Author: grarick

I’ve been too busy running around France with two-year-olds to catch up here, but things have been going pretty well. Justthewayyouare surprised all of us to win on Saturday in Chateaubriant. He really will be a better three-year-old because he’s a big, gangly colt, and he will certainly want a longer distance than the five-and-a-half furlongs he got on Saturday. But he was good enough for a relatively easy field there and Fabien Lefebvre rode him perfectly and survived a huge leap across the track in the home stretch. The only person who wasn’t pleased with this was the track announcer, who found his name completely too much to handle and so ignored the horse in the call for the whole race. He was forced to stumble through something when we crossed the line first, and came up with “Joostway000,” which was, I guess, close enough for jazz.

On Sunday, we sent Comment Dit (French, sort of, for “how say” – I think they were trying for “how do you say that,” but didn’t quite get it right) to Salon de Province, where she finished a good second (of only four runners, but who’s counting?). We had Twilight Allure and Runaway Sparkle (another unfortunate name that sounds vaguely Shetland pony-ish) in another race there, and they finished third and nowhere.  It was a very strange race; there were eight runners, seven of them running for the first time. The favorite was the experienced one – three runs, three seconds. When they broke out of the gate, the favorite, on the far outside, lost not only her jockey but the entire saddle. I have no idea how this happened – I’ve never seen it before. It’s not like the saddle turned – it just fell to the ground like it was never girthed up. In any case, she went bowling along out front naked except for a bridle, and Sparkle went bowling right after her. The only problem is, when they got to the turn, the loose horse decided to go straight, leaving seven debutants suddenly leaderless. Legs flew everywhere as horses decided whether to listen to their jockeys telling them to turn or listen to their instincts telling them to follow the girl who looked like she new where she was going. The jockeys won, but it wasn’t pretty. Sparkle ran on well to hold third, and Twilight was never really in the game because she was too busy getting her tongue tangled up in the bit, which severely hindered her ability to breath. She’ll have a tongue-tie next time out, so maybe she can concentrate on moving her legs.

Today we sent Rose Fleur to debut in Toulouse, where she finished a very good second. Her jockey lost a stirrup in the home stretch, which slowed her down a bit, but I don’t think we would have won in any case. She debuted well and will come on from this. She is a huge filly and will also be better at three, although it’s clear she can run a bit now.

Tomorrow it’s off to Lyon for Golden Age and Rajasthani Princess tomorrow and Talawa and Hold That Emperor on Thursday. I haven’t been able to be at all the races, because there is just too much traveling involved, and it is strange to watch my horses on TV instead of being there. Luckily, jockeys have cell-phones. I made it to Wissembourg, Angers, St. Cloud, Longchamp and Chateaubriant last week; Toulouse and Salon de Province just weren’t possible. I will to go Lyon, though, and then we have a bit of a breather through the weekend.

 

Hold That Emperor didn’t disappoint us in Angers on Tuesday running a good third and missing second by a half length. The winner was clearly the best on the day and we wouldn’t have beat her, but only a bit of inexperience kept us from nabbing second. He has a bright future. Talawa was a bit lost on her debut run, but she’ll learn from this and better at six furlongs (or longer). Layman’s Terms also got a bit worked up for her debut in Lyon, but she, too, will run better next time out.

Royal Fortune was fifth on her debut today at Longchamp today, handling herself very well against the unbeatable Wesley Ward. The American trainer has come over here with a batch of two-year-olds that he hopes to take on to Royal Ascot, and he as four wins from four runs. The commentators at Equidia asked me what I thought of it all. What can you say? He brings over pumped up monsters that look like they’re at least four, they debut wearing blinkers and tongue ties and we’ll never see them on a racecourse again after this year. The steroids are well-timed so the withdrawal period is respected and they won’t test here.

Tomorrow we debut Delryaz at St. Cloud. Too cheap for the likes of Wesley. Let’s see what happens.

We’ve had three places from four runners over the past three days, so things are going along pretty well here. Sotka debuted a great 2nd in Maisons-Laffitte on Saturday and looks set for bigger things. It was not the toughest race in the world, but she was having her first run and will certainly improve. Comment Dit debuted 3rd in a small race in Wissembourg on Sunday, while Panisette was 6th in the same race. I actually found Panisette the more promising of the two. She is a big filly and will really be better next year, but she is so cool and collected that she should do well. Comment Dit is a very fizzy filly, and will probably win as a two-year-old, but I’m not sure how well her head will hold together.

Strictly Rhythm ran a great race today at St. Cloud – once again, coming up against big hopes from the big stables and no pace. But this time we went out front, where she relaxed and held on really well for fourth, beaten just a length. The Aga Khan nosed us out of third-place honors, but we did finish in front of the favorite from Khalid Abdullah, so I take personal pride in that. Strictly has handled herself admirably against very tough company, and she just keeps getting tougher herself. Maybe she knew her owners couldn’t be here today, so she decided to spring the big one when they are here.

