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La Mayenne – The District Young Trainers Take On The Criteriums.
Their names are Charly Mary and François-Pierre Bossuet. It is in Mayenne the West of France where they have settled and, on their record to date are worth watching in the coming years. They know how to attract owners, create new structures and ways of training along with new projects to ensure their success and their future.
Apart from the favourites being lined up by trainers Philippe Allaire and Sébastien Guarato in the Criteriums, where else do we look to find others who may win?
Charly Mary: Betting On Top-of-the-Range Breeding
Charles Antoine Mary, trainer of trotters, is following in the family footsteps. He commenced as a trainer in 2018 on the Domaine de la Perrine in Mayenne which belonged to his grandfather Jean Mary before his father Jean-François took over the reins. He continues to maintain a close collaboration with his father, even geographically where nothing separates his training center from that of his father in Grez-en-Bouère.
Charles Antoine wishes to realise his childhood dream – to set up a stable that meets the needs of horses as much as possible, where everything is thought out and done with animal welfare in mind: spacious boxes, treatment rooms, outdoor relaxation areas, covered carousel and swimming lane.
Although it took a period of time to come to terms of being a trainer, Charles Antoine Mary was able to reap the rewards this year: he recorded 35 victories from 328 races and shone in Sweden during the Elitloppet meeting with Florida Sport.
His growing success has attracted new owners: during the Rouges Terres 2022 sale, he bought the top price horse sold, unbeaten at his past three starts Just A Dream, for €460,000 – "He looked great and I wanted him at home. It's up to me to do the work with him now."
It was also at sales, this time from Arqana, that he very recently, for €810,000, acquired Hatchet Man, who will be his challenger in the Critérium des 5 ans.
This was a purchase carefully considered with his investors as Charly had just acquired the Haras du Rocher (Stid-Farm) where Hatchet Man, a son of Goetmals Wood, will be trained alongside a horse he presents in the Critérium des 4 ans, Infant Perrine and other potential stallions of the future.
Hatchet Man will therefore be in the Critérium des 5 ans just a few weeks after his purchase. "We line up without a preparatory race. He is on his distance. It's the first time
he's raced for us, and we've done everything to get him up to speed by going to train him a few days ago at the Meslay-du-Maine racecourse. To be fifth or sixth in the race would be extremely satisfying for a first start for us as we have also set October 14 as our objective with the Prix Edmond Henry (Gr2) which will also be contested at Vincennes".
Infant Perrine will compete in the 4-year-old Criterium – the "Perrine" label has already shone many times in the Criteriums through Mary's generations – "He is part of my father's breeding, and it would be extraordinary if we could create a surprise! He has two races being targeted. In the Criterium, we are not being considered when up against the three or four best of the generation, but with Infant has always shown he has the ability to step up in the Criteriums and G1 races and I hope that will be the case once again. His consistency can pay off. Sunday's race will be a steppingstone to the UET Grand Prix which takes place 12 days later."
Francois Pierre Bossuet : Building Sustainable Success on Solid Foundations
Like Charly Mary, François Pierre Bossuet comes from a family who has long been versed in horse racing. He is the son of Jean-Baptiste Bossuet and drove his first Group 1 winner with Havanaise, a horse born and raised by the Bossuet family. For Sunday's Critérium des 4 ans he will be represented by the winner of the 3-year-old Criterium in 2021, Idylle Speed. Since then, this daughter of Carat Williams has won the Prix Jean de Gonidec (G2) and placed in two other prep races, beaten by Inoubliable and Inmarosa.
"Idylle did no hard training last week. She has been ready for a long time and racing was enough. I would have preferred for the races to be more spaced in the prep stages. Three races in a month, it's still difficult and also for the distances to be reversed in the prep races. She was beaten mostly because of the lack of trail and therefore a complicated trip. I hadn't prepared her as usual, and the pace was slower than usual, and she was followed by better sprinters. She will be a back marker in the race this time as she was in the Criterium des 3 ans which was a tactic that proved to be successful.
This time, we won't lead for the others. We will be the chasers this time. It's a long distance cut out to suit her. The Criterium is not a race like the others, it is the best who wins. This is a genuine race.
She's going to be unshod for the very first time. It is not pleasing for me to do that. You don't normally apply this practice, but at this level, we no longer have a choice to make it a level playing field. I won't do it for all the races but for the Group 1 I will. Vincennes is an abrasive track, and you have to protect the horses' feet. We must also keep the spirit of surprise for the horses. Personally, I would like it to be forbidden for all horses to be barefooted up to 5 years old, on the one hand to determine solid and proven horses for breeding.
This Sunday with Idylle, she will be driven by Franck Nivard, and we are an attractive outsider like last year. She is a filly tailor made for big races. I hope she won't disappoint".
Critérium des 3 ans: What if we Follow the Normande Experience?
As he failed to achieve sufficient prizemoeny, Jingle Delo, trained by Jean-Philippe Raffegeau, is not competing in the Criterium de 3 ans. However he remains a horse to follow in the coming months. As a result, there is no young trainer from Mayenne in this event but there is a surprising profile, that of Norman Jean-Pierre Fichaux. He has trained legends who already have racing names – Gougeon, Verroken... and he is well beyond the age of youth. Despite his long experience, it was Janka Somolli who provided his first Group Three winner. This filly, which he bred himself under the Ecurie Somolli label, is not an easy character. At the start of a contest, she can easily get out of control, break stride, and lose 25 meters. This is undoubtedly what cost her a top three finish during the last prep race for the Criterium, the Prix Reine du Corta (Gr2). Raffegeau publicly stated "You have to be patient with her, super extra careful. But the advantage is that she did not over-exert in this race. Compared to the colts, I find it difficult to estimate the level of the fillies".
As a sign of confidence, leading driver Matthieu Abrivard has already announced that he will partner again with Janka Somolli. This will be the third time the pair have combined, and he is a driver who should soon exceed 3000 winners. He will know enough of the pros and cons of this fiery and talented filly, and she may create a mild surprise.
Between young guard and those with mature experience, this is enough to spice up the Criteriums of 2022.
