Tag Archive for: Jean-Claude Rouget

Rouget and Reynier abandon merger plan

Jean-Claude Rouget and Jerome Reynier will no longer combine licences as the proposed merger between the two parties has fallen through.

Rouget, who trains from yards in both Pau and Deauville, is numerically the most successful trainer in European racing history and has saddled two winners of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Sottsass (2020) and Ace Impact (2023).

Reynier has become a force to be reckoned with from his yard in Marseille, with Dubai Turf hero Facteur Cheval and Prix Maurice de Gheest victor Lazzat flying the flag for the stable alongside the evergreen Skalleti.

Rouget’s ill health has kept him away from the racecourse in recent months and in August the trainer stated his intention to hold a joint-licence with Reynier from the beginning of next year.

That arrangement has been broken off, however, with Reynier still set to expand his operation independently.

“It’s not going to go ahead, it just wasn’t viable,” said Reynier.

“It was very hard to organise, financially and structurally, with the staff and everything else.

“We tried to put everything in place but it was too much of a nightmare to organise.

“I’m going to expand and increase the number of horses in the south of France where I am currently very happy to train and gallop, and I will be creating a satellite yard near Paris within the next few months.”



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Aga Khan moving horses with Jean-Claude Rouget to Graffard

The Aga Khan Studs are to relocate all of the horses they have based with Jean-Claude Rouget to the stable of Francis-Henri Graffard.

The Aga Khan’s famous green silks with red epaulettes are a regular sight on European racecourses and the owner is a major presence in France, where he has horses based with Mikel Delzangles, Graffard and Rouget.

The latter, who has stepped away from the helm of his yards recently due to ill health, announced last week that he would be merging with fellow French trainer Jerome Reynier in January 2025.

Their joint string will not include horses previously trained by Rouget for the Aga Khan, however, as the stud’s reorganisation will see them sent to Graffard.

A statement posted to the organisation’s website said: “The Aga Khan Studs have announced that their horses currently trained by Jean-Claude Rouget will be relocated to the Aiglemont training centre in Gouvieux under the supervision of Francis-Henri Graffard, with the aim of streamlining their operations.

“The team at Aga Khan Studs extend their heartfelt thanks to Jean-Claude Rouget for his dedication over the past 19 years, during which time he has won seven Group One races for H.H. the Aga Khan, including Valyra (Prix de Diane), Ervedya (Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, Coronation Stakes and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp) and more recently Vadeni (Prix du Jockey Club and Eclipse Stakes).”



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Jean-Claude Rouget and Jerome Reynier to join forces from next year

Two of the most successful trainers in France will combine on a joint-licence next year, as Jean-Claude Rouget prepares to join forces with Jerome Reynier.

Rouget has bases in Deauville and Pau, whereas Reynier operates from his own stable and the yard owned by key supporter Jean-Claude Seroul, both of which are in Marseille.

Rouget, 70, is a giant of the sport and has trained more winners than any other in European history, with Reynier, 38, an emerging force thanks to the exploits of horses like Facteur Cheval and Lazzat.

Rouget’s ill health has kept him away from the racecourse in recent months, and in January next year his operation will be boosted by the addition of Reynier to his licence as the two forces come together.

In an exclusive with French online publication Jour de Galop, Rouget – who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last year with Ace Impact, having struck in 2020 with Sottsass – said: “I have known Jerome Reynier for several years and when I looked at his operation, I liked everything he did. The idea came to me at the start of the year.”

Reynier added: “The meeting of our two stables will be official from January 1, 2025.

“I am convinced that the meeting of the two stables will maximise opportunities and that everyone will gain.

“Together, we will be stronger and it will be exciting to share all this together, trying to get the best possible results.”



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Puchkine powers clear to pull off Prix Jean Prat upset

Puchkine caused a big surprise in the Prix Jean Prat as Jean-Claude Rouget saddled the first two home at Deauville.

