ENGLISH TEXTS eyes of GALORAMA and one of its finest writers.
Paul Casabianca His passion for horse racing was born from a single purchase: a filly named Ambassadrice. His father bought her, and together they experienced everything: the beginnings, the adrenaline of racing and the joy of victory in Vichy in the spring of 1993. That’ s where it all started! After touring every racecourse in the PACA region with him, he decided to turn his passion into a profession. With a journalism degree in hand, he has been living his passion for over twenty years now … and has no intention of stopping!
Serge Okey Introduced to racing at a young age, the Quinté represents the big Sunday event for him. He experienced the days of Tiercé betting slips, stakes in francs, considers Omar Sharif first and foremost a racing actor, saw Jos Verbeeck in a sulky, and supported Yves Saint-Martin while listening to Léon Zitrone’ s commentary. For this music fan, racing is the most beautiful symphony between the animal and man.
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They are owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, or thoroughbreds, and they’ ve made headlines this season. Each month, we’ ll give them a voice. In our upcoming editions, discover the stories behind our standout winners.
OWNER PIERRE PILARSKI A BOLD AND LUCKY OWNER
BY PAUL CASABIANCA
After Bold Eagle and Feu Follet, Pierre Pilarski’ s colors continue to shine at the highest level thanks to Léopard du Berlais. The winner of the Prix Cambacérès( Gr. 1), unbeaten at three, might allow him to write a new chapter in his story.
With the passing seasons and victories, Pierre Pilarski’ s style has evolved. His communication, however, has not shifted one bit. Still as friendly with the public and comfortable in front of a microphone, the man behind the legend Bold Eagle remains a very effective communicator. His appearance, meanwhile, has changed. We first knew him with a soul patch, jeans and dress shoes for his first Prix d’ Amérique with Bold Eagle in 2016. A year later, he reappeared with a suit vest, a fuller, almost knightly beard, and a beige trench coat in the temple of trotting for his crack’ s double in the 2017 Prix d’ Amérique. This autumn, at Auteuil, he appeared in the guise of a sixty-year-old dandy, just as chic as he was elegant in his grey suit, after the victory of Léopard du Berlais, winner of the Prix Cambacérès( Gr. 1) at Auteuil on November 16. Unbeaten at 3, this extraordinary colt could allow him to experience another great epic, just the way he likes them.“ Beyond the achievement, it was above all a relief to see him win,” his delighted owner recalls.“ He’ s the kind of horse you don’ t want to lose with. With other horses you want to win, but it’ s not the same feeling. The most important thing was the raw result. The first word that comes to mind is relief. We’ ll look later to see if it’ s historic or not, but today, it’ s relief.” Relieved to see his crack, wearing his red silks with black epaulets, remain unbeaten at 3, Pierre Pilarski admits he felt( good) pressure.“ The last time I felt that was with Bold Eagle, because we didn’ t want to be second, which could seem pretentious and presumptuous. With Bold, it was easier for me because my first passion is trotting. I drove as an amateur, badly, but I drove! And Bold became Bold after his 10 th race. We knew the competition and didn’ t have the unknown of the ground. What put the pressure on me was him( speaking of David Cottin). For a year he’ s been telling me that this horse makes him dream, that he’ s extraordinary, even though, when you look at him, he’ s quite ordinary.”
Thank you, Jean-Marc Lucas Professionally, the youngest Mc- Donald’ s franchisee in France was one of the pioneers of fast food in Haute-Savoie in the 1990s. In the racing world, this amateur trotting driver took longer to make a name for himself in the owners’ ranks. Before becoming
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