My yard is located in the very heart of the world famous training centre of Chantilly, which enables me to make the most of these huge facilities. With an unbelievable variety of sand, grass, and polytrack gallops available, it is a joy to plan the day to day training of each horse.
Our daily routine takes place in the Lamorlaye sand track. I want my horses to do their basic work in a relaxed fashion so I like to train on this quiet part of the training centre. It is very close to the famous gallops of “Les Aigles”, which I also use from time to time as they provide a perfectly complementary type of exercise.
When it comes to more serious pieces of work, I pick the most suitable among the wide array of grass canters available. Should I want a straight, right handed or left handed work on any distance, I always find an appropriate gallop with perfect ground. This is one of the fantastic aspects of training in Chantilly.
Racecourse gallops are also a possibility and, in in my opinion, a brilliant occasion to give horses a a first contact with the racing track.
The All Weather Gallop, which features the same ground as the Deauville racetrack, is a great help during the frosty winters. I also use a 6-furlong straight polytrack with my 2 year-olds in the early stages of training, as it is an easier surface than proper sand.
The main yard consists of 30 boxes and the
top yard provides additional stabling capacity for up to 15 horses. After they race the horses get an chance to relax in the 2 sand-paddocks,which I also use to boost the morale of horses returning from injury.
Chantilly is the leading French training
centre, set in the beautiful surroundings of its 15,000 acre forest. It consists of 4,700 acres of land including 300 acres of grass gallops, and over 120 kilometres of sand gallops. The domain encompasses several training sites, including the world famous gallops Les Aigles and Les Lions.
This unique complex hold its success from the natural quality of the soil and subsoil, as well as the meticulous maintenance performed by a 60-people staff. The sand gallops are harrowed up to 10 times a day and regularly watered during the summer, while the grass canters are the subject of constant attention in order to maintain the ground at top quality level.
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