The Starspangledbanner colt tracked the pacemaker for the first four furlongs, with the rest of the field content to sit off the early gallop.

When Ioritz Mendizabal took over with three furlongs to run, he only had Brian Meehan’s French 1000 Guineas runner-up Kathmandu for company.

With the British raider fading close home, Puchkine had the race in the bag and the only questions left revolved around minor honours.

Havana Cigar, a stablemate of the impressive 33-1 winner, made late gains to claim second, just in front of Beauvatier.

Kathmandu fared best of the Brits back in fifth, one place in front of Frankel’s half-brother Kikkuli, but both Devil’s Point and Romantic Style were well beaten.

The winner had to be supplemented into the race earlier in the week.

Rouget is currently on a break from training whilst he undergoes treatment for lymphoma.

“We are all thinking of Mr Rouget right now, we want to thank him,” said Nicolas de Watrigant, racing manager to owner-breeder Alain Jathiere on Sky Sports Racing.

“We’ve always hoped for the best with this horse, he has always shown potential.

“In the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Guineas) he didn’t like the soft ground, he was pulling a lot. He’s a horse who needs a straight course and Longchamp didn’t suit him.

“We always knew he was a good horse, he was working very well, so we took the decision to supplement him and I think he will come back for the Maurice de Gheest, he’s full of speed.”



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Arc hero Ace Impact retired to stud

Unbeaten Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victor Ace Impact has been retired to stud.

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, the three-year-old has enjoyed an exemplary campaign, rising through the ranks from a Cagnes-Sur-Mer all-weather win in January to an electrifying length-and-three-quarters victory in the ParisLongchamp showpiece at the start of this month.

After his initial win in January, Rouget bided his time until sending Ace Impact for a conditions win in April, with a Listed success coming the following month.

Upped to Group One level for the Prix du Jockey Club after that, the son of Cracksman showed his trademark turn of foot to win the French equivalent of the Derby by three and a half lengths from Big Rock.

A Group Two victor in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville in August, Ace Impact was a short-priced Arc favourite and he justified that confidence with a stylish success under Cristian Demuro.

Owned in partnership by Serge Stempniak and the Chehboub family’s Gousserie Racing, connections had considered a possible Japan Cup bid or even campaigning on in 2024, but eventually opted to retire their star to stand at Haras de Beaumont stud in Normandy.

Cristian Demuro returns with Ace Impact
Cristian Demuro returns with Ace Impact after the Arc (PA)

Ace Impact bows out the winner of each of his six career starts, boasting a rating of 128 which puts him just 1lb behind top Japanese runner Equinox.

“The way he races and his acceleration is very rare in a racehorse,” said Rouget.

“Very few racehorses are able to accelerate like that and for me (2008 Arc winner) Zarkava was a super champion and maybe had the superior acceleration, but he is not far from that.

“He gave me a great day when winning the Arc and also the Prix du Jockey Club and all the races were delicious. We started very slowly and then progressed to Listed, Group One and Group Two and then another Group One.

“We had very good days with Almanzor in the Prix du Jockey Club and Sottsass in the Jockey Club and the Arc and (they) were equally good champions. With Ace Impact his acceleration is stronger and with him, in three steps, the race is over.”

On his overriding memories of Ace Impact and the opportunity to train his progeny in the future, the handler added: “We have a few years to wait and we will try to find another one like him.

“We are champion trainer for the fifth time in France thanks to Ace Impact.

“My memory of him will be he is he is not impressive in the morning, but when racing, he is another horse with very strong acceleration.”



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‘One of the top horses in the world’ – Rouget hails Ace Impact

Jean-Claude Rouget’s unshakeable confidence in Ace Impact proved fully justified, as the unbeaten colt produced a performance for the ages in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.

The son of Cracksman’s path to becoming Europe’s premier middle-distance colt has not been a conventional one, but then this is no ordinary colt.

