANDEZ, in a time that was 0.34 faster than standard.
The weather forecast for Deauville during the week sees the possibility of showers quite high most days. If the forecast is correct then the ground will be rain affected with Slow conditions likely and even the possibility of Heavy in the description.
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