 Tim Carroll 's Bio | |
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| 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 Jean Romanet Day)
Situated on the North Coast of France, Deauville Racecourse – 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.
Seven races will be simulcast from Prix Jean Romanet Day. There are two on the polytrack track, and five on turf – including one on the straight and four on the round course.
The two races on the polytrack are the 1900m Class 2 Handicap and Class 3 Handicap. Over this trip they start from a chute on the left-hand side of the course. Whilst there is no barrier bias, horses that like to go forward are usually better suited to lower draws.
The only race on the straight course is the 1200m G1 Prix Morny. The straight course is relatively flat, but as the draw is from the grandstand side, with barrier 1 being closest to the grandstand rail in most races, the field tends to come down the outside and the centre of the track, therefore middle to low draws are usually advantageous in larger fields. Fields of fourteen or more can see the field split into three divisions with the higher drawn runners frequently opting to go to the far side rail.
The four races on the round course including the 1600m Class 2 Allowance, the 2500m G2 Prix De Pomone, the 3000m G2 Prix Kergorlay, and the feature race 2000m G1 Prix Jean Romanet. The round course is fair to all runners but keep in mind they tend to run middle distance and staying races in France at moderate tempos, which can make it difficult for those at the back to pick up the leaders in larger fields.
The Prix Jean Romanet starts from a chute on the left-hand side of the course. From there they have a straight run of approximately 400m before turning into the back straight then onto a sweeping bend that leads into the main straight. In the last ten running's, six winners have come from high draws and four from low draws, and of those winners, leaders, stalkers and closers, have all been successful, which highlights the fair nature of the track. When the track is rain affected they will look to stay off the inside rail and fan out to the centre of the track on straightening. English trainers have a very good recent record having won seven of the last ten renewals.
In last year's Prix Jean Romanet the ground was Soft and a field of eleven went to post. ROMANCIERE led early from BOLLEVILLE on her outside, with AUDARYA grabbing the tail of the leaders, whilst the favourite, NAZEEF, stalked the leaders on the outside. On straightening, NAZEEF was under pressure with ROMANCIERE and AMBITION going to the front as BOLLEVILLE gave way. However, AUDARYA grabbed both of them half way up the straight and went on to record a neck win over the game AMBITION with ROMANCIERE holding on for third, in a time that was 5.23 seconds slower than standard.
The weather forecast for Deauville during the week is for cloudy days but the likelihood of rain is low. The weekend forecast is for clear weather and if the forecast is correct, given the ground was Good last weekend; it is likely to be the same again.
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