Provincial wins at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in January and Bordeaux in early April suggested Ace Impact was a horse of some potential. But few could have envisaged at that stage he would go on to secure one of the most visually striking Arc wins in recent memory.

The three-year-old was dominant when claiming Classic glory in the French Derby in June – and while the margin of his next triumph in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano did not leave every onlooker purring, Rouget knew there was more in the tank.

Cristian Demuro returns with Ace Impact
Cristian Demuro returns with Ace Impact (PA)

Baked in Parisian sunshine, Ace Impact went to post for his biggest test as the 5-2 favourite and it was impossible to be anything but blown away by the way he found a Dancing Brave-esque turn of speed to run down the leaders and ultimately win with consummate ease.

It was put to Rouget in the aftermath that the majority of those in attendance were left speechless, but he said: “Actually, I more or less expected to see that turn of foot and that acceleration.

“He wasn’t able to show it at Cagnes-Sur-Mer or Bordeaux, but even after a slow beginning in the Prix du Jockey Club he literally flew home.

“At Deauville he wasn’t ready and I know people we were saying he had not run at Longchamp before, but I thought he would be able to deploy that acceleration, especially on the ground we have today.

“My last reflection before the start of the race was to say to myself, ‘it’s too good to be true’, but it was not too good, it was true!”

Ace Impact after his sensational triumph at ParisLongchamp
Ace Impact after his sensational triumph at ParisLongchamp (Ashley Iveson/PA)

Supporters of Ace Impact will undoubtedly have been a little worried beforehand, as he was noticeably on his toes in the parade ring before Cristian Demuro was given the leg-up.

Rouget – who struck with the Demuro-ridden Sottsass in 2020 – insisted he was not overly concerned, adding: “You just have to manage it. He’s like a child, an adolescent who needs to be looked after and reassured constantly. If he was able to talk, he would tell you he’s a very sensitive being.

“I knew the horse was in stronger shape than he was for the Prix du Jockey Club, which is normal as he’s more mature now. He was in marvellous shape before the race.

“The best acceleration I’ve ever seen is Zarkava and this horse is not far off. Sottsass was a very good horse and a very strong horse, but he was not the same type of horse. He was an extraordinary horse, but this one has the power of acceleration of one of the top horses in the world.”

Demuro was able to begin celebrating before passing the post in front, such was the authority with which Ace Impact won, before performing a Frankie Dettori-like flying dismount on returning to the winner’s enclosure.

Ace Impact before winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Ace Impact before winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (PA)

He said: “I knew it was the last day (at Longchamp) for Frankie, so I did it for him!”

Of Ace Impact, he added: “I knew when I was going to push the button he was going to accelerate, and that is what he did.

“It’s amazing to win the Arc for the second time with an amazing horse. He has a wonderful turn of foot. He’s just a champion.

“I started screaming 200 metres from the post because I saw I was going to win, so I started screaming with the horse.”

What the future holds for Ace Impact remains undecided, with various possibilities on the table.

He could be retired to stud with an unbeaten record, he could have a crack at the Japan Cup before the year is out and he could even be back next season, but connections are understandably keen to let the dust settle before committing to anything.

Pauline Chehboub, representing part owners Gousserie Racing, said: “It was a dream to be able to run the horse against all those champions in that race today.

“Obviously we have to take some time and see how the horse is after his race and then discuss it with the whole team, to see what is next.

“The Japan Cup is one of the greatest races on the whole planet, so we we will see. It’s not a no, but we don’t know about the future.”



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Ace Impact shows blistering burst for stunning Arc success

Ace Impact once again displayed his sensational turn of foot as he sprinted to glory in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.

Unbeaten in five previous runs for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, the Prix du Jockey Club winner was trying his hand at 12 furlongs for the first time in the European middle-distance championship.

Employing his usual waiting tactics, Cristian Demuro settled Ace Impact – who got very worked up in the paddock beforehand – at the back of the field before unleashing his electrifying burst in the closing stages to overhaul the gallant Westover and pull away for an impressive triumph.

