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I’m finally getting a chance to catch up with things after an incredibly busy Arc weekend. With runners on Friday and Saturday and a lot of entertaining to do leading up through the race, it’s been exhausting but fun. I met a great group of Americans on Friday at St. Cloud, and one of them came for a stable visit this morning. On Saturday, Hard Way did his bit – oh, yeah, there was some other horse called Goldikova running that day, too. Hers was the only race I got to see besides our own handicap. I suppose there was a lot of shock around her defeat, but the 1,400-meter course at Longchamp is very particular, and there are horses that specialize at that distance and she’s not one of them. She’ll still go to the Breeders’ Cup to run the Mile, and she’ll probably win there. Meanwhile, our group of owners were happy just to participate during Arc weekend and even happier with Hard Way’s good showing. We all went off to the sales after racing, where we saw people with more money than sense paying silly prices for horses in training. Then it was off to dinner at a friend’s house; very hard to get up the next morning after all that, but work the horses we did, and in time to get to the Big Show, too.

We had a great table of 12 in the paddock restaurant. Thankfully, I had planned ahead, because I saw a lot of well-dressed but very sad-looking English visitors gnawing on horrible baguette sandwiches, which was the only fare on offer outside of the restaurants. Like I said in a previous post – eat before you come is the rule for French racing unless you’re going to pay up for a table. Our lunch was great, and decent value on Arc day at 110 euros a person, which included wine and a good-sized flute of Champagne.

I snuck away several times to duck back to the stables to see His Highness (no, not the Aga Khan but Sea the Stars). The lads handling him could not have been nicer, and let us give the colt a scratch or two on the head before and after the race. The horse is the most relaxed thoroughbred I’ve ever seen. He had had an endless stream of visitors all day, and he couldn’t have cared less, obliging his public with a tolerance unseen in most draft horses. “He’s just a horse like any other one at the end of the day,” one of the lads said. “He doesn’t know he’s any more important than any of the others here.” Indeed.

But speaking of His (other) Highness, the Aga Khan had a hell of a weekend, winning just about everything that didn’t involve Sea the Stars. Just about every time you looked up you saw the green and red silks in the winner’s circle. Not that the Aga Khan doesn’t win his fair share of races all year long, but seven races – including five Group 1’s – in two days is unbelievable. But it couldn’t happen to a nicer, glassier guy. The Aga Khan is, of course, part of that circle of owners who are rich beyond what most of us could imagine. Still, he always takes time to talk to the press; on the subject of his breeding program that resulted in the weekend’s success, he said “It’s important to stay humble, and to have the courage to say ‘I don’t know. I will learn.'”

And speaking of those who are rich but still nice, I finally got the chance to meet the legendary Maggie Bryant, an American who is one of the leading owners of steeplechasers in France. The France Galop gate thugs were actually denying her access to the stable area because she didn’t have a runner that day. I was stunned. I got her a bracelet to gain access, and I gave her my card. Who knows?

Meanwhile, back at the yard, Hard Way seems to come back from his race fine. He has a small knock on the inside of his back left leg, but it’s superficial and will heal quickly. He’s still asking for his Guinness. Tyke also seems to have come back pretty well, but now that Sea the Stars has left the country, it has started to rain. And Tyke. like his distant but much, much-faster shirt-tail brother, doesn’t like heavy going, so we may have to wait for the Deauville fibersand series for him. Turfani seems to be on the mend, and the rest of them are coming along. We shake off the glow of the unattainable (for now, anyway) Group races and toil ahead. For us, a Tierce will be as good as a Group 1. We’ve got one of those to win in about 10 days time. Onward.

Hard Way ran third in the handicap yesterday at Longchamp, a pretty solid performance in the 20-horse field. He was stuck fourth on the rail for most of the race, and the pace was crawling, which didn’t suit him very well. But he finished like a bomb, showing he can handle the shorter distance of 2,400 meters. He was taking on much better company this time, and it was very cool to be in the money on Arc weekend. He handled the commotion and the crowd (there actually was one) very well. Now I can relax a bit and go back today to enjoy watching the Big Horses in the Arc. Can’t wait to see Sea the Stars in the flesh!

Cape Tycoon finished back in the field in his handicap at St. Cloud, but didn’t race too badly. He was lying third for most of the one-mile race but he pulled quite a bit as usual, and when a hole opened in the stretch run, he wasn’t able to take advantage of it. After that, he got back on the bridle and was ready to accelerate, but then there was too much traffic to move and Gerald Mosse quickly gave up. We thought he could have hung on for a place, but that thought hadn’t really occurred to Mosse, who realized he wouldn’t win and quit riding. I still think the distance is a little too long, and I would like to keep him at 1,400 meters. And Mosse did say that he would be better on a flatter track, which I would agree with since his somewhat fragile joints don’t take galloping up and down hills all that well. That said, I think we could have done better today. But that’s racing. All win streaks come to an end, and it just means we’ll have to start another one, hopefully tomorrow at Longchamp with Hard Way.