Tomorrow we’re off to Angers with Hold That Emperor and Talawa. Emperor debuted down in Toulouse and fell asleep in the gate. That won’t happen again, and I think he should run well tomorrow despite tough company. He has been showing serious speed at home. Talawa is debuting, so we’re hoping she can nose into a check. Then it’s on to Lyon on Wednesday with the debut of Layman’s Terms. Fabien is riding and Lyon is a long way away, so I think I’ll sit this one out in front of the tele!

Golden Age debuted correctly at Longchamp yesterday, finishing 7th in the claimer. Considering she was the only horse who had never run before, I thought she handled it very well. The race was marred by a fatal accident. It hasn’t rained in weeks here, and I’ve seen more broken legs in the past month here than I’ve seen in five years. Longchamp has been watering, but the 1,000-meter course has been somewhat neglected since there are no major races on it for the moment. They’ve got the main track in good shape because of the Guineas meeting and the pending arrival of Goldikova, but the straight course is separate from the main track. Luckily, our filly came back fine.

Hi Shinko, on the other hand, was disappointing. He was drawn wide, so he got stuck bowling along in fourth or fifth place three wide, with no cover. He ran on a bit but just didn’t have more acceleration and finished back in the pack. He’s run three times at Longchamp now, and all the efforts have been disappointing. I’d love to try elsewhere, but I’m stuck for races. It’s the downhill part of the course that does him in. He’s a heavy horse with massive hindquarters, putting him sort of naturally on his forehand when he gallops. All that momentum going downhill burns him out for the stretch. He hasn’t really run well since Cagnes. I think he found the fibersand easy, and just hasn’t fired on the turf since. He’s a very smart horse with a lot of miles on the clock, so he’s not going to overextend himself if he thinks he’s in over his head. I need to find something much easier for him, and I’m not sure if there is anything soon. If not, we’ll save him for the fibersand.

Tomorrow should be interesting. We have a Dutch Art filly debuting in Maisons-Laffitte. She’s the half-sister to Sole Power, winner of the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York. On Sunday, Comment Dit and Panisette go to Wissembourg for their debut.

Even the best intentions sometimes just can’t bridge that culture chasm between the Latin-influenced French way of doing things and the Anglo-Saxon way of thinking. I had surgery on my hand on Friday morning. Just a local, so not that big of a deal, but still I was feeling pretty woozy for awhile after the procedure. The French are pretty no-nonsense about it all, and they serve you coffee afterward to wake you up enough to get out the door. They tell you to go straight home and take it easy. Not a bad idea, except for that train strike, another French institution. It took me three hours for what should have been a 20 minute trip. By that time, the anesthesia had well and truly worn off, and of course I hadn’t been able to get to a pharmacy to get the prescribed painkillers (and for which I was told “take them right away – don’t wait for it to hurt.” Right.)

I did finally make it home, but needed to spend what was left of the day studying for the breeze-up sales on Saturday – which turned out to be futile, because the prices were ridiculously high. Horses with unbelievable flaws were selling for stupid money. This was all good news for Con, who had a great sale, including an Exceed and Excel colt that sold for 200,000 euros.  But it was an exhausting day that didn’t end until midnight. Then on Sunday it was on to Longchamp for the Guineas races and celebrating for Con’s successful sale. Having him around has really brought up the difference in thinking between the two cultures. I’ve been here long enough to have learned how to put up with how much time it takes to get something done, how much paper is usually involved and how frustrating the overall lack of any notion of customer service can be. I’m almost used to it. He’s not, though, and in explaining how things work – or don’t – here, I realize how much I’ve been putting up with. But if you want to be involved in racing, there is no better place to be. Whenever we get bogged down in paperwork, we keep repeating the mantra: the prize money, the prize money, the prize money. And yes, the great tracks. And the great wine. Champagne. The food.

The racing bit didn’t start out so auspiciously today. We sent Hold That Emperor down to Toulouse with what I thought was a very good chance. I hadn’t anticipated, however, the inefficiency of the gate crew. There were only seven runners. We were loaded about third, and it took at least five minutes, and that’s being conservative, to load the rest of the field. Our colt fell asleep. Fx Bertras, who was up, tried to keep him awake and interested, but to no avail. He completely missed the break when if finally happened and he was nearly 100 meters behind to start – in a 1,100-meter race. He caught up, showing a great turn of foot, but the race was lost. Looking on the bright side, it won’t happen again (plus I’ll ask to load last next time), and the odds will be great next time out.

Next up for us are Hi Shinko and Golden Age at Longchamp on Thursday. Shinko is in a seven-furlong handicap, and it looks like we’ll have a bit of luck and actually fall into the second division instead of the Tierce. Golden Age is debuting in a claimer. There has still been not a drop of rain, but there has been plenty of watering at Longchamp before the Guineas meeting. It’s still not ideal, but Shinko has to go – there aren’t many races for him and he seems in good form.