Ace Impact after his sensational triumph at ParisLongchamp
Ace Impact after his sensational triumph at ParisLongchamp (Ashley Iveson/PA)

Rouget said: “I won with Sottsass three years ago, it was incredible because I started in Pau a long time ago. It’s a long way (journey of training career) and two Arcs in four years is fantastic.”

He added: “I am like a very backward horse and I am just maturing now. So I hope I have a few good years again in front of me.

“I know how I started with jumpers and very bad Flat horses. With Millkom it was the first sign of a Classic career in 1994 and after we won with Le Havre and Stacelita and now we have a very strong stable.

“Thank you to all of my team. I have two teams now, one in Pau and one in Deauville. There is a lot of work always in a serious, serious way.

“We always say they are the best when they win, I think it is his strong acceleration. It is something I have never seen.

“I don’t know if he will go straight to the stud or run next year. It will be decided between the two owners and me, but I don’t know yet.”



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Ace Impact camp hoping for strong pace in Arc

Jean-Claude Rouget will stick to a tried and tested plan as Ace Impact faces his date with destiny in Sunday’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.

The three-year-old enjoyed a swift rise through the ranks this term, graduating from a Cagnes-Sur-Mer conditions win in January to Prix du Jockey Club glory just three runs later, with his electric turn of foot thrilling the Chantilly crowd.

He again showed his ability to accelerate when winning the Group Two Prix Guillaume d’Ornano on his prep race in August and Rouget is confident jockey Cristian Demuro can curb the Cracksman colt’s enthusiasm and ensure he produces his trademark finishing burst.

The trainer said: “We’re not going to do anything special. He’s quite calm in the morning, it’s true that in a race, like all good horses, he’s more exuberant, but we shall just handle it as we always do.

“Obviously there’s going to be more spectators and it’s going to be a special day, but so far everything is going as planned.

“The jockey will ride him as usual and try to relax him until the second half of the race.

“The track is going to be fast enough so everyone will be able to find a position and I’m not really worried that there isn’t going to be any pace.

“We don’t really have a reference (with the British and Irish horses) and I just hope that there’s a good pace in the race, which will allow horses that race in the back to finish.”

The Pascal Bary-trained Feed The Flame has been on a similarly rapid upward curve, although his progress was arrested when he could finish only fourth behind Ace Impact at Chantilly.

He has since gone on to win the Grand Prix de Paris and finished second to the reopposing Fantastic Moon in the Prix Niel over the Arc course and distance, his only defeat in four starts at ParisLongchamp.

Feed The Flame is another who employs come-from-behind tactics and Bary thinks his charge is particularly suited to the track.

He said: “He ran very well in the Prix du Jockey Club, he finished close to the Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner (Marhaba Ya Sanafi), there were only a few lengths between him and Ace Impact, so it was a good performance.

“He really likes Longchamp because it’s a track that allows him the time to produce his potential. He’s a horse that likes to take his time and at Longchamp he can do that because there’s the long straight.

“He’s a horse that can be a bit cold at the beginning of a race, but he develops throughout the race as he goes further and he showed in the Grand Prix de Paris that he accelerated really well in the final straight.”

Dual Arc-winning rider Christophe Soumillon will be in the saddle again, and Bary added: “He knows the horse, he knows Longchamp, he knows how to ride that race. Once I put him on the horse, I can go into the stands and watch the race with confidence.”

Through Seven Seas is this year’s Japanese contender for Tomohito Ozeki.

The five-year-old mare does not boast as high a profile as some previous Japanese challengers, but she brings some excellent form to the table having been beaten just a neck by the world’s top-rated horse Equinox on her most recent run in June.

Through Seven Seas arrived in France in mid-September and has pleased Ozeki and big-race rider Christophe Lemaire in her work.

