French Racing - Freddy Head

3 minute read

A Time to Retire, A Time to Enjoy – A Career Well Lived.

Freddy Head will retire (once more) where after an initial career as a successful jockey, he then became a very successful trainer. In this article, Freddy reflects on his career with wisdom and his trademark sparkling smiling eyes.

"Age catches up with us all and I've been working since I was 16. It's time for me to enjoy other things. I always felt 75 would be the time to stop and I'm delighted. I never wanted to go on past the stage where I became embittered, that would have been horrible.

I had already retired from competition when I retired as a jockey. I started at sixteen in Australia where my father sent me. When I came back, I started to ride, and I didn't stop until 1997 when I was 50 years old. I have ridden many top horses, but Miesque and Three Troikas remain the two major horses in my life as a jockey. I have won three Arcs with mares: Three Throikas, San San and Ivanjica and my very first one was with Bon Mot which really launched my career. I was 19 years old, and I owe him a lot.

Following my time in the saddle, I started training almost immediately. I ceased to be a jockey and I would have loved to ride some of the horses I trained but I had excellent riders for my champions: Thierry Jarnet and Moonlight Cloud, Olivier Peslier and Goldikova, Maxime Guyon and Solow with whom he won all his races at 4 years old. Me, I remain a jockey in my mind, and I love to see a jockey win a big race. I envy them a lot.

Once I reached 35, I began thinking about becoming a trainer and about how I would train the horses I was riding. I have been lucky enough to ride for some of the greatest trainers, including those in my family, and the thousands of races I have competed have served me well in my knowledge of the horse. Being a trainer was something else. When I rode, I was always a little critical of trainers. I rode for a lot of good people so I wanted to see if I was capable as a trainer, and if I could do something different. I had learnt from them and put it altogether for myself.

Competition is the driving force of my career. Being a jockey is not the same job. It's more physical. As a trainer it is knowing how to look at horses and earn the faith and knowledge of the horse. There is also some psychology.

In my method, I have always followed the same line from the start. I haven't changed a thing, kept the same way of training. My horses' qualities have improved over the years; that's for certain!

To a young trainer, I advise to be assiduous. It's not a hard job but it requires presence. It's a real craftsman job.

The racing world is not more complex than before, but it has changed. I love racing; I love horses. What worries me is the value of French horses. French breeding has declined a lot. France is declining in general. We are not so different from other professions!

Goldikova was an incredible moment for me because I was surrounded in this adventure by extraordinary men, starting with her owners. The Wertheimer brothers had the courage to keep her until she was 6 years old in competition. Few people would have done that. And without Olivier Peslier, she wouldn't have had the career she has had either.

Miesque and Goldikova had a similar career path even if Miesque was more precocious but they both became stars because of what they did in the USA. People often ask me to compare them but it's impossible. Unfortunately, I have never ridden Goldikova!

On the day of the victory of the first Group 1 winner of Christopher, my son, I chose to place myself in my corner, but we lived it together. To win a Group One is obviously a special emotion. I saw myself again winning my first Group 1. But in any case, whether it's the 1st or the 4th, 10th, there is a unique emotion!

I have enough children and grandchildren not to be bored in the future. I will also follow closely the horses of Christopher and Victoria who are now trainers. I hope to help them and to provide them with wisdom and inspiration in their practice. And I think I will have a few horses as an owner".

FREDDY HEAD GROUP 1 WINS