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Feed Balancers and Quality Horse Feeds
TOPSPEC TRAINER OF THE QUARTER
FRANÇOIS NICOLLE The TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by François Nicole. Nicole wil receive £1,000 worth of TopSpec feed, suplements and additives as wel as a consultation with one of their senior nutritionists. Katherine Ford n France, ask a racegoer to name the top jumps trainer, and the answer will certainly come back without an instant of hesitation, “François Nicolle.” Outside the country, however, the professional is still somewhat under the radar. And yet, in 2021 the Royan-based handler secured his fourth consecutive French jumps trainers title after amassing almost €10 million in prize money— the double of his nearest rivals both geographically and in results, his South West France neighbours Guillaume Macaire and Hector de Lageneste. With a stable of around 170 horses, Nicolle’s strike rate is as impressive as
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his bankroll in 2021, with a win ratio of over 20%. Indeed, his horses often have to settle for second or third best behind their stablemates in France’s most prestigious contests. This has been the case during the autumn with Nicolle trios dominating the Gr 2 Prix Georges Courtois at Auteuil and the Gr 2 Prix Leopold d’Orsetti at Compiègne, while he saddled the first two in the Gr 1 Prix Cambacérès hurdle during the feature weekend at Auteuil in November, as well as a fourth success in the Gr 1 Prix la Haye Jousselin with Poly Grandchamp. “We didn’t expect the win,” Nicolle said, “but it’s great to see an old
ABOVE: François Nicolle and wife Fabienne (pink scarf) celebrate Poly Grandchamp winning the Gr 1 Prix la Haye Jousselin at Auteuil, November 2021.
campaigner like him lift a big prize.” Nevertheless, the important ‘48h of Jumping’ weekend could have been a great source of disappointment as stable star l’Autonomie was denied in her quest for a 17th career victory in the Gr 1 Grand Prix d’Automne when beaten by veteran and specialist of the race Galop Marin. Magnanimous in defeat, Nicolle’s initial reaction was, “We were beaten by a