With over 7,100 victories to his name, including 46 Group 1s, Jean-Claude Rouget has consistently had to adapt during his 43 years in the business. Based at Pau, with a satellite in Deauville since 2017, this consummate professional has been able to depend on a solid team.

His career began with national hunt horses, and after winning all the major races in the southwest, his attention turned to the flat, his record now speaking for itself. While it took him 16 years to secure a first group race, he acknowledges that his route would have been even harder today.

After a remarkable 2009, highlighted by a pair of exceptional three year-olds, Le Havre and Stacelita, it was not until 2016 that he truly set himself apart, with 9 Gr.1 victories, Almanzor and La Cressonnière spearheading the stable’s success. Confirmation came in 2020 with Sottsass winning the Arc.

Rouget’s decision to open a base in Deauville was principally to simplify logistics, but it also allowed him to divide his horses and consequently observe them better, albeit less frequently. He currently tops the trainer’s table with André Fabre and is counting on a number of high-quality horses to win some of the best races on the French calendar.

His 3yo contingent may not yet have achieved the levels he had hoped, but two of his stars will be in action this weekend. Vadeni has been supplemented to the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, and should then take in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, with the Arc his ultimate objective. Erevann runs in the Prix d’Ispahan on Monday, before the Queen Anne S. at Ascot, followed by the Jacques le Marois. At home, he saddles Al Barq in the Derby du Midi, and Wally in the Grand Prix de Bordeaux.