Samangan wins Prix Maurice de Gheest

DEAUVILLE – French racing celebrated its first Group 1 victory at the 2026 Barriere Deauville carnival, with Samangan in the €380,000 (S$561,000) Prix Maurice de Gheest (1,300m) on Aug 9.

The Blue Point colt enjoyed a perfect trip under his jockey Mickael Barzalona, racing just behind the leaders Afandy (Cristian Demuro) and True Love (Wayne Lordan), the Irish favourite for the powerful Coolmore operation.

Samangan took the lead 300 metres out, but was soon challenged by another French runner, Stolen Kiss (Alexis Pouchin).

A superb duel then ensued, with Samangan ($43 on the Singapore Pools tote) gaining the upper hand before holding off the powerful late finish of the British-trained Division (James Doyle), who had taken some time to find a clear run.

“It’s a horse we’ve always thought highly of,” said Barzalona.

“We’ve always had some problems gauging him, or finding excuses or explanations. So, we’ve pressed on and his last work at home was perfect.

“Today, we had a good run in transit and he was superior to the rest. When the challengers started coming up at the 600m, I had to angle out and find daylight early.

“Still, he was in no haste to muster up. But, once he did, he hit the line well and was very impressive.”

Aga Khan Studs’ racing manager Nemone Routh praised the French jockey for his astute pre-race judgment and poise in the saddle.

“The horse was absolutely spot-on. Mickael worked him earlier this week and said he’s never been as good this year as he was before this piece of work he did,” said Routh to Sky Sports Racing.

“All the signs were that this was going to be his day. He wasn’t right at the beginning of the year, he actually tested positive to the same thing (infection) that Daryz (2025 Arc winner) did after Ascot.

“It took him a while to get back to the form that he was capable of. He was fancied in the 2000 Guineas and then we got this test back, which is why we didn’t go.

“He’s a lovely horse, he’s very genuine and Mickael rode a perfect race on him as well.

“For once, it went to plan. He was always going to follow Afandy and the horse was very brave. He repelled the attacks and he’s a gorgeous-looking horse and we’re really proud to have him.

“He could go for the Champions Sprint in Ascot, but I think he’s better on good firm ground. That’s another thing we found this year when he disappointed at Chantilly when it was soft that day.

“We led with him that day. He doesn’t like soft ground and he can’t lead with it. If they got it too soft, we wouldn’t go there.

“He’s a Group 1 horse now and is a gorgeous horse by Blue Point. I think he’ll find his way to a stallion box one day.”

Already a Group 2 and 3 winner, Samangan was opening his Group 1 account in his fourth win from nine starts. He ran fourth in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat against his fellow three-year-olds, albeit over 1,400m, at his last outing on July 12.

He delivered another prestigious win for the connections.

The Aga Khan Studs and Francis-Henri Graffard had already been honoured at the Gala des Courses on Aug 8 as France’s leading owner-breeder and trainer respectively for 2025, each award designed as a sculpted Cheval d’Or (Golden Horse).

This year’s Prix Maurice de Gheest also paid special tribute to Louis Romanet, who passed away last March. A major third-generation figure from an iconic racing family in French and international horse racing, Romanet was a former director of France Galop and chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) for many years.

The Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet, held in honour of Romanet’s father Jean, has also been renamed the Prix Jean and Louis Romanet. The 2,000m feature will be run in Deauville on Aug 23. FRANCE GALOP

Additional reporting by Michael Lee