Yesterday in Deauville was one of the most frustrating I’ve had as a trainer. I brought two horses with good chances to win, and neither finished in the money. Turfani got badly jostled in the early stages so couldn’t keep position close enough to the leaders to let her take a place. She finished 7th and closing, running well but too late. That’s the problem in these 20-horse fields, especially on the 2,000-meter course at Deauville. There’s not much space going into the first turn and you can get shoved out. But Hard Way was even more frustrating. He drew post 15, so I didn’t ask for him to be loaded last because I thought it would go quick enough with only four horses to go once he was in. But it wasn’t quick enough, and he started fidgeting and panicking in the gate, so when it opened, he was in the process of sitting down against the back of the stall. By then, the rest of the field was gone. Hard Way jumped out straight into the air, causing Nadege to lose the stirrups in the process. She picked up the pedals just as Hard Way launched himself into the air a second time and then finally galloped on – 12 lengths behind the rest of the field. Nadege kept her head and didn’t press the issue, allowing him to gradually catch up. Then when they turned for home she asked him to go, and he closed to finish 11th – beaten 10 lengths by the winner, which means that if he hadn’t lost the 12 lengths at the start, there’s a good chance he would have won. Paris Turf gave him “best impression” of the race, which I like to call the Miss Congeniality award. You didn’t win, but damn, you gave it a hell of a shot and we all liked you. Both horses came home fine, which is essential, and Hard Way actually managed to ride in the truck to Deauville all by himself like a big boy, even though we had to let him loose in a double-wide stall to do it. So that’s something, anyway. One has to find the positives. Next up: Skid gets let loose on the fibersand in Deauville next Wednesday.

This week’s entries certainly did not go as I had hoped. I wanted to run Hard Way in the 2,400-meter second division of the Tierce in Clarefontaine on Tuesday, but he was eliminated, so I had him in a 2,000-meter handicap in Deauville on Wednesday as a backup – the same race in which I had entered Turfani. Since it will be a split handicap, I had hoped that Turfani would fall into the second half, so we could have a shot at winning two races. But no – when the final deadline passed this morning, we ended up in the same race. On top of it, the weather is turning against us. Beautiful, wonderful summer weather for everything you’d want to do, except race a horse that needs a little cut in the ground. Hard Way isn’t bothered one way or another, and he will race for sure, but Turfani doesn’t handle the heat and really needs it a little soft. Rain is forecast, but not until Thursday. The track crew told me yesterday they were watering, and friends staying there say there has been a humid fog hanging over the track every morning, but I’m not sure it’s enough for Turfani.

On the upside, both horses are in top form. Hard Way has gained a lot of muscle since his last race, and Turfani is squealing and jumping out of her skin. I still may scratch her at the last minute if it really looks too firm, but at the moment I would really like to take advantage of her good form. It’s a shame I can’t get a crack at two different races, so I guess we’ll have to settle for a dead heat.

Pixie had a pretty bad run yesterday, finishing back in the field in her handicap. I switched jockeys to an apprentice to get the weight allowance, but it turned out to be a bad idea. My instructions were to find cover behind the leaders and make sure you ride to the finish. Instead, he left her three wide for the entire trip with no cover at all, so she really over-extended herself before the home stretch. On top of it, he snatched her up about 150 meters from the post, then dropped his hands and cantered out.

Pixie hasn’t run with much spark this year in any case, which has been frustrating. We may give the same course and distance another try, with a jockey change again, at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Hard Way was eliminated from his handicap on Tuesday so will run Wednesday in Deauville instead. He will go 2,000 meters rather than 2,400. I prefer the longer distance, but the Wednesday race is still good for him. Turfani is entered in the same race, but since it’s a split handicap, it looks like she will fall into the second division, which I prefer. She does need cut in the ground, though, so we won’t take her unless it rains a bit before Wednesday. Both horses seem to be in top form, so I hope they can both race.

Pixie’s Blue runs tomorrow at Clairefontaine, an 1,800-meter handicap with a new jockey, Erwan Bureller, up so that we can get the apprentice weight allowance. He claims a kilo and a half, which is important because otherwise we would have been top weight of 60 kilos in this race. Pixie has been working well, but I’m not really sure where we are with her – she ran pretty lackluster last time out and is hard to peg at home. The finishing post tomorrow will answer the question.

