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in April before taking the iconic Tenno Sho( Spring), the Emperor’ s Cup at Kyoto. Run over 3,200 metres, Japan’ s longest Group 1 has been won by champions such as Deep Impact( 2006), while Meisho Samson became in 2007 the last Derby hero to win the Tenno Sho the following season. Croix du Nord ended a 19-year wait for a new Derby – Tenno Sho double, stretching his stamina to the limit to hold on by the narrowest of margins after a photo finish from outsider Wurttemburg. Both the favourite winner and his 206 / 1 runner-up are sons of the elegant and powerful Kitasan Black, himself a dual Tenno Sho winner in 2016 and 2017. Croix du Nord is expected to remain in Japan in 2026 and his next start will be the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin on June 14, a race whose runners are selected through public voting. Croix du Nord has already received more than 260,000 votes from his supporters, while a bonus of € 1.6 million(¥ 300 million) awaits should he complete the Osaka Hai – Tenno Sho – Takarazuka Kinen treble, adding another chapter to his legend. Christophe Lemaire now has 100 pages in his book of honours. The French jockey, a superstar in Japan, recorded his 100 th victory at the highest international level on May 10. He prevailed in the Victoria Mile at Tokyo aboard the brilliant Embroidery, who races in the colours of other great Japanese champions who have marked the expatriate rider’ s career, Almond Eye and Equinox. Omedetou gozaimasu!( Congratulations)
MEE- TING
TO ENJOY LIFE ABOVE ALL
BY EMMANUEL RIVRON
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For the past eight years, Gabriel Leenders’ smile has been lighting up the Top 10 jump trainers. Based in Jarzé, this talented man in his thirties can rely on a strong team, just as he can count on his wife Anne Hélène, who is undoubtedly the best person to tell us about the conductor of the famous“ brigade of enjoyment.”
GALORAMA. How did Gabriel experience the recent Grand Steeple weekend?
Anne-Hélène Leenders. He was very stressed internally but very relaxed externally. That’ s Gabriel all over: he keeps a lot inside and never shows it. He always has a smile on his face, but behind it there are a few sleepless nights. Usually, he falls asleep, then wakes up in the middle of the night to think, before getting up around 5:00 – 5:30 a. m. He constantly questions himself. Recently, when he was going through a diffi- cult period, he seemed very calm. But as soon as he gets back into the game, he stops sleeping because he wants to keep the momentum going and avoid slipping back down. He puts pressure on himself to stay at the top level..
G. His sleepless nights apparently paid off since Gold Tweet finished third in the Grand Steeple. Is Gold Tweet a special horse?
A. H. L. Gold Tweet will always remain a horse that marked his professional life— and mine as well. Since we bought him, he has taken us through every emotion imaginable. Grégory Vayre spotted him at the age of two at the Osarus sales in La Teste. He called Gabriel and said he really liked this small colt with a nice little head. Gabriel followed him in this gut feeling, which led to the purchase for € 14,000. Ruben Séror, one of Gabriel’ s wedding witnesses, came to ride during the holidays and really liked the colt as well, which led to the partnership on the horse. After a contest on Twitter to name him, this truly lovable horse has gone on to enjoy a remarkable career. He notably gave us some great adventures in England. He travels extremely well and, surprisingly, even came back from the Gold Cup one kilo overweight despite such a demanding race.
G. The icing on the cake is that Gold Tweet gets along wonderfully with Clément Lefevre, who shares a
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