Christophe Lemaire© Photo Healy Racing
Christophe Lemaire believes the long home straight at York will play to the strengths of Durezza, his Japanese-trained mount in an intriguing renewal of the Juddmonte International next week.
Lemaire used to be a far more frequent visitor to the UK due to a successful link-up early in his career with Luca Cumani, but he is no stranger to York, winning the Yorkshire Oaks on Alain de Royer-Dupre’s Shareta in 2012.
Few jockeys on the world stage can match Lemaire’s list of achievements. The Frenchman has won the Prix du Jockey Club, Prix de Diane and Poule d’Essai des Pouliches in his homeland, among many other Group Ones.
In the UK, he has won both Guineas, the Champion Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, while Hong Kong Cup and Melbourne Cup triumphs also feature on his CV.
After being a fleeting visitor to Japan, winning several of their biggest races, he moved full time to that country in 2015 and his success has been dominant.
He won the Kikuka-Sho, the Japanese St Leger, on Durezza last year and feels that the stamina his mount possesses could come into play against a talented field, although he is well aware of the standard of opposition he is facing.
“Durezza is a horse that gradually steps up his game, and his strengths lie in his stamina. York Racecourse is relatively flat, with a long straight, so I think he’ll be able to fully demonstrate his abilities,” said Lemaire on www.c-lemaire.co.jp.
“I’ve been checking the training footage since he moved to the UK. I saw him being trained on Warren Hill, a famous hill gallop. I’m also keeping an eye on the weather forecast, but fortunately there’s no rain in the forecast, so the ideal situation would be to race on a good track.
“The strong European horses will be there, and we are preparing for the race by studying the opposing horses using replays and other methods.
“Several horses from the (Aidan) O’Brien stable are also scheduled to run, so we will pay attention to the tactics of the race, which are different from those in Japan.”
