ENGLISH TEXTS that generation, Alec’ s and William’ s before him, that shows, corrects on the spot and moves on to the next horse. You learn by keeping up, or you do not learn. There, you learn what you will learn nowhere else.”“ Accuracy”
“ What he carried throughout his career as a trainer was accuracy, that quality which few people perceive and which professionals recognize at first glance. Seeing, in front of a horse in motion, how far it can go. Recognizing the quality of a very good horse when it appears. And above all, knowing how to guide it into the best races without overloading its season. A trainer can train; a great trainer knows how to place. That difference is measured in real careers: those of Goldikova, Solow, Moonlight Cloud, Marchand d’ Or and many others … My father is among those who possess that gift.”
“ His quality as a man surpasses his merits as a trainer”“ Working in a man’ s team is also a way of getting to know him. At the yard, his character reveals itself: what he stands for, what he refuses, his way of treating his lads, his riders, his owners. What I saw in my father over twelve years marked me far beyond the profession. His quality as a man surpasses his merits as a trainer, and yet those are already immense. In the worst moments of a season, and every trainer goes through them, he knew how to restore hope to his teams. At the yard as well as on the racecourse. It is a form of quiet authority, deeply human, that is learned in no manual and that few men possess. It is that aura which remains, even more than the Arcs or the Breeders’ Cups.”
“ The greatest pride of my career”“ My father has stopped training, but his way of looking at horses has not changed. Training after him is the greatest pride of my career. Those twelve years by his side have left me with a profession, an undiminished admiration, and the rare privilege of having known a man such as him.”
BY CÉLINE GUALDE
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IN THE HEAD FAM- ILY, I ASK FOR …
Fernando Laffon Lomba, 26, is Freddy Head’ s greatnephew. He fell into the magical cauldron of racing at a very young age, as his mother Patricia is Criquette’ s daughter and his father is trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias, winner of the 2012 Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe with Solémia. With his tall frame standing over 1.90 meters, it quickly became clear that Fernando would not become a jockey, unlike his great-uncle but also his father, who rode for many years as a gentleman rider.
“ I initially turned to accounting and finance, but horses and racing quickly called me back. In our family, parents don’ t put pressure on their children to take over. The philosophy is more: gain experience, see what you like, and come back if you wish … It was probably the best way to ensure the handover.” Drawn early on to breeding, and having learned the ropes at Haras du Quesnay, Fernando completed the Irish National Stud program before joining Lane’ s End, a major Kentucky stud with around twenty stallions. He has recently become commercial and bloodstock director at Haras d’ Étreham.“ I learned a lot from my father, of course, a true horseman, but also from Criquette, who is very pedagogical and open, just like Freddy. My uncle rode many of the family’ s horses, and in hindsight what strikes me is how brilliant he was from a very young age. At 19, I was just a kid trying to find my way, while at the same age Freddy was winning his first Arc! I knew him more as a trainer, very composed, not showing his emotions. A bit‘ old school,’ restrained, in the manner of Aidan O’ Brien or John Gosden. I think Criquette and he understood early on that one must not get carried away by the wave of victories, because with horses, success can turn!” Although he does not take pride in it, Fernando Laffon Lomba feels he belongs to a dynasty:“ This is thanks to our great-grandfather Alec,
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