La Coupe

Group 3 race
La Coupe

Location	Longchamp Racecourse Paris, France
Inaugurated	1865
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Website	france-galop.com
Race information
Distance	2,000 metres (1¼ miles)
Track	Turf, right-handed
Qualification	Four-years-old and up exc. G2 winners this year
Weight	56 kg Allowances 1½ kg for fillies and mares Penalties 4 kg for Group 1 winners * 3 kg for Group 2 winners * 2 kg for Group 3 winners * * since September 1 last year
Purse	€80,000 (2011) 1st: €40,000

La Coupe is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four 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 June.

Contents 1 History 2 Records 3 Winners since 1980 4 Earlier winners 5 See also 6 References

History

The event was established in 1865, and it was named after its original trophy, an objet d'art worth 10,000 francs at that time. It was originally open to horses aged three or older, and it was initially contested over 3,200 metres. The race was abandoned because of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. It was shortened to 3,000 metres in 1895.

La Coupe was cancelled throughout World War I, with no running from 1915 to 1919. It was switched to alternative venues during World War II, with periods at Le Tremblay (1943) and Maisons-Laffitte (1944–45).

The minimum age of horses eligible for La Coupe was raised to four in 1969, and from this point the race's distance was 2,600 metres. It was cut to 2,400 metres in 1980, and it was held at Chantilly in 1980, 1982–83 and 1985–86. It was reduced to 2,100 metres in 1991, and to 2,000 metres in 1993. It was staged at Saint-Cloud in 1994 and 1996, and at Évry in 1995.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):

• Nougat – 1875, 1876
• Lutin – 1894, 1895
• Elf – 1897, 1898
• Lesotho – 1987, 1988

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Leading jockey (4 wins):

• Freddy Head – High Game (1971), Balompie (1974), African Hope (1979), Zalataia (1983)
• Cash Asmussen – Terreno (1982), Romildo (1985), French Glory (1990), D'Arros (1993)

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Leading trainer (9 wins):

• Tom Jennings, Sr. – Fille de l'Air (1865), Gladiateur (1866), Nelusco (1868), Trocadero (1869), Mortemer (1870), Nougat (1875, 1876), Balagny (1878), Castillon (1880, dead-heat)

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Leading owner (9 wins):

• Frédéric de Lagrange – Fille de l'Air (1865), Gladiateur (1866), Nelusco (1868), Trocadero (1869), Mortemer (1870), Nougat (1875, 1876), Balagny (1878), Castillon (1880, dead-heat)

Winners since 1980

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1980	Prove It Baby	4	Philippe Paquet	François Boutin	Walter Haefner	2:31.90
1981	Perrault	4	Yves Saint-Martin	Pierre Pelat	Baron Thierry van Zuylen	2:49.40
1982	Terreno	4	Cash Asmussen	François Boutin	Gerry Oldham	2:39.70
1983	Zalataia	4	Freddy Head	André Fabre	Francis Baral	2:24.50
1984	Garde Royale	4	Gérard Dubroeucq	André Fabre	Ella Widener Wetherill	2:39.40
1985	Romildo	5	Cash Asmussen	François Boutin	Gerry Oldham	2:25.10
1986	Triptych	4	Yves Saint-Martin	Patrick Biancone	Alan Clore	2:38.40
1987	Lesotho	4	Gary W. Moore	Criquette Head	Khalid Abdullah	2:34.40
1988	Lesotho	5	Gary W. Moore	Criquette Head	Khalid Abdullah	2:30.00
1989	Athyka	4	Guy Guignard	Criquette Head	Jacques Wertheimer	2:36.50
1990	French Glory	4	Cash Asmussen	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	2:32.50
1991	Art Bleu	4	Dominique Boeuf	Elie Lellouche	Daniel Wildenstein	2:09.30
1992	Wiorno	4	Thierry Jarnet	André Fabre	Etti Plesch	2:15.20
1993	D'Arros	4	Cash Asmussen	François Boutin	Stavros Niarchos	2:07.60
1994	Flag Down	4	Gérald Mossé	John Hammond	Cheveley Park Stud	2:05.20
1995	Marildo	8	Guy Guignard	David Smaga	David Smaga	2:01.30
1996	Dance Treat	4	Olivier Doleuze	Dominique Sépulchre	Peter Pritchard	2:03.40
1997	For Valour	4	Thierry Gillet	André Fabre	A. J. Richards	2:09.30
1998	Public Purse	4	Alain Junk	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	2:03.50
1999	Ultimately Lucky	4	Alain Junk	Jean-Paul Gallorini	Jocelyne Sénéchal	2:05.40
2000	Slickly	4	Sylvain Guillot	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:04.70
2001	Slew the Red	4	Olivier Peslier	André Fabre	Maktoum Al Maktoum	2:06.70
2002	Equerry	4	Yutaka Take	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:07.50
2003	Carnival Dancer	5	Olivier Peslier	Amanda Perrett	Cheveley Park Stud	2:06.60
2004	Aubonne	4	Christophe Soumillon	Eric Libaud	Ingeborg von Schubert	2:05.00
2005	Artiste Royal	4	Stéphane Pasquier	Elie Lellouche	Ecurie Wildenstein	2:07.00
2006	Blue Monday	5	Steve Drowne	Roger Charlton	Mountgrange Stud	2:10.50
2007	Stage Gift	4	Kerrin McEvoy	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:06.60
2008	Crossharbour	4	Johan Victoire	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	2:02.00
2009	Stotsfold	6	Adam Kirby	Walter Swinburn	Peter Harris	2:05.10
2010	Stacelita	4	Christophe Soumillon	Jean-Claude Rouget	Martin S. Schwartz	2:08.90
2011	Cirrus des Aigles	5	Franck Blondel	Corine Barande-Barbe	J. C. A. Dupouy	2:07.66

Earlier winners

* The 1880 race was a dead-heat and has joint winners.

See also

• List of French flat horse races

References

• France Galop / Racing Post:
  • 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
  • 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
  • 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
  • 2009, 2010, 2011

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• france-galop.com – A Brief History: La Coupe.
• galop.courses-france.com – La Coupe – Palmarès depuis 1980.
• galopp-sieger.de – La Coupe.
• horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – La Coupe (2011).
• pedigreequery.com – La Coupe – Longchamp.