Those of you following along at home may have noticed there are quite a few more horses declared in training with me than there were about 10 days ago. We’ve added 15 untried two-year-olds from Con Marnane’s Bansha House Stables to the roster. I worked with Con last year when he wanted to race a few of his two-year-olds that didn’t sell in the breeze-up sales. Con is an astute horseman and businessman, and he quickly realized that French prize money adds up quickly. So this year, he has planned a full-on invasion and asked for my help. It didn’t take me long to say yes. The horses arrived last week and they are a very good-looking group. The plan is to race pretty aggressively over the next three months. Some will be sold through claiming races, some will go to upcoming horses-in-training sales and some with higher ambitions will hang around in the hope of collecting black type. Most of them are eligible for French premiums, and most of them are fillies. We’ve had to rent a second yard to handle the overflow; the colts, somehow, ended up in my home yard. At least King Driver will now have some company. Stay tuned – racing for us is about to get a lot more intense.

It’s Kentucky Derby day in the United States. For the past few years, I’ve been contributing a Franco-American (well, American-Franco, really) perspective to The Rail blog at the New York Times, my former employer. Every year, I have the same nostalgic feeling. I grew up glued to the television on Derby Day, watching Jim McKay on ABC’s Wide World of Sports interview trainers, owners and jockeys leading up to the big event. Today, I’m sure I’d probably find the interviews corny and not very enlightening, but back then I was fascinated. I never imagined that one day I’d be a part of the racing world, a half a world away.

But ignorance is bliss, of course, and back then I had no idea of what went into training American race horses – namely needles. Lots of them. And we’re not talking about acupuncture. Everything I know about training horses I learned in France, with some crash courses in England, Hong Kong and Dubai. The more I learned about American racing, the more I was appalled. I have become a voice for eliminating race-day medication in the United States and an advocate of other reforms that might make things better for the American thoroughbred. When Eight Belles came crashing down on two broken ankles after the Derby in 2008, I thought maybe, finally, change might come. After all, we’d already been subjected to the saga of Barbaro. There was a flurry of talk, but no action. But now, finally, it seems action might come. What used to be a closeted minority against the rampant use of drugs has finally become a vocal call for change, and legislators have introduced a bill that would finally close Pandora’s chemical box. The prospect is stirring predictable outrage among the veterinary community, who will see their incomes slashed, and many trainers who might actually have to learn to train rather than medicate. But owners, who might see their monthly bills cut in half and their horses have longer careers, should be popping Champagne. If this passes, I know I will.

Like many anti-medication lobbyists, I have been accused of concentrating on the negatives in the sport. Yes, it’s true that horses snapping legs in front of a worldwide television audience is certainly negative. I’d love to concentrate on the positive. I would love it if Rosie Napravnik would pilot the wonderfully named Pants on Fire to the winner’s circle. I would love to see Master of Hounds be the first European horse to win (even if he is on Lasix – Aidan O’Brien doesn’t have much choice if he wants to compete against all the other drugged horses). I would love to see horses in America getting an average of more than four starts a year. But most of all, I would love to think that when I finally get a horse capable of running in international Group 1 races, I could put the Breeders’ Cup races or the Kentucky Derby on my wish list of races to win. I’ll be rooting for the legislation to pass, so that the United States can join the rest of the world in racing horses, not crowning the most innovative vet.

As if being rained out in Guernsey wasn’t enough, the Guernsey contingent were in for still more frustration with Strictly Rhythm’s race at Longchamp yesterday. I expected her to easily be in the money, and instead we settled for sixth after a horribly run sort-of horse race. Fabien Lefebvre settled our filly just behind the leader, perfectly placed. Then things went wrong. Stephen Pasquier, out front, started backing up the pace and soon they were going no more than a hack canter. We were stuck. Too late to go around (and I really didn’t want her bowling along in front as she did at St. Cloud) and nothing to do bit sit. As soon as they came out of the turn, Pasquier started a full-out sprint. Strictly Rhythm was not made for that sort of race, and while she tried to keep up, she couldn’t do it. We just missed fifth (still dismal but a check anyway) by a nose.

If it’s any consolation, the hot favorite, the Aga Khan’s filly trained by Royer Dupre, finished behind us. And Strictly Rhythm came back wondering what, exactly, happened out there. She was hardly blowing because she really only ran about 800 meters. So we will go to St. Cloud in just over two weeks, still a maiden, to rectify the situation. She is a good filly and will win…soon!

Hi Shinko, meanwhile, confirmed what I suspected after last time: a mile on the turf is just out of his reach. He lead until about 75 meters from the end, but couldn’t hang on. The problem is there aren’t many choices for him. While he did have an entry in the 1,400-meter claimer yesterday, I was worried he might be eliminated and the company was tough, so I thought we’d try the mile one more time. He’ll now go for the 1,400-meter handicap on the 19th, again at Longchamp. I don’t think that track suits him, either, but we have no choice. Really sick of being stuck in these Tierce handicaps, but until I find a claimer, I’m stuck.