From the disillusionment of the Prix du Jockey-Club to the literally unexpected victory in the Prix de Diane, Tony Piccone has gone through all the emotions in recent weeks. Let’s rewind the movie. Associated with Henri-Alex Pantall’s foal, Fast Tracker, since his debut, the Marseille jockey has been impatiently waiting to do battle in the French Derby. Cold shower a few days before the meeting: the son of Churchill is sold and Tony Piccone disembarked. “I was affected by losing this ride,” admits the person concerned. In my eyes, Fast Tracker had a good chance to defend, especially since he had been prepared for this group I. I really had a difficult time.”
Fifteen days later, change of scenery. Tony Piccone has no plans to ride in the Prix de Diane until Cristian Demuro, who was injured at Lyon-Parilly on June 8, throws in the towel. Patrice Cottier and Jean-Pierre Dubois call the driver who won the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp for them (with Sauterne last year) in order to climb Sparkling Plenty. “We are never happy to recover from the injury of a colleague, but that is how it is. If someone had asked me when I opened the Turf: “which one do you choose?”I do not pretend that I would have opted for Sparkling Plenty 1000% but it was the filly that I liked. She was my favorite in the sense that she was the one who showed the most quality. But obviously I was aware that competing in the Diane on good ground with a not really favorable number which forced us to wait could be complicated. But everything went really well!” Quite surprisingly, the jockey, who had never ridden the filly, did not receive any particular instructions from those around him in the hours preceding the race. “In the round, they just told me to try to keep it relaxed. So, before the race and during, I just tried to have it as loose as possible. And when I unboxed, she gave it back to me. That’s wonderful !”
