It’s no small feat to ensure that the horses in a stable of over 200 are happy. Yet, from the very beginning, this desire to have happy horses seems to have never left the trainer. He evokes it with admiration when paying tribute to François Mathet in a message to his wife, revealed by Theresa Revay in her biography «The Perfect Race»: «Of course, we were nothing to your husband but occasional acquaintances, but he represented much more to us. For me in particular, the honour of his profession and the one with whom the horses were happiest.»
Refering to André Adèle, in 1973, he also said: «He seemed to have understood his horses so well that they looked happy despite the crowded universe in which they lived.»
This little extra soul of the Fabre runners, which punters and jockeys appreciate at its true value, perhaps comes from this equine well-being which, if preserved, can drive the horse to go a little further in its effort. But there seems to be more than just a practical transaction in this concern for happiness.
Without wishing to indulge in magazine philosophy (although...), one can thus note the annoyance perceived on the day of the Moulin de Longchamp, won from start to finish by his charge Tribalist last September at ParisLongchamp. This is a Group 1, the 200-and-somethingth for André Fabre, but interviewed on Sky Sports Racing, he can’t help, after paying tribute to his chestnut, from slipping in an ironic comment about the fact that he had also beaten Facteur Cheval, the «national hero»...
What the devil had Facteur Cheval done to Mr André to deserve such a snub? André Fabre’s life revolves around his horses. He has practiced all types of riding, or almost. He loves it, and he loves horses. He respects them, never says anything bad about them. And he takes as an injustice the fact that the performances of his horses are not recognised at their true value. «I think that in this profession, you succeed alone against others», he declared in Week-end in September 1990.
Yet, André Fabre defends all the players in his team.
• A classic-winning trainer, now a racing manager, John Hammond was assistant to André Fabre before taking out his licence. He spoke about Fabre’s personality with journalist Julian Muscat in an article dedicated to the French trainer in the Racing Post, in October 2019.
“When I joined him as pupil assistant [in 1987] my first impression was that he ran a big operation that was extremely well organised. The tack is immaculate and his two stables [in Chantilly] are run on five-star lines. But when you talk about his set-up you also have to talk about his wife Elisabeth. She is a fine horsewoman in her own right and has always been there, day to day.
“He’s an extremely witty man. If you sat next to him at lunch you’d have a very amusing time – and you probably wouldn’t talk about horses at all. He is very self-deprecating; I have never heard him talk about all the Group races he has won.”
“Horses by Linamix were a bit wired to the moon. Very few other trainers won good races with them. A lot of them were quite hare-brained and difficult to train.”
“I saw how he treated his staff and his horses, and how he dealt with owners. He’s a man of real integrity. He’s not somebody who’d do something he didn’t really believe in for the sake of expediency, or with an ulterior motive. He certainly wouldn’t have made a politician in the current era.”
• Maxime Guyon, on his way to becoming the jockey most used by André Fabre, after Sosie’s victory in the 2024 Prix Niel.
«He’s a real stayer, he’s very tough. He’s typical of Mr Fabre’s horses, who are cold and just keep going to the end. Sosie has a super mentality, he’s really easy. That’s a real advantage. Mr Fabre gives the horses time to come. Sosie had won at 2 and we knew that at 3 he was going to improve again because physically he’s a monster. He’s a strong, very imposing horse.»
• Alain de Royer Dupré and André Fabre arrived in Chantilly at roughly the same time, and they reached the top together.
«André Fabre is a true horseman. I’ve trained good trainers, and to each of them, I said that the person to really imitate and watch was André Fabre. For me, he was the epitome of the classic trainer. When I arrived in Chantilly and things started to go well, I was invited to a radio program with Olivier de Rincquesen called ‘The Number Ones of Tomorrow’. At the end, he asked me who the future number one would be, and I replied ‘André Fabre’. He has intelligence, he has culture, and he is very clear in everything he does. For me to enjoy training, I have to limit myself to 120 horses, 150 tops, but he has always worked with larger numbers. He has his wife Elisabeth, of course, but I think he has the brains to train a lot of horses.
I recently spoke with someone who had worked for him and for me, and he told me that we had very similar foundations but that there were differences, of course, especially in terms of recovery. That is to say, he takes more time in recovery than I do. I never really wanted to let the horses get too fresh, and from what I understand, he prefers that. We can see and understand our neighbour’s gallops, but not these kinds of things. Apart from that, it was enough for me to watch what he was doing to understand what he was up to, whereas from time to time, there are people, you can watch them as long as you like, but you still won’t have a clue.
When I arrived in Chantilly from the provinces, I didn’t want to stray from my base, because I brought things with me that came from eventing and that helped me a lot. I didn’t want to lose that base. On the other hand, I was ready to see what others were doing. For example, due to a lack of turf gallops in the provinces, we worked a lot on sand, and we didn’t want to start too fast so that the horses would finish their canters well. I tended to do the same on the grass at first, but I quickly realized that this was a mistake, because I watched what the horses of other trainers were doing, and in particular André’s. And very quickly, I started to start the gallops much more frankly, so that the horses pulled less, which has only advantages. These are things you learn, that you can refine and thanks to which you improve.»
• Christiane Head has also pursued her career in parallel with André Fabre’s, since she took over from her father in 1978, the same year that her rival set up in Chantilly.
«André doesn’t mix, it’s in his nature, but he’s the best trainer we’ve had in decades. The way he perceives his horses, trains them, the way he races and wins, he’s a formidable trainer. When I started training in 1977, avenue de Chartres (in Chantilly), Dad had all his horses on the other side for Wertheimer, and André lived in a small apartment behind my house, on the main avenue, with Elisabeth. He rented 10 or 15 boxes. He has an extraordinary horse culture. For me, he’s a real horseman. When he sees a horse, he perceives it. That’s what a good trainer is: someone who understands his horse perfectly and adapts to him. Not the other way around. It’s not the horse that adapts.»