ENGLISH TEXTS
G. After all these years with Freddy Head, do you have an anecdote to share?
D. B. We experienced great and powerful emotions together. During the period when I was his son-in-law, we didn’ t always talk about racing, but we often came back to it. There were some wonderful stories. I remember the day of the July Cup( Gr. 1) at Newmarket in 2008, we were just the two of us. We arrived very early at the racecourse and walked together on the track; Freddy reminded me of his victory with Anabaa in that same race, 22 years earlier. I could feel how much it had marked his career. We knew that with Marchand d’ Or, we had a chance to win it again. We were very confident beforehand, but it’ s still a race, a legendary one against the British. That day, the plan didn’ t unfold as expected, but we won. Freddy later told me he had been very afraid. I felt him a bit frozen, but we had done it. There is always pressure in this kind of race, like with Tamayuz, with whom we won the Prix Jacques Le Marois( Gr. 1) at Deauville, in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. We couldn’ t afford to get it wrong, but overall, even though we had our disappointments like everyone else, we experienced truly great moments.
G. You’ ve now appeared in the trainers’ ranks for two years. Have you retained Freddy Head’ s influence?
D. B. During my career as a jockey, I had the chance to ride very good horses trained by great professionals like Bernard Sécly and Robert Collet in their prime. I also worked a lot for Tony Clout and Alain de Royer-Dupré. I try to put into practice what I learned alongside them and take the best from each, with of course Freddy Head’ s touch. I’ ve always kept a connection with the Head family, I actually train Dempy, who comes from Haras du Quesnay. I also have Idée de Cheval in the yard, representing the breeding and colors of the Giral family, the owners of Marchand d’ Or. Jean-Louis Giral has unfortunately passed away. It would obviously mean a lot to me to win for them as a trainer.
EMMANUEL RIVRON
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“ THE DREAM OF EVERY WORK RIDER”
After being associated with champions such as Katko and Al Capone at Bernard Sécly’ s yard, Thierry Blaise shared Goldikova’ s daily routine for four years. The former lightweight jockey, now a work rider for Marcel Rolland, looks back on his memorable years alongside the champion of Freddy Head and Wertheimer & Frère.
G. When did your path cross with Goldikova’ s?
Thierry Blaise. I became her work rider at the end of her two-year-old season, when she was unbeaten in two starts. When yearlings arrive at the yard, each rider is usually assigned one. And when things go well between the rider and the yearling, it generally stays that way on the list. At first, Goldikova was quite ordinary and light. But when she began racing, her temperament started to show, and her rider had a bit of difficulty handling her. Goldikova would fool around. Two or three other people rode her afterwards, and one day she ended up on my list, even though I had only been working for Freddy Head for a few months.
G. What was Goldikova like on a daily basis?
T. B. She had character, like all good horses, but it wasn’ t nastiness. She was so well and so lively that you had to stay on your guard. She only made me fall four times in four years. In the box, I knew her well, but I remained careful. Even the boss and the head lad could quickly find themselves outside the box, you really had to handle her delicately. As the years went by, she became tougher, with even more character. She developed physically and would not be pushed around.
G. Did you travel around the world with Goldikova?
T. B. Of course. Thanks to her, I was able to discover legendary racecourses. It’ s the dream of every work rider to make those kinds of trips. When she ran across the Channel, like at Ascot and Newmarket, we would
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