3 minute read

Rising Star: Stephanie Nigge.

Stephanie Nigge has watched her father training horses since she was a child. She then studied abroad including in Australia before becoming his assistant and partner. In February 2020 became a trainer in her own right with her first starter that month. Since then, she has progressed and has risen though the ranks to now, 17 months later, to have two runners in the Classic G1 Prix du Jockey Club 2021.

Fortune favours the bold, as they say. With two starters in the Jockey Club less than a year and a half after you start training, it seems right for you. 

We will do the best we can. I have Millebosc and Normandy Bridge, two sons of Le Havre who himself won the Prix du Jockey Club. We believe in them, and we can dream a little! Millebosc ran the G2 Prix de Guiche where he finished second without having had a hard race. The first four in the race will run the Jockey Club. He ran well over 1600m then 1800m in a fast-paced race, hopefully he will improve at 3 years old, and we really believe that he will be an Arc contender in the future. He has a lot of quality, but he is still inexperienced.   

What about Normandy Bridge? 

Normandy Bridge has everything you need. But on good ground, it will be imperative for him to race close to the lead. We have to forget his last race: starting two lengths behind everyone else in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, there was interference in the false straight at Longchamp. His seventh place is even rather surprising: the last 200 meters were very good. He recovered very well, and he put up a good fight. The Jockey Club has always been a goal and we would undoubtedly be more confident if we had made the finish in the Poule d'Essai. If one word could sum up his character it's 'courage'. 

Can you believe that you have two starters in the Jockey Club? 

I didn't think I was going to have the chance to compete in this event after such a short time. I worked with my parents for almost 5 years and I know how difficult it is to have horses of this level. It's a real privilege. I'm also happy there will be a crowd with us this year at the racecourse, it motivates and drives us. It's a race where anything is possible, especially this year with a lot of starters.