ENGLISH VERSION
CRISTIAN DEMURO
BY EMMANUEL RIVRON
ALL ROADS LEAD TO SUCCESS
Originally from Marino, just outside Rome, Cristian Demuro quickly made a name for himself on the French circuit. A true globetrotter at 34, the 2025 French Cravache d’ Or winner is spending the start of this winter in Japan, nearly 10,000 kilometres from his partner Giulia Torsiello, another horse lover. An administrative assistant in the world of sport, Giulia Torsiello notably manages her partner’ s activity and is ideally placed to tell us about one of French punters’ favourite jockeys.
Galorama. Giulia, Cristian Demuro was quickly taken to heart on French racecourses. Why do you think that is?
Giulia Torsiello. Cristian always adapts very quickly to the lifestyle and culture of foreign countries. He always stays positive and keeps looking in the right direction. He picks up foreign languages easily. On top of his mother tongue, Cristian now speaks French and English, and understands Japanese, which he speaks a little. I met him a week before he left for Germany. My parents are small Italian owners and I kept my mare
near the boxes of Cristian’ s dad. Although I rarely went racing, one day I gave his father a hand, and he told Cristian about me before he left for Germany. As Cristian is always looking for new challenges, he had tried his luck in Germany at 21, when he had already been going to Japan for a few years.
G. How did Cristian earn his place among the French jockeys?
G. T. It wasn’ t that easy at first, because he didn’ t speak any French at all when he arrived in France. Having won almost everything in Italy, including the record number of winners, he had to start again from scratch, which is mentally tough. But France made him very welcome. Cristian started out with Monsieur Doumen, a 100 % French stable, which allowed him to learn the language. Cristian is very conscientious in his work and I think French trainers appreciated that side of him. He is a perfectionist all round.
G. How does Cristian release the pressure before big races?
G. T. Cristian is very focused before big occasions. He is rather“ cold”, in the good sense of the word: he doesn’ t let the pressure overwhelm him and knows how to keep a cool head.
G. How does he manage to balance family life and professional life?
G. T. Whenever Cristian has a few hours free, he is always with us. He is very passionate about horses, whether racehorses or sport horses. And as our daughter Matilde loves horses, we ride together regularly. Cristian is very close to her and to his family. He is in Japan at the moment and we hope to join him during December. I don’ t travel much with him, but I follow the racing a lot.
G. For your part, how do you cope with the periods away from Cristian, given that you yourself live outside Italy, your native country?
G. T. They are never the easiest times. When he is not with us, the days sometimes feel longer and time goes by more slowly. Of course, we miss him a lot. But we have found our balance: we remain very present for one another despite the distance, thanks to calls and messages.
G. Was last year’ s Cravache d’ Or a career goal for him?
G. T. Cristian is very competitive and always sets himself goals. He wanted this Cravache d’ Or in France, without necessarily chasing it until then. Last year, as he was in contention, he decided to go all the way and seize the opportunity. He had set himself this goal in August and it made him proud to win this Cravache d’ Or in France. It meant a great deal to him, having already fulfilled his dream by winning the Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe twice.
CRISTIAN DEMURO IN FIVE QUICK-
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