ENGLISH VERSION
I’ m going to have to send him one soon, that’ s true( laughs).
G. A few years ago you took over Jean Stern’ s colours, with Free Man Racing as the name of the entity. Why was that?
J.-C. R. It was symbolic, because Jean Stern was my father’ s employer at the Haras de Cheffreville. As for Free Man, he was the first horse I got to know at the stud when I was 3 or 4. He was a very kind horse.
G.“ Free Man”: an expression that sums you up perfectly, doesn’ t it?
J.-C. R. Yes, yes( laughs). At the beginning I had no problems, because people let me get on with it. Over time, some people think they know better than the trainer, which makes things more complicated.
G. One of your finest victories, with Almanzor in the Champion Stakes, illustrates the kind of decision-making that comes with a trainer’ s career.
J.-C. R. The Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown is his finest victory. He beat some very good horses there, which was a big plus for his stallion career. On his next start, at Ascot, he was a hot favourite and had the race to himself. There was Found to beat again, admittedly, but she was at the end of her tether, at the end of the season. I didn’ t want to run Almanzor over 2,400 metres because I was afraid he would fall apart over that trip.
ITW
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FRANÇOIS NICOLLE
BY EMMANUEL RIVRON
“ HE CALLS ME‘ THE LUMBERJACK’”
A multiple Cheval d’ or winner, François Nicolle has often had horses belonging to Jean-Claude Rouget in his yard. For him, the Saint Augustin trainer is far more a friend than an owner.
GALORAMA. How did you get to know Jean-Claude Rouget?
François Nicolle. Jean-Claude sent me a horse to train a long time ago now. I was terrified of training a horse for THE Jean-Claude Rouget. My teeth were chattering a bit, but Air Shot won first time out for me, ridden by Thomas Guéguen. One thing led to another, we met and got to know each other. I then had more and more horses with him, along with Laurent Dassault, Daniel Treves and Bernard Weill. We tried a few things and they worked out rather well. Like many trainers, Jean-Claude started out in NH racing. Jean-Claude won everything at Pau as a trainer, but never at Auteuil( laughs). He was almost never wrong with the jumpers he sent me, such as Kyrov, Jazz In Montreux and of course The Stomp, a Group winner at Compiègne. He bought A Mi Manera for me at the sales without me seeing her and told me:“ I’ ve bought you the winner of the Prix Sagan.” She didn’ t win that race, but she had a fine career, winning several Group races.
G. What is he like as an owner?
F. N. He has always let me do my job, without any pressure. We don’ t often talk about work, but we don’ t really agree about gallops. He wants them light, for speed, whereas I prefer deeper, more selective surfaces. I remember a holiday with him when I told him over dinner that I had put sand on my gallop, which got quite a rise out of him that evening. At the start of our partnership, he used to tell me my horses were too lean, but a marathon runner and a sprinter don’ t have the same physique. Little by little, I improved a bit and he relaxed. Jean-Claude took over Jean Stern’ s colours, and it would be nice if he sent me one to train, so that those very beautiful silks live on.
G. His jumps stable was renamed Free Man Racing a few years ago. Is“ a free man” a good description of him?
F. N. It suits him very well. Jean- Claude did what he wanted throughout his career. I remember a top-class horse whose owners wanted him to run in the Arc. But Jean-Claude was absolutely set on running in Ireland: that was his plan. It takes guts to stick to your original plan and take responsibility like that. The result: the
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