roguet issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd
19/8/10
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PROFILE
JEAN-CLAUDE ROUGET Going the extra mile
Jean-Claude Rouget is not a man for moderation. At the top of his game for over two decades, he broke the record of number of wins per season with 178 successes back in 1991 and has not relinquished his place as winningmost French trainer since. But the trainers’ title is not decided on number of wins, and racing’s archives are not filled with winners of “egg and spoon” races on country tracks. For Rouget, success means Classic victory and topping the trainers’ championship. Good things come to those who wait. By Katherine Ford
I
N 2009 the floodgates opened and the handler sent out a barrage of topclass performers from his base in the South West of France to conquer the prestigious Paris prizes. After years of
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knocking at the door and seeing favourites losing their unbeaten tags in the Longchamp and Chantilly Group 1s, Rouget tasted Classic glory for the first time as Elusive Wave beat her stablemate
Tamazirte to victory in France’s 1,000 Guineas, the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. This hors d’oeuvre quickly became a feast when another Rouget charge, Le Havre, took second in the colt’s equivalent. Even