ENGLISH TEXTS
played in the Final Four of the French Junior Cup and was exceptionally promoted twice in order to play with the seniors. I later stopped basketball to settle in Charente-Maritime with several professional activities. I started working in real estate, I sold office supplies, then I opened a restaurant with my ex-husband in Mornac-sur-Seudre, during which time I met François. Afterwards, I had a lingerie shop in Royan. Running a shop requires daily presence and in order to be able to go racing with François, I sold my business in 2012.
G. Did you not fear at the time the extremely time-consuming nature of the job of a racehorse trainer?
F. N. At the beginning, you don’ t really know that, to be honest( laughs)! I didn’ t know this world at all but you are quickly thrown in at the deep end. It’ s quite exciting at first, especially when you love competition like I do. There are many similarities with top-level sport and it immediately fascinated me. With competitions following one after another, it’ s not monotonous, but there’ s a lot to learn. I remember going to the great AQPS gathering at Cercy where everyone spoke only about horses. At a dinner with at least forty guests, I told myself I would surely find at least one person who wouldn’ t talk about horses. Missed! At that moment, there are two options: either you try to listen and absorb, or you are doomed never to enter that world. I chose the first option because I was very interested. It was demanding, but I absorbed a lot. Since 2012, I have been working at the yard on invoicing, accounting, HR aspects …
G. A competitor at heart, did you try to instil that mindset in François?
F. N. François has had that competitive spirit from the start. He struggled a lot to get where he is, but he doesn’ t dwell on the past. At the same time, he hasn’ t forgotten and knows you can fall very, very low overnight. Despite his very good nature, when he sees things in black, it’ s very, very black! Conversely, I tend to be optimistic. I am there to support him and that can be a daily job when things are not going well.
G. François had to wait until he was 53 to win his first Group race and until last spring to finally capture a Grand Steeple. How did he cope with that wait?
F. N. François has always won races, but he did indeed take his time to win his first Group, which he achieved with Quart Monde. The arrival of Jacques Detré and some of Jean-Claude Rouget’ s clients helped a lot. At one point, the yard was full of Group horses. It was impressive. That was the trigger for him. Not winning the Grand Steeple did not stop him from sleeping, but it was still tiring to always have journalists ask that same question about the big race. He was runner-up twice and saw Bipolaire fall at the first hurdle in one edition, while he was the favourite. Getting his name on the roll of honour of this Group 1 was no easy task. Quite humble, François experienced it as a reward for his whole team, for everyone working at home. It was a real relief to win it, the feeling of duty accomplished and the culmination of a career.
G. With this Grand Steeple victory and success in Auteuil’ s major races, is he thinking about possible retirement?
F. N. Absolutely not. François is like Dalida, he will die on stage( laughs). For these passionate trainers, it’ s very complicated to stop, to no longer have lists of horses to sort out, to not get up in the morning to see them work. François wasn’ t born with privileges and has worked very hard to get here. He has this love of the horse and work anchored in his body. He cannot live without it. Even if from time to time, he’ s had enough, he remains passionate about what he does. This morning, he was up at 6am to be on his tractor forty-five minutes later, harrowing his track, which he also does between lots. Then he moves on to entries, declarations in the office, observing the horses and contacting the owners. There are always challenges to take on. Without it being an obsession, it would give him immense pleasure to win a seventh Cheval d’ or at the end of this season. And as the season ends, the two-year-olds are arriving, which is always very exciting for him.
G. Sold to Britain, the talented Matin Midi et Soir recently left the Saint-Augustin yard. How did he handle that?
F. N. You have to accept it. It’ s still difficult for an owner to refuse such offers. You are never safe from colic or injury. Regarding Matin Midi et Soir, it was hard to swallow because François
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