 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 Jacques le Marois 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 Jacques le Marois Day, one on the polytrack, and six on turf, including five on the round course and one up the straight.
The only polytrack race is the 1500m Class 3 Handicap, 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 served drawn low to middle.
There are five races on the round course. For the 2000m G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Listed Prix Nureyev, low draws are slightly favoured, but recent data suggests the advantage is only marginal. For the 2500m G3 Prix Minerve, Class 2 Handicap and Class 3 Handicap, they start from just over half way up the straight, but barriers are of little importance. The round course is fair to all runners, but keep in mind they tend to, but not always, run middle distance and staying races in France at a moderate tempo, which can make it difficult for those at the back to pick up the leaders in larger fields.
For the feature race 1600m Prix Jacques le Marois, the straight course is relatively flat, but with barrier 1 being on the grandstand side and with the stalls usually on that side, most races will see the field come down the grandstand rail or the centre of the track, therefore middle to low draws are usually advantageous, although in smaller fields it makes very little difference. Large fields can see the runners split into two or even three divisions, with the higher drawn runners frequently opting to go to the far side rail. Prix Jacques Le Marois hasn’t attracted large fields in recent years with an average of 8.9 runners during the last ten renewals. In that time most of the recent winners have stayed true to form for the straight course and come down the centre or the grandstand side.
Last year’s Prix Jacques Le Marois was run on Good ground with a field of eight going to post. On leaving the stalls the entire field headed toward the grandstand rail with the lead hotly contested by POETIC FLARE, ALPINE STAR, and ORDER OF AUSTRALIA. The favourite, PALACE PIER, was held up on the far side of the field. At the 600m mark, ALPINE STAR came under a ride as to do ORDER OF AUSTRALIA, with POETIC FLARE travelling much the best of the three. However, Frankie Dettori produced PALACE PIER with approximately 300m to run, and it looked like he would go straight by them, but POETIC FLARE dug deep with the pair fighting out a sterling battle to the line, which saw PALACE PIER winning by a neck from POETIC FLARE, with ORDER OF AUSTRALIA 1.75 lengths in behind, in a time that was 0.36 seconds slower than standard.
The weather forecast for Deauville during the week is suggesting very little rain with warm temperatures. Six of the last ten renewals of the Prix Jacques le Marois Day have been run on Good ground. If the forecast is correct then the going is likely to have Good in the description again.
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