Organised by the French charity Au-Dela Des Pistes
with the support of France Galop, the third edition of the Retraining of
Racehorses Day takes place on Saturday, August 25 at Deauville-La Touques
Racecourse.
MARCHAND D'OR, SOLOW, CIRRUS DES AIGLES, AFRICAN STORY Guest Stars at the Champions Parade
The highlight of the day is the now traditional Parade of Champions, which will see the return of Deauville legend MARCHAND D'OR to his favourite spot that saw him with the Prix Maurice de Gheest three times for Freddy Head, in 2006, 2007 and 2008. His trainer recently won the race again this month. The Champion Sprinter, that was raced by the Girals, also won the Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp and the July Cup in 2008, before retiring to Jean-Pierre and Guillaume Garcon's Haras de l'Hôtellerie.
He will be joined in the parade by another ex-Freddy
Head trained Champion, SOLOW . Owned
by the Wertheimer Brothers, the outstanding miler won five Group 1s during the
2015 season in France, England and Dubai.
In addition, the Godolphin pair of Dubai World Cup winners AFRICAN STORY (2014) and PRINCE BISHOP (2015) will also be on parade once again, as will Corine Barande-Barbe's Champion and Au-Dela Des Pistes's Ambassador CIRRUS DES AIGLES , that triumphed in seven Group 1s in his career.
Progeny of SHARETA in dressage demonstration
Between the eight races, there will be displays by retrained racehorses in disciplines such as dressage, western riding, horse-ball and show-jumping that will show off their adaptability and versatility. Breeding enthusiasts will be particularly interested in watching the dressage demonstration by the Aga Khan Stud homebreds, SHAROUN , that is none other than the son of Champion SHARETA. Recently retrained, these unraced four-year-old gelding is now under the care of Eugenie and Robert Danloux, the founders of DH Stable in Normandy.
Meet the Champions up close
The public will have the opportunity to meet all the ex-racehorses present during the day and their new connections during visits organised by Au-Dela Des Pistes volunteers, who will discuss the process of retraining that these horses have gone through.
The association will also have a stand located near the parade ring where all those that are interested will be able to discover Au-Dela Des Pistes in more detail, as well as how to join and support the charity.
Christophe Soumillon will donate 5% of his winnings to the association
An Ambassador for Au-Dela Des Pistes and personally involved in the retraining of racehorses, the eight times Champion Flat Jockey Christophe Soumillon has decided to give 5% of his winnings on the raceday to the association.
