Critérium International (horse race)

Group 1 race
Critérium International

Location	Saint-Cloud Racecourse Saint-Cloud, France
Inaugurated	2001
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Website	france-galop.com
Race information
Distance	1,600 metres (1 mile)
Track	Turf, left-handed
Qualification	Two-year-olds excluding geldings
Weight	57 kg Allowances 1½ kg for fillies
Purse	€250,000 (2009) Distribution 1st: 57.14%, 2nd: 22.86% 3rd: 11.43%, 4th: 5.71% 5th: 2.86%

The Critérium International is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October or early November.

History

The event was introduced in 2001 as part of a restructured program for juveniles in France. Other changes included the scrapping of the Prix de la Salamandre, and the shortening of the Grand Critérium (later retitled the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère).

The new race adopted the title of an event which was held annually at Longchamp from 1893 to 1910. The original Critérium International was also for two-year-olds, and it was contested on a straight track over 1,100 metres. The prize money for first place was 25,000 francs (equivalent to €78,500). Winners included Perth (1898), Semendria (1899), Gouvernant (1903), Jardy (1904), Azalee (1908) and Marsa (1909).

The present Critérium International has usually featured horses which ran previously in the Prix des Chênes or the Prix Thomas Bryon. Two winners — Dalakhani and Bago — subsequently won the most prestigious horse race in France, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Records

Leading jockey (2 wins):

• Thierry Gillet – Act One (2001), Bago (2003)
• Christophe Soumillon – Dalakhani (2002), Carlotamix (2005)

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Leading trainer (3 wins):

• Aidan O'Brien – Mount Nelson (2006), Jan Vermeer (2009), Roderic O'Connor (2010)

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Leading owner (3 wins):

• Sue Magnier / Derrick Smith / Michael Tabor – Mount Nelson (2006), Jan Vermeer (2009), Roderic O'Connor (2010)

Winners

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2001	Act One	Thierry Gillet	Jonathan Pease	Gerald Leigh	1:47.1
2002	Dalakhani	Christophe Soumillon	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	1:52.0
2003	Bago	Thierry Gillet	Jonathan Pease	Niarchos Family	1:47.0
2004	Helios Quercus	Alexandre Roussel	Cyriaque Diard	Thierry Maudet	1:45.3
2005	Carlotamix	Christophe Soumillon	André Fabre	HH Aga Khan IV	1:45.4
2006	Mount Nelson	Seamus Heffernan	Aidan O'Brien	Smith / Tabor / Magnier	1:41.3
2007	Thewayyouare	Stéphane Pasquier	André Fabre	Sean Mulryan	1:45.3
2008	Zafisio	Dominique Boeuf	Paul Blockley	Hugh Downs	1:46.1
2009	Jan Vermeer	Colm O'Donoghue	Aidan O'Brien	Tabor / Smith / Magnier	1:45.6
2010	Roderic O'Connor	Johnny Murtagh	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier/ Tabor/ Smith/ Sangster	1:45.7
2011	French Fifteen	Thierry Thulliez	Nicolas Clément	Raymond Tooth	1:43.5

References

• Racing Post:
  • 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • 2011

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• france-galop.com – A Brief History: Critérium International.
• galop.courses-france.com – Critérium International – Palmarès depuis 2001.
• horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Critérium International (2009).
• pedigreequery.com – Critérium International – Saint-Cloud.

See also

• List of French flat horse races