La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September. The race was run at Maisons-Laffitte until its closure in October 2019.

History The event was established in 1906, and it was originally called La Coupe d'Or. One of its early trophies was a gold cup with two ivory figures sculpted by Henri Allouard. It was later decided that such valuable trophies would only be awarded to owners who won the race three times within twelve years, but this was never achieved.

La Coupe d'Or was abandoned throughout World War I. There was no running from 1914 to 1918. One person owns the 1908 Gold Cup in its original condition. I also have an original oil painting of Seasick, the horse that won the race. Painting done by Emil Adam in 1908. I will attempt to post pictures of these items shortly.

The race was cancelled twice during World War II, in 1939 and 1940. The trophy scheme was discarded in 1941, and from this point the event was titled La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte. It was held at Longchamp in 1941 and 1942, and at Le Tremblay in 1944. It went back to Longchamp in 1945, and returned to Maisons-Laffitte in 1946.

The distance of the race has remained unchanged throughout its history.

Records Most successful horse (2 wins): Jocker – 1948, 1949 Fair Mix – 2002, 2004 Musical Way – 2006, 2007

Leading jockey (5 wins): Roger Poincelet – Cordon Rouge (1943), Un Gaillard (1944), Oural (1946), Dalama (1961), Tout Fait (1965) Olivier Peslier – Gunboat Diplomacy (1995), Running Flame (1996), Agol Lack (2000), Prospect Park (2005), Dawn Intello (2021)

Leading trainer (5 wins): André Fabre – Nasr El Arab (1988), Tel Quel (1991), Dernier Empereur (1994), Fractional (2014), Agol Lack (2000) René Pelat – Cordon Rouge (1943), Oural (1946), Jocker (1948, 1949), Jolly Friar (1954)

Leading owner (4 wins): Marcel Boussac – Priam (1945), Pharsale (1952), Dalama (1961), Locris (1970) Sheikh Mohammed – Nasr El Arab (1988), Tel Quel (1991), Knifebox (1992), Lord of Men (1998)

Winners since 1980 Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Time 1980 Discretion 4 Maurice Philipperon John Cunnington Jr. Sir Michael Sobell 1981 Glenorum 4 Alain Lequeux David Smaga Helen Stollery 1982 Coquelin 3 Cash Asmussen François Boutin Stavros Niarchos 1983 Bylly the Kid 7 Serge Prou Raymond Touflan Yves Duffaut 1984 Estrapade 4 Alain Lequeux Maurice Zilber Bruce McNall 2:08.60 1985 Palace Music 4 Éric Legrix Patrick Biancone Nelson Bunker Hunt 2:02.00 1986 Antheus 4 Gary W. Moore Criquette Head Jacques Wertheimer 1987 Tabayaan 3 Yves Saint-Martin Alain de Royer-Dupré HH Aga Khan IV 1988 Nasr El Arab 3 Éric Legrix André Fabre Sheikh Mohammed 2:01.60 1989 Petrullo 4 Guy Guignard Richard Casey C. A. Webster 2:03.80 1990 Dr Somerville 3 Freddy Head Criquette Head Maktoum Al Maktoum 2:06.00 1991 Tel Quel 3 Thierry Jarnet André Fabre Sheikh Mohammed 1992 Knifebox 4 Darryll Holland John Gosden Sheikh Mohammed 2:03.20 1993 Hatoof 4 Walter Swinburn Criquette Head Maktoum Al Maktoum 2:08.00 1994 Dernier Empereur 4 Sylvain Guillot André Fabre Gary Tanaka 2:04.10 1995 Gunboat Diplomacy 4 Olivier Peslier Élie Lellouche Daniel Wildenstein 2:06.20 1996 Running Flame 4 Olivier Peslier John Hammond Gary Biszantz 2:06.30 1997 Turning Wheel 4 Cash Asmussen Dominique Sépulchre Niarchos Family 2:06.70 1998 Lord of Men 5 Frankie Dettori John Gosden Sheikh Mohammed 2:00.80 1999 Chelsea Manor 3 Thierry Thulliez Pascal Bary Khalid Abdullah 2:06.10 2000 Agol Lack 4 Olivier Peslier André Fabre Sultan Al Kabeer 1:59.90 2001 Jim and Tonic 7 Thierry Thulliez François Doumen John Martin 2:05.50 2002 Fair Mix 4 Stéphane Pasquier Marcel Rolland Ecurie Week-End 2:03.30 2003 Gruntled 4 Thierry Gillet John Hammond Ecurie Chalhoub 2:01.60 2004 Fair Mix 6 Stéphane Pasquier Marcel Rolland Mrs Joseph Shalam 1:59.40 2005 Prospect Park 4 Olivier Peslier Carlos Laffon-Parias Wertheimer et Frère 2:05.40 2006 Musical Way 4 Ronan Thomas Philippe van de Poele S. Constantinidis 1:59.70 2007 Musical Way 5 Ronan Thomas Philippe van de Poele S. Constantinidis 2:03.20 2008 Pallodio 3 Davy Bonilla John Hammond Anne-Marie Springer 2:04.70 2009 Chinchon 4 Gérald Mossé Carlos Laffon-Parias SARL Darpat France 2:01.90 2010 Akarlina 4 Thierry Thulliez Nicolas Clément Nicolas Clément 2:07.20 2011 One Clever Cat 5 Christophe Soumillon Tony Clout Patrick Hendrickx 2:03.10 2012 Maxios 4 Stéphane Pasquier Jonathan Pease Niarchos Family 2:03.30 2013 Cirrus des Aigles 7 Christophe Soumillon Corine Barande-Barbe Jean-Claude Dupouy 2:11.19 2014 Fractional 5 Maxime Guyon André Fabre Godolphin 2:06.35 2015 Gailo Chop 4 Christophe Soumillon Antoine de Watrigant OTI Management Pty Ltd 2:03.06 2016 Banzari 4 Alexis Badel Henri-François Devin Rebecca Hillen 2:09.58 2017 Garlingari 6 Christophe Soumillon Corine Barande-Barbe Corine Barande-Barbe 2:07.20 2018 Golden Legend 4 Alexis Badel Henri-François Devin Mme Henri Devin 2:00.36 2019 Villa Rosa 4 Mickael Barzalona Henri-François Devin Mme Henri Devin 2:05.09 2020 Glycon 4 Cristian Demuro Jean-Claude Rouget Scea Haras De Saint Pair 2:05.77 2021 Dawn Intello 4 Olivier Peslier Andreas Schütz AB Racing & Ecurie Ades Hazan 2:08.22 2022 Monty 7 Gérald Mossé Andreas Schütz AB Racing & Ecurie Ades Hazan 2:06.08 2023 Naranco 4 Vaclav Janacek G Arizkorreta Elosegui Horses & Berries SL 2:03.29 2024 Certain Lad 8 George Bass Jack Channon C R Hirst 2:08.94

