ENGLISH TEXTS
is smoother. In France, you can choose to go forward or hold back, you can decide to take a pull. It’ s much more tactical. It’ s not like that in Japan.” Japanese jockeys may feel out of place, but European colleagues have also failed to win the Arc with a Japanese horse! This year, Demuro could have partnered Byzantine Dream in the Prix Foy, but he had to decline since he couldn’ t commit to riding Kazumi Yoshida’ s horse in the Arc itself. According to the Italian jockey, Byzantine Dream is Japan’ s best chance for 2025. Naohiro Goda agrees:“ Byzantine Dream beat Sosie in the Prix Foy even though it was his comeback, he hadn’ t run since May. He should have improved a lot since that race. If the ground reading is below 3.5, Japan might finally make Arc history!” This country invests so heavily in its thoroughbred breeding and has been“ circling around the prize” for so long that many wish to see it finally seize the Holy Grail. An Arc, and a triumph, that would reward decades of persistence!
THE“ ARC INCENTIVES”: FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR JAPANESE ENTRIES
By Céline Gualde Nothing boosts betting quite like having one or more Japanese contenders at the start of a prestigious race! For a French race to be offered to Japanese punters, three conditions must be met: it
must appear in the top 100 of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities( IFHA) rankings, it must have at least one Japanese runner at the start, and that horse must have a rating of 113 or higher. Thus, the presence of Alohi Alii in the Prix Guillaume d’ Ornano( Gr. 2) on August 16 at Deauville enabled wagering on this Group II race in Japan, a race that Christophe Lemaire’ s partner went on to win. This year, France Galop decided to encourage Japanese participation by subsidizing the travel costs of the most competitive horses.“ We went to Japan in April to announce the introduction of this support,” explained Henri Pouret, Deputy Managing Director of France Galop.“ It is essential for the reputation of the Arc that the Japanese take part. Yet we sensed a certain resignation on their part regarding the prospect of ever winning this race, particularly due to the ground conditions at ParisLongchamp in October. During this trip, we highlighted the drainage work planned for the track to make it more consistent over a strategic 400-meter section, from the entrance of the false straight turn to 600 meters from the finish. This area, located near a lake, tended to retain more water in soft ground conditions.” The work was carried out over the summer and, accord- ing to France Galop, could help convince connections of thoroughbreds that usually run on firmer tracks. Two horses entered in the Arc were eligible for the“ incentives.” Since the trip of Shin Emperor was subsidized by Ireland, Byzantine Dream and Croix du Nord benefited from them. The travel of Ascoli Piceno for the Prix Jacques le Marois was also supported. France Galop does not wish to disclose the amount of the incentives, which one imagines may vary depending on the horse’ s rating and thus the sporting interest it brings to the race. Such subsidies are commonplace in other major racing nations like Great Britain and Ireland, where the goal is to attract the very best champions.
MEET
� PAGE 108
BACK TO THE ARTICLE �
By Emmanuel Rivron
CHRISTOPHE FERLAND
DETERMINED AND AMBITIOUS
Ranked as the third-best French trainer of 2024, a year highlighted by Aventure’ s second place in the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe( Gr. 1), Christophe Ferland has once again de-
173 # 12