Situated in the South of France, Toulouse is a dual purpose, right-handed track where the floodlights allow for night racing on the turf. Most cards are mixed and with a wide home straight, there is not a specific preference in terms of the running style. On soft or heavy going, it can favour horses who are ridden towards the stands side rail in search of better ground, but it is important to recognize that not every jockey follows that method.
The Chase track is situated on the inside of the oval track. This is a much stiffer jumping test than it may appear, with the large water jump in front of the stands and the ditch 4 out both presenting a formidable challenge. The tight bends mean that it will favour front runners, especially as the run-in joins the main track with less than 2-furlongs to the line.
The hurdles are moveable and so are overlayed on the main turf track and as such this is a much fairer course than the Steeple chasing. There is always good prize money on offer, so it is not unusual to see one of the bigger National Hunt yards send a young horse to Toulouse to gain some valuable experience before they compete at the more well-known jumps tracks.
The feature races of the season are run on the Flat and with long sweeping bends and wide straights, this is one of the fairer tracks in France. There is no specific draw bias to be aware of and as the middle-distance races begin in the home straight, there is plenty of time for a jockey to get their mount into the right position before the first bend. The track also plays host to Group races for the Arabian breds, including the G1 Breeders Challenge Classic.
Feature Races: Derby de Languedoc, Prix Fille De Lair
Leading Trainers (NH): G Macaire & H De Lageneste (28%), Francois Nicolle (26%)
Leading Trainers (F): Jean-Claude Rouget (26%), Didier Guillemin (18%)
Leading Jockeys: Ioritz Mendizabal (18%), JB Eyquem (17%), Julien Auge (17%)
Betting Pointers: Winning Favs (30.6%), Placed Favs (63.6%), Leading Owner – Daniel-Yves Treves (41%), Most profitable trainer – Christophe Ferland (LSP +£30.90), Most profitable jockey – Eddy Hardouin (LSP +£39.20)