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Maisons-Laffite Returns to Center Stage.
Many may have forgotten that the Maisons-Laffitte training center was once the largest in France with 3,000 horses in training during its golden age. Today, things are more modest, however it is home to two ambitious operations who hold the keys to one of the 'Arc Trials', the Prix Vermeille (Gr1). Those operations are the Lerner stable led by Carlos and his son Yann and the Gianluca Bietolini stable.
La Parisienne, the Golden Girl
Yann Lerner grew up in Maisons-Laffitte. He has nothing but praise for this training center: "It's magnificent. But we have a lack of yearlings, and it is more difficult to shine in the races that matter to the general public. With my father, we have between 20 and 25 yearlings per year, and 10 to 15 at Gianluca Bietolini. We are far from the numbers of Jean-Claude Rouget or André Fabre and the majority of these horses we train are bought by us. And yet, Maisons-Laffitte is perfect for the training of young horses: Mathieu Palussière proved it when he trained the Theresa Marnane two-year-old with success in France and England. I hope that the owners will soon come back to this location which has been completely renovated and reshaped. We have superb tracks and a new PSF (all-weather) which is incredible, and which remained perfect two years ago after a very rainy season, and now like this year with the heat wave".
Yann Lerner and his father have shown this year that Maisons-Laffitte still has its place for producing a horse to race in the Classics. La Parisienne finished a strong second behind Nashwa in the Prix de Diane Longines (G1). She has since taken time off. "We wanted to leave her alone for the autumn, to give her some freshness. Fifteen days after Prix de Diane, she was ready to go back but she likes soft ground, so it was better to wait. We closely followed Nashwa who raced well against her elder rivals winning the Nassau Stakes (Gr1) at Glorious Goodwood in the UK. This years' Vermeille promises to be strong with serious English runners and, indeed, providing a good pace that Le Parisienne needs because of her big strides. I won't object to a little more rain before the race".
The Lerner team could have two starters in Prix du Petit Couvert – the prep race to Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp (G1). "Berneuil is the defending champion. He did not run too badly last time at Deauville carrying a lot of weight in Prix du Cercle where he finished third. There was a little trouble getting out of his 'winter coat' but he is now in great shape. He needs a fast track and the straight track at Paris-Longchamp is almost new because it has only been used once in September.
As for Miramar, it is quite the opposite. She likes soft tracks. We will try our luck but if she repeats her Commonwealth Cup performance at Royal Ascot (UK) (fifth), it would be perfect. Don't dismiss her last outing, she raced on the wrong part of the track and lacked much impulse. She's been a lot better since."
Grand Glory, the Tireless Matriarch
She has become the eldest horse competing in events she races in! Grand Glory is known to everyone and today has become very international as a mare who raced in Asia, almost competed in the Saudi Cup, and finished third in the Prince of Wales Stakes (Gr1) at Royal Ascot (UK) in June. Trained by Gianluca Bietolini, an Italian trainer who has been living in France for several years, the six-year-old is a darling of the French turf. "The mare worked very well. She always has a great desire to run. This summer, I almost had a regret when I saw the runners for the Prix Jean Romanet in Deauville and not racing her, but Grand Glory had a busy winter, and she deserved a rest. After Royal Ascot, she had a month and a half of rides in the forest, just as a saddle horse, before returning to work. She has raced only a few times over 2400 meters but it's not because she can't do it, it's mainly because of the lack of rhythm in French races. She needs a high pace and that's why I mostly opted for races over 2000 meters. She needs regular pace, and she has shown very sharp sprints in these longer distances. We will have to face the three-year-olds, but she is courageous and I am confident".
Three horses of Gianluca Bietolini are also entered in the Handicap at the Arc Trial meeting with the race to be run over 1400 meters:
● Kaviare will need the race
● Pisorno requires soft ground
● Fayathaan will be one to follow if the ground is not too soft
Gianluca is a superb ambassador for the Maisons-Laffitte training center where he settled a few years ago. Right from the start, he bought and trained Dicton, which finished third in the Poule d'Essai and the Prix du Jockey Club (G1's). "Maisons-Laffitte deserves to have more horses. The owners have forgotten that André Fabre or the Head family, for example, learned to work here. I would like to pay tribute to the memory of late Mathieu Vincent, head of training centers at France Galop. Having completely resized and renovated the center in recent years we have all the facilities, on the flat and over jumps, and extraordinary sand tracks as well as a truly exceptional all-weather track, excellent in all seasons and great for the joints of the horses. The variety of tracks and options for training is a real asset for the horses' mindset as well".
Follow the Maisons-Laffitte stables closely on Arc Trials Day: they believe as strongly in their horses as they do in their training center.
Today, Maisons-Laffitte has 500 horses in training but could accommodate nearly a thousand according to Gianluca Bietolini. Maisons-Laffitte racecourse was closed in 2019 and a decision on its reopening is still pending. The site with one of the longest straights in Europe (2000m) remains closed.
