Among the Greats. Among the Greats. Louisa Carberry couldn’t ask for a better birthday present. More than 5 months after his coronation in the Grand Steeple-Chase of Paris, his Great Goddess offered him, on his 40th birthday, Sunday at Auteuil, victory in the Prix La Haye Jousselin. “I couldn’t imagine such a scenario. It’s an incredible emotionconfesses the one who has watched daily since the beginning of her career over the destiny of the son of Planter near Senonnes. I’m incredibly lucky to have had two horses (editor’s note: Balloon Doctor also did the double in 2020) of this quality in my stable. Even before he started competing, we loved him. He is a very big horse so he needed to build himself up. Thanks to its owners Luc (Monnet) and Frédéric (Hinderzé) for believing in us, for never telling us anything, for always trusting us.” However, the week had not started well for Great Goddess with the package of his usual jockey Clément Lefebvre: “I insisted that Thomas Beaurain ride the horse because he had already ridden it once and he is a real rider. A horseman. After three obstacles, I saw that they were both together. It was only a…” After three obstacles, Great Goddess was in third position. Where you needed to be. Meanwhile, as expected, the two favorites, He is French et Together We Win conduct operations. The first round goes like this. As expected. What is less so is seeing He is French losing his footing during the second lap and being stopped (almost) dead by James Reveley before jumping the rail-ditch and fence. “I can’t say anything. I’m waiting for the exams (editor’s note: Nicolas de Lageneste mentioned a pulmonary hemorrhage)”, his trainer Noël George will point out in disgust. At almost the same time, when he had just taken command, Together We Winmade a huge mistake to the justice of the peace. He lost around ten lengths. Great Goddess finds himself alone in control of the race. “Thomas did well to move forward at that point. I was quite calm because I know he has the distance in his legs”, Louisa Carberry said after the race. He held on. While Life Sizewho played “dead” the entire race, and Together We Win set out in pursuit, Thomas Beaurain’s partner did not let himself be approached.
What’s next? The jockey can let his joy explode. Where 25 years earlier, his father, the late Jean-Yves Baurain, won his eighth Prix La Haye Jousselin with Al Capone. Frédéric Hinderzé can kiss half of the Auteuil racecourse including Luc Monnet his co-owner, his friend Dominique Boeuf, the trainer Arnaud Chaillé-Chaillé second with Life Size. We cannot name them all but the owner will remember them for a long time: “Louisa made us win the Grand Steeple. Today was a bonus. Extra. He is such an extraordinary horse trained by an extraordinary couple. Honesty and integrity pay off. History will tell if he is one of the greats but for us he is the greatest. That’s for sure. So big that my wife gave it that name.” A few minutes later, Louisa Carberry, the woman of the day, is celebrated on the podium and the Butte Mortemart racecourse sings “Happy Birthday” and “Joyeux Anniversaire”. “It’s a gift from heaven. Many coaches work as well as us. We are incredibly lucky”, she says with humility before her first boss Alain de Royer Dupré comes to congratulate her. “I only had one stable in my life, it was the right one.” Louisa Carberry will never forget November 17, 2024.
Nicolas de Lageneste: “Grandeur Nature achieves a great performance”
The bet was once again daring and Arnaud Chaillé-Chaillé almost succeeded. Title holder, Life Sizewho returned directly to Group I, finished in an excellent second place after waiting. Its owner-breeder, Nicolas de Lageneste, specifies: “Softer terrain could have made the difference, but Great Goddess was unapproachable today. The two are close, maybe Life Size could have returned on a more difficult track. He still puts in a great performance. The horse has not raced much this year, it is an element that likes to come fresh. He will have the right to run the Prix Georges Courtois (group II), we will see.” Third, Together We Win “missed” the jump which should not have been missed but came back to finish well to take third place. Felix de Giles had to face the facts: “He could have won the rail ditch without his fault. It costs him dearly.” Quite far from the leading trio, In Love finished fourth and made Hugo Merienne say: “He found himself a little isolated, but he likes to follow the other horses. It’s not necessarily his cup of tea. He didn’t like being attacked in the last turn, but he still ran very well. He is a super jumper, who can gallop for miles. It is not impossible that he will try his luck in England.”
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“I wanted to become a jockey thanks to the Prix La Haye Jousselin”
“The story is beautiful. I couldn’t dream of better”. A Netflix scenario. Called last minute to come up Great GoddessThomas Beaurain had the joy of winning his first group I, and not in just any race, in the Prix La Haye Jousselin. The race of his father, Jean-Yves, who died in 2010: “I wanted to become a jockey thanks to the Prix La Haye Jousselin. Watching my father’s exploits with Al Capone II. I was happy and proud that Louisa called me on Thursday to come up Great Goddess but at the same time the pressure rose quickly. Those around me trusted me and they gave me confidence. I was easy the whole race. He was on top today.”
