“Many of us dream of participating in it”

Riding a first “Cornulier” is always a great moment in a jockey’s career. This Sunday, Guillaume Lenain, 24 years old and already a winner at the highest level with Kyrielle des Vaux (winner of the 2024 President of the Republic Prize), will be at the start for the first time of the summit among trotters ridden with Jasmine de Vau. A mare trained by his boss, Charles Dreux, with whom he has worked for more than two years. “Riding my first Cornulier for him, it’s greatexplains the one who has 69 competitive successes. I’m very happy that he trusts me. It’s the most beautiful mounted trotting race in France, and I think many of us dream of participating in it..” If he says he is tackling the test “serenely” at the time of our interview, eight days before the race, he adds: “As the week goes on, I’ll think about it. There will be, as usual, good pressure.”

Jasmine de Vau, “a practical mare”

At the age of 6, the daughter of Seductive Fouteau has only been seen twice at a mounted trot. “She is a practical maredescribes Guillaume Lenain to us. You have to be a little careful getting into the legs, she doesn’t take off very quickly, but it will come, she will get some work done. When we see that now, these are super tough races and you have to be in the right place, if you can have one or practice, it’s always an advantage.” It was in the Prix Bilibili (Gr. I – 3rd), in December, that Jasmine de Vau took his first steps in the specialty. “It was already a superb value, because we finished at the hip of Joumba de Guez.” A performance that she then repeated in the Prix du Calvados (Gr. II) at the beginning of the month. “We had the idea of really running on the ropes, without doing a hard race. I found myself far away and she had a nice finish. His last 500 meters were really good. In the Cornulier, on paper, we will race to be fourth or fifth. Hoping for better.”