Forest fires force the evacuation of hundreds of horses from training centre

The training centre of La Teste de Buch, south-west of Bordeaux, has been evacuated as 1,700 firefighters from across France continue to battle against forest fires which have ravaged the Gironde region for eight days.

The decision was taken between officials and trainers mid-afternoon on Monday that the flames had encroached sufficiently close to begin moving, with strings dispersed to other centres at Bordeaux, Langon and even Pau two and a half hours to the south.

Multiple Group 1-winning trainer Christophe Ferland was among those to be on the move, and reported minimal disruption in the circumstances, tweeting a video of his horses heading out to exercise at Bordeaux Le Bouscat racecourse on Tuesday morning.

Christophe Ferland: trains nearly 100 horses at La Teste in western FranceCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"In the end we had no choice because the fires were producing toxic fumes," said Ferland. "The entire string has been vanned up to the racecourse at Bordeaux and we were able to work normally this morning."

With around 370 horses based at La Teste the operation required co-operation from a number of unexpected quarters, with Spanish horse transporters driving across the border to help out.

"We've had help from all over," said Ferland, who lies eighth in the trainers' championship. "There is a transport company from San Sebastian which came to our aid and Loic Durain's showjumping yard in Bordeaux, they also pitched in.

"As of this morning there has been no damage to my yard but I have no idea when we'll be allowed to go back."

The training centre at La Teste is based around the racecourse, which is being used as a base for police and firefighters.

Two fires in the region have consumed around 17,000 hectares of forest and other vegetation, with more than 5,000 hectares alone burnt out in the immediate vicinity of La Teste.

On Monday nine planes were active over the area in dropping water, while Marc Vermeulen, the regional director of fire and safety, told the newspaper Le Monde that his officers had witnessed "40-year-old pine trees bursting into flame".

La Teste de Buch racecourse is well known across Europe for hosting the Osarus Brezze-Up and Yearling salesCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

On Tuesday morning the emergency services were racing to complete a 40-metre firebreak along a 5km front in an attempt to halt the advancing flames.

The decision to evacuate was taken when the 50 kilometre per hour winds changed direction on Monday. While the region continues to experience temperatures as high as 40C on Tuesday, the locus of the heatwave is due to move further east as the day progresses.

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