3 days ago
Rouget taking aim at seventh Jockey Club
PARIS After first forfeit, French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget could saddle two runners in the €1.5 million (S$2.2 million) Group 1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (2,100m) at Chantilly on June 1.
He is simply the most successful active trainer in the great French spring championship for three-year-old colts and fillies.
Having won the Prix du Jockey Club, also referred to as the French Derby, six times, he may now better his own record thanks to a two-pronged attack.
The first time came in 2009 with the remarkable Le Havre, who coincidentally, will be represented in 2025 by his son Leffard, trained by Rouget as well and raced by the same co-owner, Gerard Augustin-Normand.
It would not be unprecedented if the son were to follow in his father's footsteps.
Of late, last year's Jockey Club winner Look De Vega - trained by Carlos and Yann Lerner, respectively father and brother of ex-Kranji jockey Marc Lerner - emulated the deed of his sire, 2010 winner Lope De Vega, himself a son of Shamardal, winner in 2005.
In 2011, Reliable Man stepped into the shoes of his sire Dalakhani, who in 2003 had himself replicated the feat of his sire Darshaan (1984).
Such generational success at the highest level perfectly illustrates the primary aim of horse racing: To select the best individuals to improve and perpetuate the thoroughbred breed.
Based in Pau in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, Rouget rose to prominence in French racing from the late 2000s, becoming the first regionally-based trainer (at the time with two establishments, one in Deauville and one in Pau) to win the greatest French races.
He boasts the four classics - the Prix du Jockey Club, Prix de Diane, Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches - on his resume, as well as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe earned in 2020 with Sottsass and in 2023 with Ace Impact, both of whom had previously won the Jockey Club.
However, Rouget has battled illness in recent months and has refocused his operations in Pau, his historical base, with success.
Rouget said he was happy with his two likely bidders Tipinso and Leffard to extend his record to seven.
"Leffard and Tipinso worked together this morning (May 26)," he said.
"Their gallop gave me complete satisfaction and, if nothing goes wrong between now and then, both horses will be at the start of the Prix du Jockey Club on Sunday."
Tipinso, who is part-owned by Augustin-Normand, was a late scratching from the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (1,600m) at ParisLongchamp on May 11. The son of Pinatubo previously chased home Instant Fragile in a Listed mile race at Toulouse on April 20.
As for Leffard, he discovered Chantilly in the Listed Prix de Suresnes (2,000m), on May 2, beaten a short head by the winner Ntoi.
"That day, we simply wanted to see whether he was suited to the track and whether he was able to compete with that level of opposition, and he answered both questions with a yes," said Rouget.
"Moreover, we especially didn't want him to have a tough race. That's why his jockey Jean-Bernard Eyquem didn't ask him for more than a solid effort.
"He might have been able to win, but that wasn't the goal."
With Leffard, Rouget was also driven by the many omens around his rich record in the iconic 189-year-old race.
"On the evening of the Suresnes, I felt reassured on the points I've just mentioned, and I was also happy, because Leffard's story is a bit special," said Rouget.
"When I bought him, I immediately thought of a partnership between Gerard Augustin-Normand and Antonio Caro, for whom I won the Prix du Jockey Club in 2016 with Almanzor."
Rouget's other two Prix du Jockey Club winners are Brametot in 2017 and Vadeni in 2022.
"Furthermore, he is a son of Le Havre, who also won the Jockey Club in 2009 for Gerard Augustin-Normand - and Leffard looks just like his father," he added.
"Everything is going well so far. Hope it continues on Sunday." FRANCE GALOP
