ENGLISH TEXTS
livered an exemplary season and will be a key figure at the prestigious ParisLongchamp meetings during the first weekend of October. Focus on the remarkable rise of this forty-something, with the insights of a privileged witness to his success: his wife, Aude.
An essential trait for building a career in this demanding profession, determination is something Christophe Ferland, son of a former jockey turned stable manager, has in abundance.“ It was in his blood,” admits his wife, Aude Ferland, herself from the racing world as the daughter of Bertrand de Watrigant. At just 17, the young man from Gouvieux crossed the Channel to join the stables of Charlie Mann and Peter Walwyn in Lambourn, before becoming assistant to Sir Mark Prescott. A few years later, he returned to France to work with Richard Gibson, for whom he traveled the world with the globetrotting Doctor Dino, a Group 1 winner in both the United States and Hong Kong under the silks of Javier Martinez Salmean.“ When Christophe told Mr. Salmean he wanted to set up on his own, Mr. Salmean agreed to help, but only on the condition that he trained between Chantilly and Madrid,” recalls Aude.“ The horses too good for Madrid but not quite good enough for Chantilly would have more chances in the provinces. After hesitating between Pau, Mont-de-Marsan and
La Teste, Christophe chose the latter. He arrived in the Southwest, a region where everyone knows each other, but no one knew Christophe!” Starting out with just one horse in training, the young Cantilien quickly built up to three, which he prepared and accompanied to the racecourses, all while seeking out potential owners with the firm intention of growing his tiny stable.“ Since he couldn’ t afford to spend a whole week at the sales, he would focus on a single day. He never came back from a sale without finding new clients or horses.” A regular at the Cagnessur-Mer meeting, Christophe met Olaf Profft, manager of Simon Springer, who just months later bought around 15 horses at the August sales, including some high-quality youngsters:“ There was Orcus, Glowing Cloud, and other very good ones from that generation,” remembers Aude,“ and of course Dabirsim. Christophe saw him as his champion from the very start of pre-training.” This magnificent black colt remained unbeaten in five starts as a two-yearold, crowned by two Group 1 victories: the Prix Morny during the Deauville summer meeting and the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère on Arc day.“ It proved that a topclass horse could also be trained in the provinces, like Millkom with Jean-Claude Rouget a few years earlier.” The key difference: by age 35, the La Teste-de-Buch trainer had already secured two Group 1 wins, with every intention of shining again at the highest level. Such swift success naturally attracted clients, swelling the yard to nearly 120 horses.“ That was too many for Christophe, so he decided to scale back to around 90 – 100 on average. The La Teste team was extraordinary and he could count on his right-hand man, former top jockey Goulven Toupel.”
Change of direction After an excellent 2022 season at La Teste, Christophe faced an exciting but risky challenge: moving to Chantilly.“ Christophe was born there, and the idea of returning had been on his mind. When our biggest clients, Wertheimer & Frère, saw two of their Chantilly trainers retire, they asked us to make the move, that was the trigger. Even though some clients followed us, it wasn’ t an easy decision. We were starting over from scratch, with a team to rebuild, and Christophe had to relearn how to work in Chantilly. He arrived in March 2023, while I only joined in September. I stayed alone at La Teste to handle the move of our home, the stable and the layoffs. The hardest part was letting go of 30 staff members who didn’ t want to relocate to Chantilly- which is understandable. Emotionally, it was horrible!” Well supported by his wife, who manages the accounts, Christophe leaves nothing to chance. He meticulously prepares the daily lot lists,
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