Hard Way and Turfani are on deck for next week, and both are doing well. Klutzy Tyke had his first canter back this morning, and worked well despite having knocked his leg and loosened a shoe the day before yesterday in his box. This horse is starting to make me afraid to open the stall door for fear of what I might find – and always with his same big dopey head saying “What? Don’t look at me. I don’t know what happened.” At least he’s pretty zen about it all.

I just got word last night that Pip Payne, a longtime friend of mine – and many, many others in the racing world – was found dead, apparently a suicide. Pip was one of the most optimistic, helpful and supportive people on the planet, and I can’t believe he’s not around any more. Not only was he indispensible for all of my horse-buying trips to Newmarket, but he was always available for a quick call for advice on any horsey subject. Of all the people I know, I can’t think of one least likcly to take his life. When I made the decision to switch careers and take up training full time, Pip was one of the few who said he had no doubt I could be a success. I bought one of my first horses from him when he was still training, and we kept in touch ever since. I just saw him four weeks ago at the July sales, when we had drinks with him, his wife and one of his three sons.  I stood next to him in the sales ring as I bid on Derringbay, a three-year-old gelding who, thanks to Pip, I paid way too much money for! We were laughing about it later, and now he won’t be around to see who gets the last laugh when – and if – this horse ever makes it back to the track.

I can’t imagine a trip back to Newmarket without seeing Pip, who was always ready with a joke, a beer and did things like have me paged over the public-address sytem at Tattersalls just to improve my name recognition. The town, and racing, will not ever be quite the same. I can’t imagine what personal demons he was fighting that pushed him to do this, but I hope he is now at peace.

Skid Solo finished 9th of 16 runners in the Tierce handicap at Clairefontaine today, but was only five lengths behind the winner. If he had been a length closer up, we would have gotten some very good place money, but that’s racing. He was closing well until about a furlong out but then couldn’t find more, so I think he was a little surprised by the added distance. He had been running 1,200-meter straight sprints, and this was his first shot at 1,400 meters with a turn. The turn didn’t seem to bother him, but the extra distance on Clairefontaine’s slight downhill stretch got the better of him. Nadege rode him well and he was the most relaxed he’s been so far before the start, going down calmly and not lathering up behind the gates like he usually does. He recovered quickly after the race and came back home in good spirits, so I’m hoping he can run a 1,300-meter race on the fibersand at Deauville before the end of the month.

Next up is Pixie’s Blue on Friday, in an 1,800-meter handicap, also on the grass at Clairefontaine. She will carry the top weight of 60 kilos, so I’m going to try to put an apprentice up this time because I really need the weight allowance. In any case, Nadege has Hard Way and Turfani to look forward to next week; they have entries next Tuesday and Wednesday and both are doing very well.

Cape Tycoon, meanwhile, is working toward his comeback, which I hope will be in the annual Trainers’ Race at the end of August. I will ride him myself, which should be…interesting to say the least, and certainly entertaining for the numerous people who say they’re marking their calendars just for the spectacle. Tyke is in a race against time to be ready; he’s the most accident-prone horse I’ve ever trained, and this week stumbled in the street and skinned both knees pretty well. This after he was just coming back from his battle against the starting gate at St. Cloud, which has already cost us two months with a banged-up back leg. This is the same horse that also gashed his head open on god knows what in his box one day.  But he’s a great guy, and if he can manage to keep his four legs underneath him in Deauville, we could have some fun in the trainers’ race. Oh, and win 10,000 euros, too. A suivre…

Turfani was eliminated from her handicap Wednesday, which is a shame because she’s really ready for a run. She was 16th on the list, which would have just given her the last spot in the 2,400-meter race on the fibersand in Deauville, but there were 27 start declared and two had priority because they had been eliminated in previous races. So we wait. The next best chance for her is Aug. 19 in Deauville, this time on the turf, so it has to rain.

Skid, meanwhile, is entered for the bit Tierce handicap on Monday at Clairefontaine, Deauville’s second track. He seems very ready to run, and this would be a good time for him to step up and do well. Nadege will ride, which is a bit of a risk because it’s her first try at the big handicap, but I know she is very motivated to do well and will keep her head together. I am getting quite a bit of pressure to change to one of the big-race jockeys, but I think she deserves her shot, and I’m going to give it to her. Doing well here would help her career a lot, she knows the horse well and she wants to win. Skid will go without the earplugs this time and is stepping up to 1,400 meters in distance, but I think he can stay that and I think the turn might help him.

Pixie has a race the following Friday, also at Clairefonetaine, in an 1,800-meter handicap. She has been lowered to a sensible 29 rating, so she should be in more suitable company now.