Ozeki said: “The trip went really well, it was a long trip to come over here but thanks to all the staff and people around her it all went really well.

“Everything has gone well in her training. She has acclimatised really well to a new environment. She did a little canter last Sunday, just to see what was happening, on the Aigles track, it was just a small canter.

“On Wednesday morning she did a small gallop, her last before the race and she had a really nice action at the end as she usually shows, so everything is going really well.”

Another French-trained hope is Simca Mille, who was named by trainer and part-owner Stephane Wattel in honour of the car produced in France in the 1960s and 70s.

The trainer explained: “The Simca Mille is undoubtedly the ugliest car to emerge from the French production line, and the main point of its engine was to make a noise. However, I promise that if we finish in the first three on Sunday, it will become my favourite car!”

Simca Mille scored his first Group One win in the Grosser Preis von Berlin on his most recent run and Wattel is sweet on his chance at a track where he has won two of his four outings.

He said: “On Sunday, he will be racing on his favourite ground and ideal course. He’s a very intelligent horse and a straightforward ride. It is only during the pre-race parade when he can get stirred up.

“We will be clashing with horses which are theoretically superior to him, but it is a great opportunity to take them on in optimal conditions.”



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Rouget ‘optimistic’ Ace can make Arc Impact

Jean-Claude Rouget is in confident mood ahead of Ace Impact’s bid for glory in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday.

It has been quite the rise through the ranks for the son of Cracksman, who did not see the racecourse as a two-year-old and made his debut in the low-key surroundings of Cagnes-Sur-Mer in late January.

Another understated success at Bordeaux followed and he has since proved his class by landing a Listed race and the French Derby at Chantilly, before adding the Group Two Prix Guillaume d’Ornano to his tally at Deauville in the summer.

Ace Impact is the clear favourite to provide his trainer with a second Arc win following the success of Sottsass three years ago and while taking nothing for granted, Rouget feels there are no negatives.

“Why shouldn’t I be optimistic? I’m coming in with a horse that’s unbeaten,” he said on Tuesday.

“We know in any race anything can happen and we’re coming to the end of the season, but he gets three kilos from the older horses, which is important.

“I’m optimistic in the sense that he goes into the race unbeaten and has done everything we have asked him to so far.”

Following his mid-August triumph at Deauville, Rouget considered running his star colt in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown the following month, while he also had the option of getting a first taste of ParisLongchamp in the Prix Niel.

However, mindful of the fact Ace Impact had been on the go since the beginning of the year, he elected to keep his powder dry for the day that matters most.

Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget
Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget (John Walton/PA)

Rouget added: “It’s very important that he stays a fresh horse because he started his season very early, which is not the usual start for a Classic horse.

“I didn’t want to run him last year in November, I wanted to wait and he then ran in January, so after he ran in Deauville I preferred to not run him again so that he has some freshness going into the Arc.

“It’s been six weeks (since Deauville) and the six weeks have passed very quickly.”

Ace Impact will be racing over a mile and a half for the first time this weekend, but Rouget does not expect him to be beaten for a lack of stamina, while the fact he has never run on the track is also not a concern for the trainer.

“Obviously we can’t be certain, but with the way he finishes his races and also the fact his sire was a winner over the distance gives us hope that he can stay,” he continued.

“If the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) had been over a mile and a half, as it was in the past, he would have won that.

“Last year Vadeni was in the same place for us and he ran really well (finished second to Alpinista).

“It is very rare I run a horse in the Grand Prix de Paris and after that there was just the Prix Niel, which didn’t hold any interest for me.

“I’m not worried about the course, he’s an easy horse once he’s settled in his race and there are plenty of horses that have won the Arc that also hadn’t run at Longchamp before.

“There was just no opportunity to do so, but it’s not something that bothers me.”

With the weather set fair in Paris for the rest of the week, underfoot conditions look likely to be quicker than is often the case for Europe’s premier middle-distance contest.

