25 September 2024
Jockeys: a journey of discovery for those riders possessing exceptional athletic prowess !
Jockeys, and in particular those with rides in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, are very rounded sportsmen/women. Their profession calls for outstanding physical atrributes and sharp tactical acumen. As, during the course of each race, intense physical effort is called for when it comes to steering a horse to victory. At the same time, jockeys need to be aware of the slightest developments taking place in a race which can be run at speeds in excess of 60 kms per hour. Their ability to analyse the race in real time, and make crucial split-second decisions, is vital if they are they are to steer their mounts to victory. Throughout the race, these equine ‘pilots’ strive to develop a perfect harmonious relationship with their horses so as to be able to get the best out of their mounts.
Each race presents its own set of challenges which demand concentration and tactical awareness. Furthemore, jockeys also have to meet the challenges thrown up by the required intensity levels which are unprecedented in the world of sport: as they ride in several races during the course of a single meeting, and they have little time to recover from their exertions. As they are afforded just a few minutes between races to replenish their energy levels and re-focus on ‘winning’ the next race.
French jockeys rank among the best in the world. Relative to the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the most prestigious race in the world, we invite you to take a look some of the profiles of the jockeys set on a victory mission in the Arc de Triomphe.
VIDEO - Go behind the scenes of the jockeys' preparation for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe: CLICK HERE
Cristian Demuro: the defending champion
Nationality: Italian. Country/training centre where based: France (Chantilly)
« Winning the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a dream come true. It’s like winning the Champions League in football. As everyone wants to add their name to the roll of honour. »
Cristian Demuro, 32, is one of the top jockeys in France. The Marino (an Italian city not far from Rome) native boasts a solid track record, having ridden in excess of 2,000 winners: having gained a 1000 plus wins on the French circuit, in addition to the 800 plus and 200 victories recorded respectively in Italy and Japan - a country which has frequently had recourse to his services, and where his brother Mirco, ten years his senior, plies his trade as a jockey.
However, it’s in France, having been based there for over ten years, where he has proved the most successful. He reached the 1,000 French winners milestone in 2023, which is a some feat considering that his first Gallic win dates back to 10 August 2013. His biggest wins have, of course, been recorded in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe via Sottsass (2020) and Ace Impact (2023). Both horses were trained by Jean-Claude Rouget at Deauville.
VIDEO - Host Denis Brogniart and jockey Cristian Demuro talk about the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe: CLICK HERE
Maxime Guyon: only the Arc de Triomphe has eluded him to date
Nationality: French (Laval) Country/training centre: France (Chantilly)
«The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is THE race to ride in! It evokes its own special set of emotions. It's important for a jockey to ride in this race during his career but, above all, to win it. »
Maxime Guyon, 35, is currently France's leading jockey. He’s a product of AFASEC, the horseracing school in Gouvieux (near Chantilly, Oise region), and he began his apprenticeship with trainer André Fabre in 2003. He’s a triple winner of the Cravache d'Or (2019, 2022 and 2023) [French jockeys’ championship] which is awarded to the jockey with the most wins to his name during the course of a single season. Maxime Guyon has won all the major French prizes with the exception of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
During the course of his career, Maxime Guyon has ridden 2,500 plus winners. A tally which comprises some 30 Group 1 winners, which is the pinnacle of excellence in horseracing.
Maxime Guyon has been contracted to ride for one of the historic stables of French racing, Wertheimer & frère, for several seasons now. He has been tasked with providing these distinguished colours with further success in this race – some 12 years after the victory of the filly Solemia, who was ridden by one of the greats of French racing, Olivier Peslier.
Alexis Pouchin : the rising star
Nationality: French (Chantilly)/ Country where based/training centre: France (Chantilly)
«The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is the Holy Grail of horse racing. It's every jockey's dream. To reach the pinnacle of excellence and bypassing victory it would be very frustrating. »
The revelation of the 2023 season within the French jockeys’ ranks, Alexis Pouchin, has succeeded in achieving something very difficult this season: by reaffirming his talents as a young riding prodigy! He currently sits third in the jockeys’ table, having established himself among the elite of the French jockeys’ fraternity.
The young rider, 24, recorded his first Group 1 wins (the pinnacle of excellence in horseracing) in 2023, and he continues to notch victories at the highest level. He has even tasted his first classic* win, namely in the Group 1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains, having guided Metropolitan to victory in the latter race in May.
Alexis Pouchin has also been living the dream for over a year now on Mqse de Sévigné, a mare which holds a special place in his affections, and whom he is set to ride again in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October. The young rider partnered the mare, owned by Édouard de Rothschild, to successive Gr1 wins, the Prix Rothschild and the Sumbe Prix Romanet, which are run just a few weeks apart, in 2023. The Alexis Pouchin-Mqse de Sévigné combination repeated the feat by winning the above two races again this season, and thereby completing a double, which had never previously been achieved in the long-standing history of French horseracing.
This young jockey has been inextricably linked to the world of horseracing for as long as he cares to remember. His father, for one, is a travelling head lad, namely the person delegated with looking after the horses when they travel to the racecourse. Alexis Pouchin will be riding in the world's greatest race, for the second time, on 6 October.
