LAST Saturday at Deauville the meeting was dedicated to Au-Dela des Pistes which is an organisation formed to retrain horses after they have retired from the track. Retrained Racehorse Day attracted a large crowd to pay homage to past champions who captured the heart of racing enthusiasts.

Cirrus Des Aigles is one of the great favourites and he was joined for the first time by Solow who was a five-time Group 1 winner in three different countries. Freddy Head was present to see his old grey champion parade together with his travelling head lad, Regis Barbedette. Solow is now enjoying the lush Normandy pastures at the Wertheimer brothers’ stud, the Haras de Saint Leonard.

Cirrus Des Aigles continues to be the star of ADDP. His faithful lad Zoe Gargoulaud was on board as the 11-year-old as danced round the paddock no doubt hoping to be saddled for another big race. He is still based with Corine Barande-Barbe at Chantilly.

GOLDOLPHIN

The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris winner Remember Rose was also present, as were the former Godolphin horses African Story, Prince Bishop and Papineau. The public were able to visit the stables and have photos taken with their stars who were from time to time fed a carrot or two.

ADDP has Aliette Forien as president and she is well supported by Diana Cooper, Lisa-Jane Graffard, Nemone Routh and Marine Thevenet who runs the organisation. Horse can be retrained for polo, dressage, show jumping, equine handball and several other activities.

POPULAR FIGURE

Deauville is not just about food, drink, racing and yearling sales.

It also has a more serious side as has been shown over the past nine days. At Clairefontaine on August 24th the Grand Prix was prefixed by the name of Emmanuel Tassin who died on the eve of the Prix de Diane Longines at the tender age of 53.

One of the most enthusiastic and popular figures to grace sport in France, Tassin was a France Galop Steward and carried out the same role at Clairefontaine. He was vice President at Lyon and the co-owner of Siljan’s Saga. She won the 2015 Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville and, last October, was fourth to the Ballydoyle trio of Found, Highland Reel and Order of St George in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.