The Christophe Clement Stakes will carry more than prize money and prestige when it is staged for the first time this Saturday, serving as a deeply personal tribute to one of turf racing’s most respected figures. For Miguel Clement, the newly named race is not just another entry on the calendar, but a reflection of a lifetime spent alongside his father, Christophe, whose achievements shaped generations of horsemen and horsewomen.
Miguel Clement measures his own growth not by childhood milestones, but by the photographs that line the walls of his New York barn office. In many of them, he stands beside his father in winner’s circle moments that span decades, quietly charting the passage of time through triumph after triumph.
“If you look at the pictures, a lot of the win pictures that we have in my office in New York, we have them with me as a little child,” Clement said. “You can see every few years me getting older and older.”
Several of those images were taken after victories in the La Prevoyante, a long-established South Florida turf contest for fillies and mares. First run at Calder Race Course and later absorbed into the Gulfstream Park stakes program, the race became synonymous with Christophe Clement’s excellence. He won it six times, more than any other trainer, turning it into one of his signature achievements.
That history explains why the race will now be known as the Christophe Clement Stakes, a permanent recognition of a trainer who died in May and left an indelible mark on the sport. The Clement family will present the trophy when the race is run on the Pegasus World Cup card, ensuring that the moment remains firmly rooted in family as well as tradition.
“It will be a bit tough for the family, but we’re appreciative of it,” said Miguel, who has taken over the stable following his father’s passing. “It’s great that they named a race after him. I’m very appreciative to 1st Racing and Gulfstream for doing so.”
Christophe Clement’s connection with the race dates back more than three decades. Miguel was still in diapers when his father captured his first edition in 1992 with Sardaniya. Further victories followed in 1994, 1998, 1999, 2014 and 2022, each reinforcing the race’s place in the Clement story.
“Without a doubt, he loved that race,” Miguel said. “It’s only fitting they named the La Prevoyante after him. It’s one of the races he really enjoyed.”
Christophe Clement Stakes Begins a New Chapter
Despite the significance of the occasion, Miguel Clement will not have a runner in the inaugural Christophe Clement Stakes, a Grade 3 contest worth $175,000 over 1½ miles. Several horses in his care might have been suitable, but their long-term plans took precedence.
“It’s a shame we didn’t have a runner this year,” he said. “But I didn’t want to change the horses’ programs or the itineraries we lined out for them, just to have a runner in the race.”
While absent from that particular contest, Clement’s stable will still be represented elsewhere on the card. Breath Away is set to contest the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational (G2), while Summer Cause will line up in the $225,000 William L. McKnight Stakes (G3). Both races are staged over 1½ miles, with the McKnight long regarded as the open-division companion event to the former La Prevoyante.
Christophe Clement himself won the McKnight in 1995 with Flag Down when it was still run at Calder, adding another layer of history to Saturday’s program.
Breath Away, who will be partnered by British champion rider Oisin Murphy, arrives off a strong campaign highlighted by victory in the Dance Smartly Stakes (G2) at Woodbine in October.
“She’s been in terrific form lately,” Clement said. “She has a proven good track record at Gulfstream and so we are cautiously optimistic.”
Summer Cause, to be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, comes into the McKnight after a December win in the two-mile H. Allen Jerkens Handicap at Gulfstream. The six-year-old gelding shortens in trip this time, a move Clement acknowledges carries an element of uncertainty.
“He wants to go a distance,” Clement said. “It’s a touch dubious if he is quite the caliber to be as effective going a mile and a half. Nevertheless, there’s only one way to find out, by running him. Obviously, he’s done well at Gulfstream, he’s in good form, so let’s just try to strike while the iron’s hot.”
Win or lose on the day, the lasting image will be of a race reborn in honor of a trainer whose influence extended far beyond the results sheet. The Christophe Clement Stakes now stands as a reminder that some legacies are measured not just in victories, but in the people and traditions they leave behind.
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