understandably proud of its heritage but
equally pleased that Chantilly continues
to pack a modern-day punch.
"French racing has gone a step higher in
the quality of horses," he says. "We have
some very good trainers and some good
ambassadors—the likes of Goldikova
going to the Breeders' Cup and also horses
like Dunaden winning the Melbourne Cup
and in Hong Kong, and Vazirabad winning
in Dubai. You can train at a very high level
in Chantilly, which is close to the airport
for shipping the horses."
Clement's colleague John Hammond,
though not a compatriot, has trained from
Chantilly for more than 30 years after
originally arriving there to work for André
Fabre.
He says, "Chantilly has plenty going for
it, it's a lovely place to train horses, and
above all there have been a lot of good
horses trained here. It also has a bit of
wow factor for the owners, that's for sure."
Hammond is one of the few to be
