In a perfect world, I'd be in Deauville

Once upon a time, before I lost all my money backing losers in The Shergar Cup, The Hon. and I would leave Goodwood with aspirations of bulging pockets or, at the very least, sympathetic credit cards and head over to Deauville. We would leave after the last on Saturday and then catch the night ferry from Pompey to Le Havre. The summer’s morning would see us across the magnificent Pont Normandie and then on to breakfast in Honfleur. From there, slowly down the coast, arriving in time for lunch and hotel unpacking. We would sometimes stay with the Makins and Carringtons outside Trouville in the Amirauté Hôtel, which suited us because it was convenient and comfortable, and the Team’s hotel de choix. Later, we would stay in what is now Sowells - a horrible conversion of an 1890s block with an interior in which one can only suppose the set designers for The Shining had taken inspiration.

In 2007, the aspiration came good, and we had a truly brilliant week, capped off by young Jack Mitchell winning the lucky last, traditionally an Apprentice handicap. I had backed him with bookies’ money, sometimes called winnings, but braver than normal! The horse was Ace of Hearts, which won at 7/1 under a very well-judged ride by young Jack. I also fancied Amanda Perrett’s runner in the race, so I stuck the pair in with Richard Fahey’s favourite in boxed Exactas and a Trifecta. The Exacta paid 69-1 and the Trifecta 225-1, which ensured that that week we did not stay at The House of Horror after the first night but moved out to The Royal next door to Le Villa Le Cercle.

The Villa is the most delightful private club, and on one occasion, I was lucky enough to be invited to play in the annual club Croquet tournament on the lawn of this prestigious building, which is probably no bigger than 20m x 10m. “How,” I asked my host, “is this a croquet lawn?” The Club’s President looked up from his tricky shot and said, “The chairman of The Hurlingham Club came for lunch here once, and we had several glasses of some excellent Calvados from the 1950s, after which he said that, in his opinion, this was the ideal venue to play croquet in Deauville and declared the lawn an acceptable size. And who am I to argue with the head of world croquet?”

Much like the Jockey Club or Turf Club, Le Cercle de Deauville is about racing, and their Villa is similar in concept to The Jockey Club Rooms—but French. If you think about it, why would you want to be in Paris in August when you could be beside the sea, having fresh fish, watching some horseracing, and popping into the casino for a flutter?

Le Cercle was founded in 1873, and the founding Committee might give you some idea of how well the Bourbon aristocratic restoration had succeeded, with a Viscount, four Counts, a Marquis and a Baron, and several other panjandrums of Paris society and other jolly sorts. Being run by sporting chaps, the Club promoted things like golf and polo and…. pigeon shooting. Local Golf and Polo tournaments all suddenly seemed to flourish which pleased everyone immensely. Initially, the members would meet at the Casino de Deauville, but in 1876, the group acquired the land and the building designed by Desle François Breney and the contractor Reugnet, which became the Villa Le Cercle de Deauville. It is an exceptional residence and rightly listed in the Deauville Architecture and Heritage Development Area. Designed by Desle-François Breney, its Napoleonic-style design was inspired by the Hôtel de Salm, the Palace of the Legion of Honor. It was originally on much bigger grounds - but some Germans messed up much of it between 1939 and 1945.

The first president of Le Cercle was Viscount Paul Daru who died in 1877 and was succeeded by the following presidents: Count Hocquart du Turtot (from 1878 to 1885), the Duke of Castrie (in 1886), Count Florian de Uergolay (from 1887 to 1910) and Count Jacques Le Marois (1865–1920), a president of the venue's former governing body, the Société des Courses de Deauville. The Prix Jacques Le Marois was established in 1921 and is named after him.

So now you know how I came to be lying on the lawn of Le Cercle after a very good lunch and trying to play a snooker shot on a croquet ball to beat the president of Le Cercle in 2007. This segues nicely into the fact that this Sunday is the race!