Prix du Gros Chêne Prix du Gros Chêne The Prix du Gros Chêne is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,000 metres (about 5 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May or early June. The event was established in 1857, and it was originally contested over 800 metres. Its title refers to a large oak tree which stood in the grounds of the racecourse – the English translation of "Gros Chêne" is "Great Oak". The race was abandoned because
Prix Daru Viscount Paul Daru, who served as president of the Société d'Encouragement, in 1877. The Prix Daru was one of several trials for the Prix du Jockey Club collectively known as the Poules des Produits. The others (listed by their modern titles) were the Prix Lupin, the Prix Hocquart, the Prix Noailles and the Prix Greffulhe. From 1885, the Prix Daru was restricted to horses whose dams were born outside France. The event was funded by entries submitted before a horse's birth, in the year of its conception. The race merged with the Prix Noailles during the 1940s. The combined event,