# Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère

The Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère, formerly the Grand Critérium, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October.
It is France's oldest and most prestigious event for juvenile horses. It is the country's equal richest race for this age group, along with the Prix Morny. Each has a current purse of €400,000.

## History

The event was established in 1853, and it was originally called the Grand Critérium. It was initially contested over 1,500 metres at Chantilly. It was transferred to Longchamp in 1857, and extended to 1,600 metres in 1864. It was not run in 1870, because of the Franco-Prussian War.
The race was abandoned throughout World War I, with no running from 1914 to 1918. A substitute event called the Critérium des Deux Ans was staged at Maisons-Laffitte in 1918.
The Grand Critérium was cancelled in 1939 and 1940, due to World War II. On the second occasion it was substituted by a race at Auteuil, again titled the Critérium des Deux Ans. It was held at Le Tremblay in 1943 and 1944.
The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Grand Critérium was classed at the highest level, Group 1. For a period it took place in mid-October. It was brought forward to the Saturday of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend in 1989, and returned to its previous schedule in 1995.
France Galop, the governing body of French horse racing, restructured its program of Group 1 juvenile races in 2001. The Grand Critérium was cut to 1,400 metres and moved to the same day as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The latter event is traditionally held on the first Sunday in October. The distance was increased to 1,600 metres again in 2015 and dropped back to 1,400 in 2020 as part of a two-year trial.
The race was given its present title in 2003, in memory of Jean-Luc Lagardère (1928–2003). Lagardère was a successful racehorse owner/breeder and a former president of France Galop.
The Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère was added to the Breeders' Cup Challenge series in 2011. The winner now earns an automatic invitation to compete in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

## Records

Leading jockey (6 wins):
* George Stern – Vinicius (1902), Ob (1903), Val d'Or (1904), Ouadi Halfa (1906), Durban (1920), Clavieres (1923)
* Roger Poincelet – Ambiorix (1948), Cosmos (1951), Tiepoletto (1958), Right Royal (1960), Hula Dancer (1962), Yelapa (1968)
Leading trainer (11 wins):
* Henry Jennings – Miss Cath (1855), Duchess (1856), Isabella (1860), Stradella (1861), Czar (1865), Revigny (1871), Jonquille (1875), Jongleur (1876), Mantille (1877), Basilique (1879), The Condor (1884)
Leading owner (9 wins):
* Susan Magnier - Second Empire (1997), Ciro (1999), Rock of Gibraltar (2001), Hold That Tiger (2002), Oratorio (2004), Horatio Nelson (2005), Holy Roman Empire (2006), Happily (2017), Camille Pissarro (2024)

## Winners since 1969

* ↑ Barathea Guest finished first in 1999, but he was relegated to second place following a stewards' inquiry
* ↑ Gleneagles finished first in 2014, but he was relegated to third place following a stewards' inquiry
* 1 2 The 2016 & 2017 runnings took place at Chantilly while Longchamp was closed for redevelopment.

## Earlier winners

* 1853: Celebrity
* 1854: Allez y Gaiement
* 1855: Miss Cath
* 1856: Duchess
* 1857: Tonnerre des Indes
* 1858: Nuncia
* 1859: Mon Etoile
* 1860: Isabella
* 1861: Stradella
* 1862: Damier
* 1863: Sonchamp
* 1864: Le Bearnais
* 1865: Czar
* 1866: Montgoubert
* 1867: Le Sarrazin
* 1868: Mademoiselle de Fligny
* 1869: Sornette
* 1870: no race
* 1871: Revigny
* 1872: Franc Tireur
* 1873: Fideline
* 1874: Perplexe
* 1875: Jonquille
* 1876: Jongleur
* 1877: Mantille
* 1878: Swift
* 1879: Basilique
* 1880: Perplexite
* 1881: Vigilant
* 1882: Vernet
* 1883: Fra Diavolo
* 1884: The Condor
* 1885: Alger
* 1886: Frapotel
* 1887: Stuart
* 1888: May Pole
* 1889: Cromatella
* 1890: Reverend
* 1891: Rueil
* 1892: Marly
* 1893: Dolma Baghtche
* 1894: Le Sagittaire
* 1895: Hero
* 1896: Roxelane
* 1897: Cazabat
* 1898: Holocauste
* 1899: Ramadan
* 1900: Eryx
* 1901: Le Mandinet
* 1902: Vinicius
* 1903: Ob
* 1904: Val d'Or
* 1905: Prestige
* 1906: Ouadi Halfa
* 1907: Sauge Pourpree
* 1908: Golden Sky
* 1909: Uriel
* 1910: Faucheur
* 1911: Montrose
* 1912: Ecouen
* 1913: Le Grand Pressigny
* 1914–18: no race
* 1919: Odol
* 1920: Durban
* 1921: Kefalin
* 1922: Epinard
* 1923: Clavieres
* 1924: Ptolemy
* 1925: Dorina
* 1926: Flamant
* 1927: Kantar
* 1928: Amorina
* 1929: Godiche
* 1930: Indus
* 1931: La Bourrasque
* 1932: Pantalon
* 1933: Brantôme
* 1934: Pampeiro
* 1935: Mistress Ford
* 1936: Teleferique
* 1937: Gossip
* 1938: Turbulent
* 1939–40: no race
* 1941: Martia / Nosca
* 1942: Caravelle
* 1943: Priam
* 1944: Taiaut
* 1945: Nirgal
* 1946: Clarion
* 1947: Rigolo
* 1948: Ambiorix
* 1949: Tantieme
* 1950: Sicambre
* 1951: Cosmos
* 1952: Dragon Blanc
* 1953: Le Geographe
* 1954: Beau Prince
* 1955: Apollonia
* 1956: Tyrone
* 1957: Bella Paola
* 1958: Tiepoletto
* 1959: Angers
* 1960: Right Royal
* 1961: Abdos
* 1962: Hula Dancer
* 1963: Neptunus
* 1964: Grey Dawn
* 1965: Soleil
* 1966: Silver Cloud
* 1967: Sir Ivor
* 1968: Yelapa
* ↑ The 1879 race was decided by a run-off after a dead-heat between Basilique and Louis d'Or
* ↑ The 1918 substitute event at Maisons-Laffitte was won by Florina
* ↑ The 1940 replacement at Auteuil saw a dead-heat between Longthanh and Plaisir de France
* ↑ The 1941 edition was a dead-heat and has joint winners