ENGLISH TEXTS
� PAGE 56
WHATEVER COMES NEXT IS UP WITH THE WIND
At the end of a long and unchallenged reign , when all enemies have been defeated , opponents subdued , and passions lived , a period of doubt begins . Whatever happens now , there will always be this benchmark , and these records will be filled with Fabre everywhere . When François Mathet died , like a key piece falling on the chessboard , it was probably thought there would never be another trainer of this calibre . Yet four years later , André Fabre had donned his mantle . He has never taken it off since . Today , when we try to project ourselves into the turf of tomorrow , that is to say , the post-Fabre era , we once again find it hard to imagine a successor , a record that could surpass his . Of course , other trainers can aspire to ascend , but they might not lack talent , rigour , intelligence , or observation . However , what matters most is the wind ! Regardless of how well-designed , what vessel can now count on the natural power given by owner-breeders such as Sheikh Mohammed , Jean-Luc Lagardère , Daniel Wildenstein , the Aga Khan , and Khalid Abdullah to make a machine as capricious as a hydrofoil rise from the spray and fly over the water ? The world of racing has no shortage of ships or captains . What is missing now is the wind . The wind that seeks its path by climbing mountains , rushing down hills , carving stone and breaking water , that drives away clouds , pushes driftwood to another continent , that tests shrouds , masts , and souls , that propels but also capsizes if the captain ignores it , the wind that rises when the crowd stands , roars , and gasps for breath to carry the horses . The wind that can do anything ! It is this wind that we need for our captains to triumph . Ah ! If only our climate change were but fleeting ... Without wind , no Fabre , no more Nelson , Vincent or Aidan O ’ Brien , just little boats spinning in a pond . And the rest of us , looking as silly and helpless as chickens staring a polo mallet . So , fair winds , Monsieur André ! May you carry us along for long enough that we too may find our second wind .
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