Rouget is therefore expecting there to be no excuses on the ground front, adding: “I think it is going to be good for everyone, which is an interesting point about this year’s race.

“In the past the race was often criticised for its heavy ground and the fact horses are tired, but this year I think the ground is going to suit everyone.”



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All eyes now on ParisLongchamp with Arc favourite Ace Impact

Prix du Jockey Club hero Ace Impact is set to head straight to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe following his recent victory at Deauville.

The Jean-Claude Rouget-trained son of Cracksman emphatically scooped Classic honours at Chantilly and took his record to a perfect five out of five when returning from a short break to down Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa on the Normandy coast.

That cosy victory gave Rouget back-to-back triumphs in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano and he looks to have found the perfect candidate to bid for his second victory in Europe’s richest middle-distance contest, a race for which Ace Impact is the general 7-2 favourite.

Rouget sent Sottsass to the Prix Niel before finishing third in the Arc in 2019, while the Irish Champion Stakes was used to set him up for his big-race triumph in the French capital 12 months later.

Rouget also used the Leopardstown Group One to prepare French Derby champion Vadeni for Arc duty last season, with the Aga Khan’s colt finishing third in Dublin before taking the runner-up spot behind Alpinista in the Bois de Boulogne.

However, October 1 has long been circled on the calendar of connections and they are happy that Ace Impact will be seen next in ParisLongchamp in perfect order as they continue to dream of Arc glory.

“We are very pleased with him since his run in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano,” said Pauline Chehboub, racing manager for her family’s Gousserie Racing operation, who purchased 50 per cent of the colt from Serge Stempniak after the Prix du Jockey Club.

“He is a very unique horse and every time he comes to the races it feels like he loves it. We are very fortunate to be a part of this champion.

“His target since the French Derby, like Jean-Claude Rouget announced, is the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, so we follow the plan.

“He is the Arc favourite, unbeaten and his limits are unknown. The dream continues.”



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Vadeni retired to stand at Aga Khan’s stud

Last year’s Prix du Jockey Club and Coral-Eclipse winner Vadeni has been retired to stand at stud.

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget and owned by the Aga Khan, the son of Churchill finished second to Alpinista in last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

He was also third to Luxembourg in the Irish Champion Stakes but finished a long way behind that same rival when last seen in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and connections have decided now is the best time for him to head to the Aga Khan’s Haras de Bonneval stud to stand as a stallion.

“We are delighted to have Vadeni join the team at Haras de Bonneval, and he will come to stud with a very exciting profile,” said Georges Rimaud, the owner’s racing manager told www.agakhanstuds.com.

“A Stakes winner at two, he showed a fantastic turn of foot to win the Prix du Jockey Club by a record five-length margin at three, proved the best of a stellar field in the Eclipse Stakes, and placed in both the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Irish Champion Stakes.

“He showed a great constitution and temperament that enabled him to perform with distinction at the highest level, not just in France but also in Ireland and the UK.

“He is everything you would want in a racehorse – precocious, fast, sound and consistent, and a dual Group One winner. After two busy seasons, he ran a great race to come second in the Arc in testing conditions on his first try at 12 furlongs, and it possibly took more out of him than we thought. We have therefore taken the decision to retire him now and focus on the next chapter ahead of him.

“Like Siyouni, he hails from a prolific Lagardère family that consistently produces good horses, and he is bred on the successful cross of Galileo and Monsun – so he boasts an excellent pedigree to go with his race record.”



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French star Ace Impact being saved for autumn campaign

There will be no repeat Coral-Eclipse bid from Jean-Claude Rouget this year as his latest impressive Prix du Jockey Club champion Ace Impact is currently enjoying a quiet time ahead of a return in the autumn.

Last year, the crack French handler saddled Vadeni to strike at Sandown on the back of a taking success in the French Derby.

However, with the unbeaten Ace Impact having run three times in the early part of the season, connection have resisted the temptation of another raiding mission for their Chantilly hero and will instead focus on targets towards the back-end of the season.

