Abu Dhabi Is Eric Legrix’s New Frontier, Sagace Is Forever His Past
The much-travelled former Hong Kong-based Frenchman recalls the 1985 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and looks forward to his latest opportunity in the UAE along with his eldest son.
PERHAPS it is the mark of a successful career when you’re as well known for a race you lost as for the many you won.
Eric Legrix’s name evokes the phrase ‘legendary jockey’ in the mind of many a racing fan familiar with the sport in the 1980s. He was a true international rider in an era when jockeys jetting between continents was not so common. Around 2,800 career victories were gained in France, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, the USA and Britain and his impressive CV boasts two Hong Kong Derbies, a QEII Cup, a Prix Jacques le Marois and a Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Most famously, though, his collection of major race wins does not include what has become Europe’s biggest race, something which Legrix, now 65, looks back at with wry humour.
“I won, but not for very long, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe,” he says, settling back in the plush surroundings of his new base in Abu Dhabi. Time, it seems, has healed: it’s now 40 years since Sagace’s demotion by the stewards to the benefit of Rainbow Quest.
“They opened an inquiry, and they put the horse second,” – a shrug. “It was wonderful, for a moment, as he was an exceptional horse. But I was young, and it was what it was.”
It’s a phlegmatic reflection, but one which surely doesn’t do justice to the anguish of having France’s greatest race ripped away? He was 20 at the time and he never came that close to Arc glory again.
“Yes, it was painful,” he concedes in his heavy French accent. “It’s the biggest race we have in France. For me, you have three main races, the Derby, the Oaks and the Arc.
“Patrick Biancone [Sagace’s trainer] was very good, he gave chances to young jockeys and wasn’t afraid to put them on good horses.”
It was another great ally, Pascal Bary, who was responsible for what Legrix describes as “probably the best move I ever made on a racecourse” when he switched inside on Miss Alleged on his way to winning the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in 1991.
“It was a wonderful day in America,” he says. “But when I was stable jockey for Mr [Daniel] Wildenstein I won a lot of Group 1s; the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, the Prix Morny, the Prix d’Ispahan with Sagace … I was travelling everywhere in the world for Patrick [Biancone]. I was going to America, Canada, England: Epsom, Ascot, Newmarket. When you’re 20 something, it’s a dream.”
His eyes really sparkle, however, when he recounts a win at Epsom in a lowly maiden.
“In England, I love Epsom,” he says, citing Longchamp as his favourite track to ride in France. “I won once on Derby day when I was replacing Steve Cauthen who was late. It was a maiden but I was so happy – the atmosphere was so good!”
Legrix also speaks fondly of his time in Hong Kong, where he moved in 1993 after a change of circumstance in France.
“I was riding for Pascal Bary and Mr [Issam] Fares who decided to reduce his racehorses because he was more involved with politics,” he explains. “Patrick Biancone asked if I would be his stable jockey in Hong Kong, so it was quite an easy decision.
“We were one of the strongest stables in Hong Kong and we won a lot of races, although there were less Group 1s then than there are now. I won two Hong Kong Derbies [Helene Star in 1993 and Johan Cruyff in 1998]. The first one was when I first got to Hong Kong and Patrick called me in an emergency because Gerald Mosse had broken his collarbone, so I just arrived the day before and won.
“Hong Kong was good: great racing and friendship between all of us and the mentality was good. I already knew a lot of the jockeys: Pat Eddery, Lester Piggott, Steve Cauthen, Walter Swinburn, Kieren Fallon, Jason Weaver, Richard Hughes – it was good fun. I don’t want to say it was less competitive before – we were riding to win and everything was good – but the mentality was better. Now it’s different, there’s more pressure.”
Legrix was married to Sherie Kong who holds the distinction of being the first female professional jockey in Hong Kong, riding for the first time under rules in December 1993. Kong is the mother of Legrix’s two sons, Anthony and Samuel, and Anthony’s birth says plenty about the commitment of a top jockey.
“My youngest son was born on a Sunday and a couple of days before Mr [Andre] Fabre asked me if I can ride one very good filly, Grey Lilas, in the Prix de Moulin because Gary Stevens, his stable jockey, was out,” he says. “I accepted and I don’t know if the pressure of the race got to my ex-wife but on the day she said: “I don’t feel very good – can you take me to hospital?”
“You think “no, darling, not today!” he continues. “I dropped her at the hospital and asked if there was time to ride one race. I go, win the race and then I get a phone call saying ‘congratulations, your son is born,’ so I finished the day at the races and then went to the hospital. It was my birthday, too, so probably the best day of my life!”
There were some initial difficulties around Legrix and Kong riding against each other in Hong Kong.
“(Married jockeys) were very rare and I think we might have been the first in the world,” he explains. “At one time they didn’t want to let us ride together, but the (women’s rights movement) said ‘how come you can allow father and son and not husband and wife?’ So, in the end we were allowed to ride together.”
One place Legrix had not celebrated a winner until very recently is the UAE. After retiring from the saddle in 2009, aged 44, he moved into training. He found success in Morocco but moved to Abu Dhabi in July this year. He is employed as a private trainer to Sheikh Mansour – he of Manchester City fame – and his Yas Racing operation, with 40 Purebred Arabians at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club. Those who have preceded him in the role include Jean De Roualle, who provided Legrix with several of his biggest wins, including Caerlina in the 1991 G1 Prix de Diane.
“I was contacted by the racing manager from Yas Racing, Claude Piccioni,” says Legrix, looking very at ease in his sunny surroundings. “They were looking for a trainer and I was very proud to be chosen and to come here to Abu Dhabi.
“It’s a big difference because in Morocco you can run only on the sand. Here you can run on the grass and you have Arabian horses and Thoroughbreds and the quality of horses is probably better.”
Legrix has brought along his elder son Samuel, 24, who has followed his parents into race-riding and has teamed with his father as an apprentice jockey behind Silvestre De Sousa, Yas Racing’s retained rider.
“Samuel has loved horses since he was a kid when he liked to go racing and to the stables”, he says. “He was riding more for pleasure but then finished his studies and became an apprentice jockey. So now we’re working together, which is fun, and he’ll ride for me and be freelance here.”
Samuel will ensure the Legrix name remains in the jockeys’ rooms. For his father, it’s now time to conquer the training ranks in the Middle East. ∎
