ENGLISH TEXTS
will remain limited . But the industry needs its budgets because we too have major challenges to meet .
4I think this emulation at the international level is a positive development . The more big races there are , the more great horses there will be and the more opportunities there will be to showcase our breeding industry . Trainers need to play the game , and this evolution may force them to question their model , but without competition , we won ’ t move forward . It is also up to us to attract the best international horses . It ’ s very stimulating !
HENRI BOZO
1It ’ s a good idea as long as it ’ s not applied too radically . We need to give those who invest plenty of opportunities to race and win , but I understand that sometimes we have to rationalise the race offering for punters . We have to be careful .
2I ’ m going to speak for my own parish , but the performance of our graduate Shin Emperor in the Japan Cup , where he finished 2 nd , gave me enormous pleasure . I went to see him in Japan in May for the Derby and I was also enthusiastic then . His stay in Europe also gave us a glimpse of his quality in the Irish Champion Stakes , where he put up a great performance .
3
The PMU is at the service of our industry , and it is important that it can serve it well . On this subject , I was particularly impressed by my stay in Japan . The public ’ s enthusiasm for racing there is a dream . Above all , I think they have managed to keep a sporting aspect in their activity that we may be lacking a little in France . Now , there is obviously a big difference between our cultures , but I think we could try to bring a more qualitative approach , more focused on skill and reflection , to differentiate ourselves from games of chance .
4It seems to me that these programmes are complementary to ours , rather than rivals . The Classic programme we offer goes beyond the simple search for large prize money . It is more about a genetic quest that requires determining the inner class of a young horse with the aim of improving breeding . On the other hand , these very well-endowed races provide another opportunity to showcase our horses and that is therefore a good thing .
FRANCIS-HENRI GRAFFARD
1NI think this measure will mainly target conditions races , not necessarily maidens . It seems to me that it shifts the problem , because fewer maiden winners would mean fewer runners in the following races . We have to be careful because some races are part of a Classic programme , for example alternatives to Classic trials at the beginning of the season . It seems to me that we could have started a deeper debate on the subject . And after all , why not split maidens and Pattern races when , on the contrary , they attract a large number of candidates ?
2Goliath ’ s performance at Ascot remains the most memorable of this season for me .
3That it honours the commitments it makes . I ’ m not in my element on these subjects , and I wouldn ’ t want to be a “ should-do , must-do “... It seems to me that we should improve the attractiveness of horse racing betting , but an anecdote I experienced in Japan allowed me to see how we are in two different worlds . When we arrived there , as trainers , we were summoned by the JRA stewards , who warned us that we could only communicate , on social networks in particular , about our horses . We were all accompanied by a JRA guard , because horse racing is one of only three betting mediums there , along with cycling and boat racing , and the organiser has to be uncompromising to justify this privilege . The figures there are impressive , but we are not at all in the same context .
4It ’ s true that these programmes can change our vision . Today , horses are being sold at the end of the season because the programme intended for them here is not very rewarding . It is up to us , the trainers , to integrate these foreign programmes into our calendars . We need structure and organisation to achieve this , because it ’ s really not easy and we mustn ’ t address this as a side option .
GEORGES RIMAUD
1We have to see what context it fits into . I understand the need to optimise the number of runners , but we must be careful not to distort the Pattern . We must therefore be clear-sighted and avoid making this practice systematic .
2Winning a Classic race , even for an organisation as important as that of H . H . the Aga Khan , is always difficult . Rouhina ’ s victory in the Poule d ’ Essai des Pouliches was therefore seen by all of us as a great success ,
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