Earlier winners

1906: Maintenon 1907: Ben 1908: Sea Sick 1909: Syphon 1910: Le Rubicon 1911: Cadet Roussel 1912: Martial 1913: Nimbus 1914–18: no race 1919: Bambino 1920: Le Rapin 1921: Harpocrate 1922: Bahadur 1923: Scopas 1924: Scaramouche 1925: Ptolemy 1926: Apelle 1927: Iberia 1928: Javelot 1929: Kantara 1930: Parth for Ever 1931: Sans Ame 1932: Jus de Raisin 1 1933: Magnus 1934: Sa Parade 1935: Rarity 1936: Davout 1937: Frexo 1938: Khasnadar 1939–40: no race 1941: Triancourt 1942: Fair Love 1943: Cordon Rouge 1944: Un Gaillard 1945: Priam 1946: Oural 1947: L'Imperial 1948: Jocker 1949: Jocker 1950: Violoncelle 1951: 1952: Pharsale 1953: Cosmos 1954: Jolly Friar 1955: The Parson 1956: Cobetto 1957: Franc Luron 1958: Fric 1959: 1960: Point d'Amour 1961: Dalama 1962: Djebel Traffic 1963: Monade 1964: Trac / Visavis 2 1965: Tout Fait 1966: Prominer / Red Vagabonde 2 1967: A Tempo 1968: Batitu 1969: Karabas 1970: Locris 1971: Gold Rod 1972: Tratteggio 1973: Amadou 1974: Wittgenstein 1975: Trepan 1976: Iron Duke 1977: Dona Barod 1978: Rusticaro 1979: Look Fast

1 The 1932 race finished as a dead-heat between Fenolo and Jus de Raisin, but a winner was decided by a run-off.2 The 1964 and 1966 races were dead-heats and have joint winners.

See also List of French flat horse races Recurring sporting events established in 1906 – this race is included under its original title, La Coupe d'Or.

References

France Galop / Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , france-galop.com – A Brief History: La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte. galopp-sieger.de – La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte. horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte (2016). pedigreequery.com – La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte – Maisons-Laffitte.