The Prix Maurice de Gheest is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,300 metres (about 6½ furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.

History The event was established in 1922, and it was originally contested over 1,400 metres. It was named in memory of Maurice de Gheest (1850–1920), a member of the Société des Courses de Deauville, a former governing body at the venue.

Deauville Racecourse was closed during World War II, and the Prix Maurice de Gheest was cancelled in 1940. For the remainder of this period it was switched between Maisons-Laffitte (1941–43, 1945) and Auteuil (1944). It returned to Deauville in 1946, and it was cut to 1,300 metres in 1966.

The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Prix Maurice de Gheest was initially classed at Group 3 level. It was promoted to Group 2 status in 1980, and to the highest level, Group 1, in 1995.

The Prix Maurice de Gheest was included in the Turf Sprint division of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series in 2009, but it was removed from the series the following year.

The race was sponsored by Wertheimer et Frère in 2011, and its title featured the name of Goldikova, a successful mare owned and bred by the Wertheimers.

The race has been sponsored since 2013 by LARC, Latin American Racing Channel broadcasting South American races to Europe, United States, Australia and Turkey, since 2006.

Records Most successful horse (3 wins): Marchand d'Or – 2006, 2007, 2008 Moonlight Cloud - 2011, 2012, 2013

Leading jockey (4 wins): Lester Piggott – Mountain Call (1968), Abergwaun (1972), Moorestyle (1981), College Chapel (1993) Gérald Mossé - Cricket Ball (1989), Dolphin Street (1994), May Ball (2002), Garswood (2014)

Leading trainer (7 wins): Freddy Head – Marchand d'Or (2006, 2007, 2008), Moonlight Cloud (2011, 2012, 2013), Polydream (2018)

Leading owner (4 wins): Marcel Boussac – Zariba (1922), Grillemont (1923), Theano (1943), Windorah (1947) Pierre Wertheimer – Sonny Boy (1933), Djanet (1956), Midget (1957), Tomahawk (1959)

