3 minute read
Moment Of The Month: Nicolas Bazire.
Nicolas Bazire is the youngest driver and trainer to win the G1 Prix d'Amerique Legend Race (2700m) when he triumphed with Davidson du Pont. At 21, the son of Jean-Michel Bazire spoke to us about the people who have helped him to reach this Holy Grail of French trotting.
Mum - Céline Bazire Rayon
This is my mother. She's cool and I've always been easy going with her. My mother has always had my back in my apprenticeship. She just sulked when I didn't do my last year at school : I dropped out of school the year of the final exam. She is my first supporter and she told me that I gave her one of the best days of her life when winning the Prix d'Amérique.
Grandad - Jean-Yves Rayon
The older he gets, the more emotional he becomes. He cried a lot when I won the Prix d'Amérique with Davidson du Pont, a horse he had reared. He was always an attentive grandfather and close to his grandchildren. When my father went abroad, we spent a lot of time in his farm. He was cool, he let us do everything. He has always been very kind to horses, even too kind some say, but it makes a career last, as Davidson has proven.
Grandad - Michel Bazire
We are where we are thanks to him. His stable is the base of the Jean-Michel Bazire stable. It is really thanks to him that we have good horses, that we work in good conditions. He was very close to us. He adored us. He was very attentive and wanted to work always in a clean stable, things like that that stick with me even though he died when I was 11.
Sister - Pauline Bazire
We are 2 years apart, we fight all the time. We love each other but we don't know how to tell that to each other.
Dad - Jean-Michel Bazire
It is thanks to him that I am here and that I can advance in the profession, even a little faster than the others. He is tough but fair. I'm very lucky so I try not to flinch. He's the boss. He's more nervous and I'm cooler, but he tends to calm down as he gets older. Through work, we spend more time together than when I was a kid. He would like me to take more responsibility but I'm only 21 and I love driving so I'll leave the training to him for a while. I get involved and he wants me to set the example, first in, last out. He takes his father's place. I need to learn, and he wants to pass on the information. He wasn't the best teacher at first, but he's improving. He is a little more communicative.
Cousin - Romain Congard
He is my cousin and my colleague. We are often together, and he is important in my daily life. We share the horses and we exchange our experiences. He is also a confidant. We help each other every day.
Friends - Théo and Clément Duvaldestin, Tristan Ouvrie and Léo Abrivard
They are my racetrack buddies. We saw each other every winter every day at Vincennes and it's a friendship that lasts. With Tristan Ouvrie, we bonded when we were at school. After 15 years, he is already what you could call an old friend.
We talk a little about racing, but we also have other passions. We play video games, we play sports. We are rivals on the tracks, but we respect each other a lot. In video games, you can really laugh and be friendly mean. We never let a day go by without calling each other. These comrades are so important to me because I know they are the ones who will be there in the bad times.
