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Prix de Diane

The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (approximately 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at Chantilly Racecourse, and it takes place annually, presently on the second Sunday in June.

Named after the mythological goddess Diana (French name Diane), the race was first run on May 18 1843. It was created as the French equivalent of the Oaks Stakes, which had been run since 1779 at Epsom in England. The distance was set 300 metres shorter than that of the English race and it has remained at this length for most of its history. As with the Prix du Jockey Club (the French Derby) the race was originally restricted to horses born and bred in France, before opening to foreign participants in 1946.

The first running to take place away from Chantilly was in the year of the 1848 French Revolution, when the race was switched to Versailles. It was not run in 1871 due to the Franco-Prussian War, nor from 1915 to 1918 during World War I. It then resumed in 1919 with the first of two post-war runnings at Longchamp before returning to Chantilly in 1921.

The race was again held at Longchamp in 1936 and also for two spells during and after World War II (1941–42, 1945–47). The 1940 running was cancelled and the other wartime races in 1943 and 1944 were run at Tremblay over 2,150 metres. The only subsequent disruption was in 1975 when the race was called off due to a strike by stable lads. The favourite to win that year had been Ivanjica.

Two winners of the Prix de Diane have also won the English Oaks – Fille de l'Air in 1864 and Pawneese in 1976. However, as the two races often take place in close succession it is not always possible for horses to compete in both events. The 1973 winner, Allez France, is the most recent of four Prix de Diane winners to subsequently win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, which was established in 1920.

The first foreign trained horse to win the Prix de Diane was Sweet Mimosa in 1970, trained in Ireland by Seamus McGrath. The runner-up that year, Highest Hopes, was also based overseas, trained in England by Dick Hern. Four years later Hern won the race with Highclere, owned by Queen Elizabeth II.

From 1977 to 1982 the race was sponsored by Revlon. The present sponsor, Hermès, has supported the race since 1983.

Records

Leading jockey (5 wins):

Spreoty – Serenade (1848), Hervine (1851), Dame d'Honneur (1858), Mademoiselle de Chantilly (1857), Etoile du Nord (1858)
Charles Pratt – Geologie (1859), Finlande (1861), Stradella (1862), Fille de l'Air (1864), Sornette (1870)
Yves Saint-Martin – La Sega (1962), Rescousse (1972), Allez France (1973), Pawneese (1976), Madelia (1977)
Gérald Mossé – Resless Kara (1988), Shemaka (1993), Vereva (1997), Zainta (1998), Daryaba (1999)

Leading trainer (9 wins):

Henry Jennings – Nativa (1843), Lanterne (1844), Dorade (1846), Serenade (1848), Fleur de Marie (1850), Geologie (1859), Surprise (1860), Destinee (1874), Tyrolienne (1875)

Leading owner (6 wins):

Auguste Lupin – Suavita (1845), Jouvence (1853), Deliane (1865), Jeune Premiere (1867), La Jonchere (1877), Presta (1886)

Winners since 1970

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1970	Sweet Mimosa	Bill Williamson	Seamus McGrath	Seamus McGrath	2:11.0
1971	Pistol Packer	Freddy Head	Alec Head	Ghislaine Head	2:12.2
1972	Rescousse	Yves Saint-Martin	Geoffroy Watson	Baron de Rédé	2:10.3
1973	Allez France	Yves Saint-Martin	Albert Klimscha	Daniel Wildenstein	2:07.5
1974	Highclere	Joe Mercer	Dick Hern	Queen Elizabeth II	2:07.7
1975	no race 1975
1976	Pawneese	Yves Saint-Martin	Angel Penna, Sr.	Daniel Wildenstein	2:09.0
1977	Madelia	Yves Saint-Martin	Angel Penna, Sr.	Daniel Wildenstein	2:10.3
1978	Reine de Saba	Freddy Head	Alec Head	Jacques Wertheimer	2:09.4
1979	Dunette	Georges Doleuze	E. Chevalier du Fau	Mrs Harry Love	2:08.6
1980	Mrs Penny	Lester Piggott	Ian Balding	Eric Kronfeld	2:10.1
1981	Madam Gay	Lester Piggott	Paul Kelleway	Geoffrey Kaye	2:06.5
1982	Harbour	Freddy Head	Criquette Head	Ecurie Aland	2:16.8
1983	Escaline	Gary W. Moore	John Fellows	Mrs John Fellows	2:07.8
1984	Northern Trick	Cash Asmussen	François Boutin	Stavros Niarchos	2:11.6
1985	Lypharita	Lester Piggott	André Fabre	Luay Tewfik Al Swaidi	2:05.9
1986	Lacovia	Freddy Head	François Boutin	Gerry Oldham	2:07.0
1987	Indian Skimmer	Steve Cauthen	Henry Cecil	Sheikh Mohammed	2:11.4
1988	Resless Kara	Gérald Mossé	François Boutin	Jean-Luc Lagardère	2:07.5
1989	Lady in Silver	Tony Cruz	Roger Wojtowiez	Mahmoud Abdul Karim	2:10.6
1990	Rafha	Willie Carson	Henry Cecil	Prince A. A. Faisal	2:11.7
1991	Caerlina	Eric Legrix	Jean de Roualle	Kaichi Nitta	2:10.5
1992	Jolypha	Pat Eddery	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	2:09.5
1993	Shemaka	Gérald Mossé	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:16.0
1994	East of the Moon	Cash Asmussen	François Boutin	Stavros Niarchos	2:07.9
1995	Carling	Thierry Thulliez	Corine Barbe	Ecurie Delbart	2:07.7
1996	Sil Sila	Cash Asmussen	Bryan Smart	Luis Alvarez Cervera	2:07.3
1997	Vereva	Gérald Mossé	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:08.2
1998	Zainta	Gérald Mossé	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:11.2
1999	Daryaba	Gérald Mossé	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:16.1
2000	Egyptband	Olivier Doleuze	Criquette Head	Wertheimer et Frère	2:08.5
2001	Aquarelliste	Dominique Boeuf	Elie Lellouche	Daniel Wildenstein	2:09.5
2002	Bright Sky	Dominique Boeuf	Elie Lellouche	Ecurie Wildenstein	2:07.6
2003	Nebraska Tornado	Richard Hughes	André Fabre	Khalid Abdullah	2:08.1
2004	Latice	Christophe Soumillon	Jean-Marie Béguigné	Enrico Ciampi	2:07.0
2005	Divine Proportions	Christophe Lemaire	Pascal Bary	Niarchos Family	2:06.3
2006	Confidential Lady	Seb Sanders	Sir Mark Prescott	Cheveley Park Stud	2:05.9
2007	West Wind	Frankie Dettori	Henri-Alex Pantall	Sheikh Mohammed	2:06.3
2008	Zarkava	Christophe Soumillon	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:07.1