Winners since 1979 YearWinner AgeJockeyTrainerOwner Time 1974 Lianga 3 Peter Cook Daniel Wildenstein Angel Penna, Sr. 1:15.60 1975 Sky Commander 3 Bill Pyers Charles Milbank E V Benjamin 1:16.70 1976 Girl Friend 4 Gérard Dubroeucq Philippe Lallié D W Molins 1:23.2 1977 Flying Water 4 Yves Saint-Martin François Boutin Angel Penna, Sr. 1:17.3 1978 King of Macedon 4 Maurice Philipperon John Cunnington Michael Sobell 1:21.4 1979 Boitron 3 Philippe Paquet François Boutin Stavros Niarchos 1:19.7 1980 Boitron 4 Philippe Paquet François Boutin Stavros Niarchos 1:20.2 1981 Moorestyle 4 Lester Piggott Robert Armstrong Moores Furnishings Ltd 1:15.2 1982 Exclusive Order 3 Maurice Philipperon John Cunnington, Jr. Paul de Moussac 1983 Beaudelaire 3 Pat Eddery Vincent O'Brien Robert Sangster 1:16.3 1984 Never So Bold 4 Steve Cauthen Robert Armstrong Edward Kessly 1:16.5 1985 Spectacular Joke 3 Maurice Philipperon John Cunnington, Jr. Paul de Moussac 1:16.6 1986 Lead on Time 3 Pat Eddery Olivier Douieb Maktoum Al Maktoum 1:17.4 1987 Interval 3 Pat Eddery Jeremy Tree Khalid Abdullah 1:16.9 1988 Blue Note 3 Gary W. Moore Criquette Head Ghislaine Head 1:17.8 1989 Cricket Ball 6 Gérald Mossé John Fellows Robin Scully 1:20.2 1990 Dead Certain 3 Cash Asmussen David Elsworth Toby Marten 1:19.6 1991 Roman Prose 6 Marc de Smyter Jonathan Pease Henry Seymour 1:16.3 1992 Pursuit of Love 3 Michael Kinane Henry Cecil Lord Howard de Walden 1:16.3 1993 College Chapel 3 Lester Piggott Vincent O'Brien Red Nab Racing Ltd 1:18.3 1994 Dolphin Street 4 Gérald Mossé John Hammond Stavros Niarchos 1:18.7 1995 Cherokee Rose 4 Cash Asmussen John Hammond Sheikh Mohammed 1:16.5 1996 Anabaa 4 Freddy Head Criquette Head Ghislaine Head 1:19.0 1997 Occupandiste 4 Olivier Doleuze Criquette Head Wertheimer et Frère 1:16.7 1998 Seeking the Pearl 4 Yutaka Take Hideyuki Mori Tomoko Uenaka 1:14.7 1999 Diktat 4 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 1:18.2 2000 Bold Edge 5 Dane O'Neill Richard Hannon Sr. Lady Whent & Friends 1:16.0 2001 King Charlemagne 3 Jamie Spencer Aidan O'Brien Tabor / Magnier 1:19.3 2002 May Ball 5 Gérald Mossé John Gosden Lord Hartington 1:17.7 2003 Porlezza 4 Christophe Soumillon Yves de Nicolay Erika Hilger 1:17.9 2004 Somnus 4 Gary Stevens Tim Easterby Legard / Sidebottom / Sykes 1:16.0 2005 Whipper 4 Christophe Soumillon Robert Collet Richard C. Strauss 1:17.1 2006 Marchand d'Or 3 Davy Bonilla Freddy Head Carla Giral 1:15.9 2007 Marchand d'Or 4 Davy Bonilla Freddy Head Carla Giral 1:14.9 2008 Marchand d'Or 5 Davy Bonilla Freddy Head Carla Giral 1:18.4 2009 King's Apostle 5 Ryan Moore William Haggas Bernard Kantor 1:15.7 2010 Regal Parade 6 Adrian Nicholls David Nicholls Dab Hand Racing 1:16.8 2011 Moonlight Cloud 3 Thierry Jarnet Freddy Head George Strawbridge 1:16.4 2012 Moonlight Cloud 4 Thierry Jarnet Freddy Head George Strawbridge 1:15.5 2013 Moonlight Cloud 5 Thierry Jarnet Freddy Head George Strawbridge 1:14.3 2014 Garswood 4 Gérald Mossé Richard Fahey David Armstrong & Cheveley Park Stud 1:19.71 2015 Muhaarar 3 Paul Hanagan Charlie Hills Hamdan Al Maktoum 1:15.33 2016 Signs of Blessing 5 Stéphane Pasquier Francois Rohaut Isabelle Corbani 1:16.74 2017 Brando 5 Tom Eaves Kevin Ryan Angie Bailey 1:15.61 2018 Polydream 3 Maxime Guyon Freddy Head Wertheimer et Frère 1:16.00 2019 Advertise 3 Frankie Dettori Martyn Meade Phoenix Thoroughbreds 1:15.35 2020 Space Blues 4 William Buick Charlie Appleby Godolphin 1:15.76 2021 Marianafoot 6 Mickael Barzalona Jerome Reynier Jean-Claude Seroul 1:17.04 2022 Highfield Princess 5 Jason Hart John Quinn Trainers House Enterprises Ltd 1:15.30 2023 King Gold 6 Stéphane Pasquier Nicolas Caullery Mme Christian Wingtans & Nicolas Caullery 1:19.71 2024 Lazzat 3 Antonio Orani Jerome Reynier Nurlan Bizakov 1:15.82 2025 Sajir 4 Oisin Murphy André Fabre Prince A.A. Faisal 1:15.09 2026 Samangan 3 Mickael Barzalona Francis-Henri Graffard Aga Khan Studs SC 1:16.40

Earlier winners

1922: Zariba 1923: Grillemont 1924: Persephone 1925: Lezignan 1926: Nyo 1927: Mordicus 1928: Galopin 1929: Tivoli 1930: Advertencia 1931: Masked Jester 1932: Ziani 1933: Sonny Boy 1934: Jocrisse 1935: Master Vere 1936: Aziyade 1937: Aziyade 1938: Sweet Dream 1939: Le Koh-i-Noor 1940: no race 1941: Becassin 1942: Galene 1943: Theano 1944: Le Volcan 1945: 1946: Tango 1947: Windorah 1948: Drakkar 1949: Djebe 1950: Skylarking 1951: 1952: Guam 1953: Vamarie 1954: Vamarie 1955: 1956: Djanet 1957: Midget 1958: Val d'Oisans 1959: Tomahawk 1960: Rina 1961: Nice Guy 1962: Nice Guy 1963: Tryptic 1964: Spy Well 1965: Yours 1966: Han d'Island 1967: Radames 1968: Mountain Call 1969: Quebracho 1970: Irish Minstrel 1971: Sweet Revenge 1972: Abergwaun 1973: Pepenador

See also List of French flat horse races

References

France Galop / Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , galop.courses-france.com: 1922–1949, 1950–1979, 1980–present

france-galop.com – A Brief History: Prix Maurice de Gheest. galopp-sieger.de – Prix Maurice de Gheest. horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Prix Maurice de Gheest (2017). pedigreequery.com – Prix Maurice de Gheest – Deauville.