“He’s quiet at the moment and waiting for the autumn now, you will see him in August or September,” said Rouget.

It appears likely that autumn campaign will be centred around peaking for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on October 1 and when asked if Europe’s richest middle-distance prize will be on the agenda for Ace Impact, Rouget added: “Of course, yes.”

Likely to join Ace Impact at ParisLongchamp for the 12-furlong Group One is Vadeni, who could attempt to go one better than last year’s half-length second to Alpinista providing he comes through his intended next outing at Deauville with flying colours.

Vadeni (right) winning the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown last summer
Vadeni (right) winning the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown last summer (Nigel French/PA)

The son of Churchill is also having an easy time following his below-par showing in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, but is pencilled in to return on August 13 in a race Rouget has won for the past two seasons with Wally.

Rouget said: “Up to now we will run at Deauville in August in the Gontaut-Biron, Group Three. If he is then OK, he will then perhaps run in the Arc.”



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Ace Impact hits the target in spectacular fashion at Chantilly

Jean-Claude Rouget’s Ace Impact extended his unbeaten record with a brilliant performance to land the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.

Having completed a hat-trick on his previous run over 10 furlongs at this track last month, he gained a fourth success in scintillating fashion, coming from well off the pace in the hands of Cristian Demuro to collar long-time leader and favourite Big Rock inside the final furlong.

The additional half-furlong certainly helped the son of Cracksman, as Ace Impact looked better the further he went.

British raider Epictetus, trained by John and Thady Gosden, held every chance turning in, but Frankie Dettori’s mount faded to finish fifth, while Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous was in third throughout, before failing to see out the final furlong, eventually finishing eighth of the 11 runners.

Rouget, winning the race for a sixth time, was impressed with the way the Ace Impact quickened up to win going away by three and a half lengths.

“I was impressed with his acceleration, because he really comes from a long way off,” said the trainer. “To think that Big Rock was in front and has got the race in the bag, and then 300 metres from the winning post he comes and gets him.

“We always saw in the mornings that he was a really good-moving colt and it is really impressive how he comes and gets Big Rock.”

Ace Impact was unraced as a two-year-old but has steadily progressed since making a winning debut over 10 furlongs at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in January.

Rouget added: “I actually had plans to take him to Deauville last summer to have his first race there.

“But when he arrived at Deauville from Pau, he didn’t have a very nice coat and didn’t seem to acclimatise himself very well.

“So, I decided to leave him alone and also didn’t think about the autumn. Then I saw his brother had won at Cagnes, so I thought why not try that? And he demonstrated that he had a really good stride and could quicken very quickly.

“This race (today) makes me think of the Epsom Derby in that the horse in front (King Of Steel) I thought was going to win, until Auguste Rodin came from the back, so it was very similar.”

The winning time of 2:02.63 was a track record, beating that recoded by Sottsass who won the same race for Rouget in 2019. He went on to finish third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe that same season, before triumphing in the European middle-distance championship the following year.

Jean-Claude Rouget and Cristian Demuro with Ace Impact
Jean-Claude Rouget and Cristian Demuro with Ace Impact (SccopDyga/France Galop)

Asked if he is a horse who could head to ParisLongchamp in the autumn, Rouget confirmed: “I think he has got the profile. He is that type, he has that stride. I think he will prefer better ground.

“He will have to try to emulate Sottsass, who was effective in both good ground and soft ground. There are other races before the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe obviously, but we will aim him at the Arc.”

Paddy Power and Betfair cut Ace Impact to 10-1 from 50-1 for the Arc, while Coral make him their 5-1 favourite for the Eclipse.



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Vadeni supplemented for mouthwatering clash with Luxembourg

Vadeni will line up in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on Sunday after being supplemented at a cost of €45,000.

The four-year-old son of Churchill, who is owned and was bred by the Aga Khan, is trained in Pau, France, by Jean-Claude Rouget.

