 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 nine races for coverage on Prix Maurice De Gheest Day, four on the all-weather, one on the round course and four on the straight course.
The four polytrack races are over 1900m, including a Class 3 Allowance, two Class 3 Handicap and a Class 4 Handicap. The runners start from a chute just after the winning post on the left-hand side of the course, cross the turf strip, then re-join the all-weather oval through the first turn. There is no apparent barrier bias, but with the all-weather track enveloped inside the turf strip, its turns are invariably tighter, and therefore forwardly-placed runners are better suited to low to middle draws in larger fields.
The 1600m G3 Prix Daphnis will run on the round course. Runners start at the top of the back straight on the left-hand side of the track. The round course is fair to all runners but keep in mind they tend to run non-sprint 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 four races on the straight course including the 1000m Listed Prix du Cercle, 1200m Listed Prix Moonlight Cloud, 1600m Class 1 Handicap and the feature race 1300m G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. The straight course is relatively flat, but with barrier 1 being on the grandstand side and with the stalls usually placed on that side, most races will see the field come down the grandstand rail and the centre of the track, therefore middle to low draws are usually advantageous. However, 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. For the feature race 1300m G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, it is worth noting that favorites have a poor recent record with only two market leaders successful in the last ten years.
Last year’s going of Prix Maurice de Gheest was Soft and a field of ten runners went to post. On leaving the stalls, ART POWER took up the running with COLD CASE and the favourite, SPYCATCHER, close in behind, as BRAD THE BRIEF bagged the grandstand rail to also be prominent, whilst those waited with included KING GOLD & SAINT LAWRENCE. The field came down the grandstand side, which is the most common route taken on the straight course, and ART POWER ensured the race was run at a solid gallop. At the 600m mark BRAD THE BRIEF was the first of those on the front to be ridden along and was soon followed by ART POWER, however SPYCATCHER moved with plenty of purpose with both SAINT LAWRENCE & KING GOLD picking up strongly from the back. SPYCATCHER went to the front 400m from home, but KING GOLD was delivered with a strong challenge on the grandstand side as SAINT LAWRENCE went looking for a run on the far side. KING GOLD grabbed SPYCACTHER at the 200m mark, with the two fighting out a close finish but it was KING GOLD that prevailed by a short head, with SPYCATCHER in second whilst SAINT LAWRENCE, who may have been a tad unlucky, was beaten a neck for third in a time that was 4.31 seconds slower than standard.
The weather for Deauville during the week sees mostly sunny days, however there is the possibility of rain the day prior and on race day itself. If the forecast is correct, then the going is with a strong possibility of Good to Soft this year.
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