3 minute read
A busy, busy man.
Some 75% of the runners trained by François Nicolle have made it to the racetrack. More than 20% have won, and most of the time, when a horse from the François Nicolle stable didn't win, it's because another horse from the yard had beaten him or her. With a hundred horses, François Nicolle has, as people have said, a "rich people" issue. He takes some of his precious time to talk about the horses he will run this weekend at Auteuil.
Saturday – Let's Prep for the Big Auteuil Weekend in November!
In a month, it will be the 'Grand Weekend de l'Obstacle' at Auteuil, which is the same Festival weekend of the Grand Steeple Chase de Paris as that held in May, only this is the Autumn edition, and François Nicolle will have plenty of starters!
PRIX DU PRINCE D'ECOUEN - Hurdles 3900m
Six One – "The horse looks fine to me. He didn't have run for a while. He regained freshness. He is well placed in weight scale. He has a chance, maybe not a winning chance but a chance".
PRIX GEORGES DE TALHOUET-ROY - Hurdles 3600m
Goliath du Rheu and Eden Bleu – "These are two horses that I really like. They have a bright future in my opinion, but they still need to improve. I want to know if they are at a level to run the Prix Cambacérès (Gr1). I need to assess their ability against tough opposition and their style because they have two very different tactics: one, Goliath du Rheu, is a backmarker and the other, Eden Bleu, is a leader".
PRIX DE NANTES - Hurdles 3500m
Jazzy Senam - "She is a complicated mare in the morning. She has not run for a while. The race looks good for her even if she has a lot of weight".
Jessi Sei - "I'm always suspicious with the level of the Prix Finots but what she did was good when finishing second. She has potential and I will know more after this race."
Kostas Has - "She made a good debut finishing third at Compiegne. She will run at Auteuil for the first time but when I see her size and behaviour, I am sure she is fit and ready for it. She has big strides and loves long straights. She needs a higher pace that she had at Compiègne".
PRIX CARMARTHEN - G3 Hurdles 3900m
L'Autonomie - "It's a comeback race. She was third in the spring in the Grande Course de Haies de Printemps. She's a classy mare. She only returned to the yard recently. She could lack a little work but she's experienced and knows her game. I see that clearly when she works. She will target the Grand Prix d'Automne but could win this one as well.
I have three other horses in this race – Porto Pollo, Hermes Baie and Roberta Has. I have no choice but to run them against the others. Hermes Baie is in brilliant shape. Porto Pollo is great too and he is the darling of everyone at the stables. He is so nice to look after and so brave. He will aim for a place. Roberta Has ran well last time.
Hermes Baie is my favourite before L'Autonomie, Roberta Has and Porto Pollo".
PRIX ORCADA (G3) - Chase 4400m (François Nicolle has 4 victories in this race, 3 in the last 4 years: L'Aubonnière, Farnice, Eludy)
Diamond Carl - "He is a horse in the making. He has a sharp sprint you have to preserve. With him you have to follow your opponents and pressure them hard in the final straight. He is a champion.
La Manigance - "She wasn't at her top for her come back. You have to manage her effort".
PRIX HEROS XII - Chase 4400m G3 (Eight horses engaged for six different owners)
Happy Monarch - "We gave him time and he has a lot of stamina. This will be his race before La Haye Jousselin (G1)".
Poly Grandchamp - "He did well last time but it was weird. He jumped very poorly at one fence then made a comeback and rallied to finish third. You can expect everything from him again, as last year when he surprised us by winning the Prix La Haye Jousselin. Jockey Bertrand Lestrade teams up very well with him".
Srelighonn - "He needs to run. We expected better from him last time. I think he will be better on Sunday. He's a horse who improves in his races rather than when he just works in the morning. I think I will add some blinkers".
Figuero - "He has recovered well from his last race. He made a weird mistake when he jumped the bullfinch last time where he lost more than two furlongs (400m) and was still able to make a huge amount of ground to finish second. I really don't know how he will handle this race. I still think he has improved because he is in great shape".
Eddy de Balme - "He could run this race or Prix Montgomery or Grand Steeple de Compiègne. He's a little behind the others".
Niko Has - "He made a great comeback. He works very well. Angelo Zuliani did some very good work here at the stables but he can't ride him on Sunday so it will be Théo Chevillard's task".
Starlet du Mesnil - "It will be her comeback race, but she has worked well and is ready. She will run quietly behind the others and just make the sprint. She will jump the rail ditch and fence only for the second time so she needs to be managed.
Niko Has is the best of all my horses, ahead of Figuerro, Starlet du Mesnil and Poly Grandchamp".
PRIX DUC D'ALBURQUERQUE (Q+) - Chase 3500m
Magrudy - "He has a good chance. He had a stupid fall last time. He was a little bruised, but he is okay now and I have full confidence in the gentleman rider Paul Lotoux to ride him at his best".
Will there be other horses prepped to race over the Grand Weekend de l'obstacle, apart from those engaged this weekend?
Most of them will be racing this weekend but I could also count on others like Solenzera Senam, Hano de Loi, Western Girl… The most important thing to know is that I run to win.
The team is on a good upward trend but my biggest issue is placement for my horses. I often have to run them against each other and some, like Polynuit, currently have no races suitable for him.
How do you manage your jockeys ?
Angelo Zuliani is my leader. Next, I use Theo Chevillard regularly, even if he left the stables to work with my ex assistant trainer Lisbeth Allaire - I wish them the best. They are both talents.
With Tanguy Andrieux, it's going great. He arrived not that long ago from Yannick Fouin in Maisons-Laffitte. Maxence Brochard is a good jockey for little racecourses. Blandine Zuliani is improving herself. And I still could ask for Bertrand Lestrade, Felix de Giles, Kevin Nabet or Nathalie Desoutter who is a real professional, so passionate about her work.
Did you have some issue with the French strikes ? (there are currently petrol delivery problems in France)
For now, we are pretty lucky in the south-west of France. I can travel to Auteuil this weekend. But after that, it could be an issue. I prefer not to run my horses rather than being out of gas with two horses in the van on the motorway. It would be catastrophic.