He won the Prix de Guiche, the Prix du Jockey Club and the Coral-Eclipse last season, having also been supplemented for the latter.

The bay was then third to Luxembourg in the Irish Champion Stakes and second by half a length to Alpinista in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, after which he began his season this time around in the Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp and finished fourth of seven runners.

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes has been mentioned as a target for the first half of the colt’s season and as the Tattersalls Gold Cup falls neatly between the Ganay and the Royal meeting he has been added to the Group One at the Kildare track.

Vadeni (second right) winning the Coral-Eclipse
Vadeni (second right) winning the Coral-Eclipse (Nigel French/PA)

Georges Rimaud, the Aga Khan’s racing and breeding manager in France, said of the timing of the Curragh race: “There’s a logic to going and running in this race, that’s why we’ve chosen this one.

“Hopefully it will make good sense and he will perform well, I hear there’s no rain planned and we’re not really worried about the type of ground he is going to run on anyway. He has, in the past, liked this sort of fast-ish ground so he should be fine.

“The horse is doing well, he has improved from his last race. We are hoping for a good run from him, the ground should suit him.”

Vadeni is likely to face a familiar rival in Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg, with Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge, who finished in front of him in the Ganay, also entered.

“It should be a good race, it often is, but this is Vadeni and he is a Group One horse and should be campaigned at that level,” Rimaud said.

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes remains Vadeni’s target come June, though naturally the Irish trip needs to be considered a success for that plan to be pursued.

Rimaud said: “We’ll go a step at a time, that is part of the plan but each part of the plan needs to go well so we’ll see after the race.”

Vadeni’s entry at the Curragh makes matters easier regarding the next steps of last season’s Prix Daniel Wildenstein winner Erevann, who will go to the Prix d’Ispahan now it is not on the agenda for his stablemate.

Rimaud confirmed: “That is the plan, he’s going to run in the Prix d’Ispahan.”



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Ganay set to stage heavyweight clash between Vadeni and Luxembourg

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Vadeni is set for a mouthwatering early-season rematch with Luxembourg after connections confirmed the Prix Ganay as his likely comeback target.

A brilliant winner of last year’s French Derby, Vadeni was subsequently supplemented for the Coral-Eclipse and got the better of Mishriff and Native Trail to become the first French-trained winner of the Sandown showpiece in 62 years.

Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget immediately nominated Leopardstown’s Irish Champion Stakes – a race he won with Almanzor in 2016 – as the next port of call, but his latest middle-distance star had to make do with minor honours in third behind the Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg.

The Ballydoyle handler revealed earlier this week he planned to send the latter to France to make his reappearance in the Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp on April 30, a Group One contest in which Vadeni will make his first competitive appearance since finishing a half-length second to Sir Mark Prescott’s Alpinista in the Arc.

Georges Rimaud, racing manager for owner-breeder the Aga Khan, said: “Vadeni is training OK, he is going to run in the Prix Ganay and we’ll see from there.

“There is not much to say. The horse is fine and doing everything he is being asked to do. All is well.”

When it was suggested a Ganay outing would throw up an exciting clash with Luxembourg, Rimaud added: “That is what we are hoping for anyway. I don’t know if it will be exciting or what, but it will be interesting.”

Erevann after winning at ParisLongchamp
Erevann after winning at ParisLongchamp (Ashley Iveson/PA)

Another Aga Khan-owned colt set to ply his trade at Group One level this season is Vadeni’s stablemate Erevann, who has won four of his five starts and rounded off 2022 with victory in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein on Arc weekend in Paris.

Connections have not got as far as firming up plans for his seasonal debut, but he appears unlikely to travel across the Channel for the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May.

“Erevann is the same – he is also doing well,” said Rimaud.

“We’ll decide soon where we go with him. He’ll run over a mile – he’s more of a miler, absolutely.

“He probably won’t go there (Newbury) for his introduction.”



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