Americans Head to the Hippodrome

When the ladies and gentlemen of the American Club of the Riviera sit down to luncheon this Saturday in the clubhouse of the Hippodrome de la Côte d’Azur they will bear witness to a horse race unlike any other in France.

The thoroughbreds running Saturday in the top ‘listed’ Defi du Galop will have a lot more riding on them than one of the biggest prize purses in the nation. Many have run in some of the most prestigous races in France and for them the Defi du Galop is a second chance.

Last year’s Defi winner, Zack Hall is considered an ‘old man’ of racing. A true champion, the rules won’t allow Zack to be entered into less distinguished flat races in the official circuit because he’s been in the winners’ circle too often in the past.

At seven years old, Zack hasn’t much chance  against three- and four-year old thoroughbreds in France’s top ‘graded’ events like the Grade 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Longchamp but he’s still a strong athlete and his trainer, Francois Rohaut, says Zack likes to run.

“He’s a character,” says Rohaut. “He doesn’t do what he doesn’t want to do and we have learned to respect that.”

Rohaut says there are only four to five thoroughbreds in all of France like Zack who have had such long careers and are still near the peak of their form.

If Zack does well in the Defi his owner, Paris lawyer Mathieu Offenstadt, may enter Zack this year into a Grade 3 and  possibly even a Grade 2 race.

The 9th annual Defi du Galop kicks off at the Hippodrome in Cagnes-sur-Mer on February 22 in the first stage of 15 races held at racetracks across France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. The 15 separate races are held through December and the horse with at least three wins over the course of the year will bring its owner the top prize of 150,000 euros.

Horses compete from across Europe and Zack Hall is in for some stiff competition. Says trainer Rohaut, “We don’t run the horse in every Defi race. It depends on the track, if it’s hard or soft, on the distance.”

Experts insist no horse should run again sooner than 10 days following a race but trainers like Rohaut, who has conditioned several Defi du Galop winners and is among the most sought-after trainers in France, will rest Zack for a month or more.

Zack ran only seven races last year.

Says Rohaut, “In the Defi the money is good, this is a good race for him and we expect Zack to race for many years. He is a sound horse but when the horse says ‘No’ then I tell the owner and he must stop.”

Then what?

Zack may be one of the lucky ones. A thoroughbred can live for 30 years but while many won’t survive that long, Zack’s owners plan to retire him when the time comes. Retire him to live out the remainder of his life in the green fields of Rohaut’s training centre in Pau.

“This horse has done so much they want to give him back,” says Rohaut of Zack’s owners, “He earned the respect we have for him.”

If you would like to join the American Club of the Riviera in cheering on these masters of the turf then log onto the website, www.americanclubriviera.com or phone +33 (0)6 70 30 63 18.

Before-luncheon drinks in the Clubhouse at Noon this Saturday followed by a 3-course lunch with wine, bottled water and coffee at Le Paddock restaurant in the Cagnes-sur-Mer Hippodrome. 46€ members; 56€ guests. Inclusive.