* France stages four classic races: the Qatar Prix du Jockey-Club, the Prix de Diane Longines, the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains and the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. These long-established races serve to determine the creme de la creme of the 3-year-old crop.
Ronan Thomas : setting himself apart in the peloton
Nationality: French (Rennes)/ Country where based/ France (Oise region)
« Winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, for a jockey, is the aim of a lifetime. It's something we've often given thought to since childhood... It truly is the most ‘iconic’ of French races. »
Born in Rennes on 10 February 1978, he grew up in the Mayenne region. Ronan Thomas is, at 46, the oldest jockey currently riding at the top-level in France. His sagacity and the respect he inspires in his fellow jockeys are not just down to his age. He owes this to his human qualities. Firstly, his ability to grasp the collective interests [of his profession] was much in evidence (in the 2009-2012 period) when cast in the role as President of the Association des Jockeys de Galop [the President of the French Jockeys’ Association], which represents the interests of the riding profession, and which acts as a support mechanism for jockeys who have fallen on hard times. This is invariably time-consuming and also demands political acumen, excellent inter-personal skills and lots of patience. Ronan Thomas has all these attributes. Then there's an intelligent and cultured side to his persona, as denoted by his passion for art.
Lastly, he has exhibited resilience during a career which has had its fair share of ups and downs. His career began at the AFASEC racing school at Gouvieux, near Chantilly. He made the transition from # pony-riding, having proved equally adept when it came to riding horses! Overseeing his apprenticeship during his formative years was the Chantilly-based trainer David Smaga. Ronan Thomas won his first race in 1995, as a 17-year-old abord a horse aptly named Next Winner. He was a promising prospect!
A loyal member of David Smaga's team from the ages of 15 to 21, his career then went into a downward spiral. This is often the case when riders join the ranks of fully-fledged professional jockeys. So he went about trying to revive his fortunes by working for other Chantilly trainers: Mathieu Boutin, Myriam Bollack-Badel and, lastly, Criquette Head, with the latter providing the jockey with his first wins of note as of 2003.
When the partnership came to an end, Ronan Thomas went freelance, having cast his net even wider in terms of collaborating with other trainers. This enabled him to enhance his CV in terms of his achievements, despite never getting to ride a top class performers or winning a top flight race... and this despite his qualities as a horseman and tactician. He occasionally had stints abroad, notably in Qatar, where he won major races on horses trained locally by French national Alban de Mieulle.
Subsequently, with the Covid pandemic by now in full swing, Chantilly trainer Francis-Henri Graffard booked him for the ride in In Swoop in the Deutsches Derby in July 2020. He gave the colt a perfect ride, having encouraged his mount throughout, in addition to getting the colt into a perfect rhythm, and after patiently timing his challenge in the straight, he steered his mount to victory! So, at the age of 42, he had finally tasted Group 1 (the pinnacle of excellence) success for the first time in his career.
The colt’s German owner loyally stuck by the rider in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October 2020. And the combination went very close to achieving a famous result, having finished second to the outstanding Sottsass. In the aftermath Ronan Thomas was both both elated and disappointed in equal measure...
Relative to the current 2024 season, and thanks to Look de Vega, he tasted victory in the Qatar Prix du Jockey-Club in June. It was to prove his first French Group 1 win and, above all, his first win in a french classic. Once again, it was a matter of loyalty: concerning Carlos and Yann Lerner, the father and son team who train Look de Vega. As the friendship between Ronan Thomas and Yann Lerner dates back over 20 years when the latter was still plying his trade as a jockey. So, on 6 October, Look de Vega could prove to be the crowning glory of a beautiful friendship.
VIDEO - Discover the portrait of jockey Ronan Thomas: CLICK HERE
Christophe Soumillon seeks a third Arc win
Nationality : Belgian /Where based: France (Chantilly and Deauville)
«It's the biggest race in the world. Everyone wants to have a runner in this race, and win it. It's the Olympics of horse racing, with Paris the setting on an annual basis. »
Regarding the 2024 edition of the the world’s most coveted horse race, Christophe Soumillon, is set to ride the home-trained Haya Zark - a horse he knows like the back of his hand, having ridden (and won with) aboard his intended mount on numerous occasions. On Sunday 6 October, the jockey will be able to draw on past experience of having twice previously ridden two winners of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Group 1): Dalakhani (2003) and Zarkava (2008).
Now, having reached the the age 43, his will to win still burns brightly. Born in Schaerbeek, Belgium, he’s the son of a former jump jockey. From a very young age, he was interested in horse racing, having taken his first steps in pony racing. His passion for ponies has never deserted him, as, last year, he launched the Soumillon International Pony Academy (SIPA), a unique European hub which equips aspiring pony-racing riders, in the eight to 16 age bracket, with the necessary training in this area.
Christophe Soumillon is a multiple Group 1 winning rider (the highest level in horse racing) having proved successful on every continent, and which has made him the most recognised French-based jockey on the global stage. A ten times winner of the Cravache d’Or [French jockeys’ championship], he also set the record for the number of winners ridden (306) in a single European season in 2017. Regarding his private life, Christophe Soumillon married the presenter Sophie Thalmann, in 2006, and the couple have three children.
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