Jerome Reynier isn’t afraid of travelling and neither, it seems, are his horses.
In the 14 years since the French trainer prepared his first winner - in September 2010 on his home track of Marseille - Reynier has forged a reputation for being ambitious.
One of his stable stars, Factuer Cheval, was runner-up for the second year in a row in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on October 19.
In between he won the Group 1 Dubai Turf at Meydan in March and raced at Royal Ascot in June and Goodwood in July.
The Breeders’ Cup in the US had also been considered, but it was ruled out by Reynier due to the horse’s Group 1 goal at Ascot.
In any case, Reynier would be in Sydney, Australia, this Breeders’ Cup weekend overseeing his unbeaten Lazzat who is chasing his piece of the $10 million in prize money of the Golden Eagle.
Lazzat, who won his first start in January of this year, has risen rapidly through the ranks, claiming the Group 1 Maurice de Gheest at Deauville at his most recent start against older horses.
“He's won his three first starts over this (1500m) distance and he's got a really high cruising speed that he can maintain for quite a long time, so he's a very interesting horse,” Reynier told The Straight.
“He goes on any ground, he goes right-handed, left-handed, on straight courses as well so he is quite exceptional to cope with any kind of conditions.”
A son of former Darley shuttler Territories, who was recently sold to India, Lazzat drew barrier 12 at Tuesday night’s draw.
Italian jockey Antonio Orani, who has been aboard Lazzat in all six starts, will fly out to ride the gelding in the Golden Eagle, the Rosehill race restricted to four-year-olds (to southern hemisphere time).
The fact Lazzat is a gelding, removing the pressure of trying to manage a potential stud career, means the lure of international riches is all the more appealing for Reynier and the northern hemisphere three-year-old’s owner Nurlan Bizakov, a significant investor in European bloodstock.
The Kazakhstan businessman owns multiple studs in the United Kingdom and France under his Sumbe banner and is eying expanding his interests to Australia.
“Mr Bizakov really wanted to have a runner in Australia with a decent chance and obviously that was the horse to try to give it a go because he's a gelding and he's chasing the money,” the trainer said.
“He's been travelling and adapting himself very well to any kind of condition so he's the right horse to try it.”
Travelling his horses isn’t something Reynier sees as an obstacle. His worldly view of thoroughbred racing perhaps aided by his two-year stint in the prestigious Godolphin Flying Start program.
During his time in Australia in 2007, he spent time in the Hunter Valley and Sydney as well as placement with New Zealand Thoroughbred Marketing and renowned Kiwi horse educator Bruce Harvey at his Ascot Farm property.
Currently sixth on the France Flat trainers’ premiership for 2024 with 71 winners, Reynier regularly floats his horses from his home base in French Riviera, a region better known for its yachts, cruises, food and wine rather than racing, to the country’s thoroughbred heartland in the north at Chantilly and Longchamp.
Lazzat wins the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest.
There are about 25 trainers and 600 horses in Marseille. All up, Reynier has won 842 races, 71 one of them at stakes level including five Group 1s, the first of those at the elite level coming with Skalleti in the 2021 Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp.
Underscoring his trainer’s willingness to take on a challenge, Skalleti had also finished runner-up to another well-known traveller in Addeybb in the 2020 Group 1 Champion Stakes on his way to that year’s Hong Kong Cup. He finished seventh in the Group 1 race at Sha Tin.
“We're eight hours away from all the (main) Parisian racetracks and our horses are quite used to travelling a long way,” Reynier says.
“We've got amazing facilities, an amazing setup and really good weather all year long, so it's a lovely place to be (and train horses), to be honest.”
During the European summer just gone, Reynier was set to join forces with top French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, but for a range of reasons the partnership fell through.
“He goes on any ground, he goes right-handed, left-handed, on straight courses as well so he is quite exceptional to cope with any kind of conditions” - Jerome Reynier on Golden Eagle hopeful Lazzat
For now, 39-year-old Reynier is settled in Marseille but the world map is close by and if Lazzat runs up to expectations on Saturday, another stamp on the trainer’s passport is more than likely.
“The Hong Kong Mile could be an option depending on how he runs and how recovers from the race, but maybe he could come back home and aim for the 1351, the Group 1 (Turf Sprint) in Saudi,” he said.
“I think it would be interesting to send him over there because he's not a pure sprinter and the mile could be a bit too far for him. I think he's a really pure flyer and the more he runs the faster he gets.”
Before Reynier worries about Saudi Arabia or Hong Kong, the trainer will enjoy Golden Eagle day and also take in the Melbourne Cup from Flemington on Tuesday.
