Mention the phrase “French veteran” and those Hong Kong race fans with long memories might cast their minds back 15 years or so to the Francois Doumen-trained gelding Jim And Tonic, who between 1998 and 2001 made seven trips to Hong Kong for three wins, two seconds and a third, finishing out of the frame only once in seven starts at Sha Tin.
Those with shorter memories will of course think of this year’s LONGINES Hong Kong Vase contender Cirrus Des Aigles, who is also making his seventh visit to Hong Kong, and his sixth start, having missed out on a run due to injury in 2012.
But this year there is another outstanding French individual to whom the term “French veteran” may perhaps be applied with equal respect, although it may not be a term that he will wish to embrace, as, like Cirrus Des Aigles, he shows no signs of slowing down yet.
The subject in question comes with two legs rather than four, and boasts a record in his field that stands comparison with the best that there have ever been.
Legendary French trainer Andre Fabre turned 70 on Wednesday this week, an age at which trainers in Hong Kong must call time on their careers. On Thursday he arrived in Hong Kong to saddle the defending champion Flintshire in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase and Esoterique in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.
Twice successful in the Vase with Borgia in 1999 and Flintshire last year, Fabre’s worldwide reputation is such that Hong Kong fans know that whatever horse he saddles in whatever race, it merits their close attention.
The son of a diplomat and a graduate from university with a law degree before he turned his attention to racing, Andre Fabre started out as a jockey and rode some 250 winners over jumps, including victory in the Grand Steeplechase de Paris.
His record as a trainer is truly remarkable: Champion trainer in France on 27 occasions, including an unbroken run of 21 successive championships between 1987 and 2007, he continues to record Group 1 victories on a regular basis, adding eight more to his tally this year, a tally which currently stands at around the 172 mark.
Those Group 1 wins embrace 120 Group 1 wins in France: seven “Arcs”, 13 winners of the Grand Prix de Paris, seven winners of the Grand Prix de St Cloud, nine winners altogether of the “Poulains” et “Pouliches”, and eight winners combined of the Prix de Diane and Prix du Jockey Club to name just some. Overseas his record is no less remarkable, with 28 Group 1 victories in the UK, including the Derby at Epsom, four Breeders’ Cup successes, including a Breeders’ Cup Classic, and victories in eight different countries outside his native France.
If his record as a trainer was not sufficient to establish him in the pantheon of the greats, consider also his ability to recognise and develop emerging jockey talents over the years.
Household names in the jockey ranks in French racing such as Thierry Jarnet, Olivier Peslier, Stephane Pasquier, Christophe Soumillon, Maxime Guyon, Mickael Barzalona, and currently, Vincent Cheminaud and Pierre-Charles Boudot would be quick to attest to the influence that Fabre brought to bear to develop their careers. All have ridden for him over the years, and all have benefitted from his ability in the first place to identify and then develop their potential.
On Friday morning at Sha Tin Fabre spoke about his two runners on Sunday, Esoterique in the Hong Kong Mile and defending champion Flintshire in the Hong Kong Vase:
“I think that they both look well. Esoterique was not suited by the ground at Keeneland in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. She did not handle the track and was wallowing like a boat in a swell at sea. This track and the going at Sha Tin will I think suit her much better.”
“Flintshire will like the ground, but if I have a concern, it is that it is quite a while since he last ran (in the ‘Arc’ on the first Sunday in October). We thought about running in the Japan Cup, but in the end decided it was best for the horse to come straight here.”
Right now a fitting birthday present this week for this great trainer might just be another Group 1 race to close out his year. It might be rash to bet against it.
|
Photo 1:
Andre Fabre talks to work rider Annelie Ackerman this morning as Flintshire leads Esoterique around the Sha Tin Parade Ring.
|
