Sagace and Yves Saint-Martin, at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 1984 – da:gettyimages.it
Article by John Manenti
In individual sports, much more than team sports, even to most great interpreters of the various Disciplines can happen to have and “insurmountable taboo” in winning a single Event (for example the Olympics, World or Continental Championships …), like a Tournament and Grand Prix, in the case of Tennis, Motor Racing/Motorcycling or Horse Racing …
And the cases, limiting ourselves as an example only to the Tournaments of the “Grande Slam” of Tennis, they are not few, remembering as absolute level players such as Ivan Lendl, never won Wimbledon (with two consecutive Finals lost in the two-year period 1986-’87), equal to Stefan Edberg, in whose Palmarès Roland Garros is missing (only finalist in 1989), same gap for Boris Becker (at most three times semifinalist …), while Bjorn Borgwho almost never participated in the Australian Open, he never managed to clinch the US Opendespite having reached the Final on four occasions (1976, 1978 and 1980-’81).
Slightly different is, of course, the situation for riders and jockeys, as their statements are largely conditioned by the type of car driven or the quality of the horse riddenbut narrowing the field to the best at an international level, also in this case there is no shortage Stories that deserve to be told, such as the one, moreover with a happy ending, of the French jockey Yves Saint-Martinby far the best of any era for their own country…
Nato on 8 September 1941 in Agen, a city of about 80,000 inhabitants in New Aquitaine, Saint-Martin joined the coaching stables of François Mathet not yet 14 years old to then seize his first success at the end of July 1958 by riding Royalic owned by Suzy Volterra at the Tremblay Racecourse, same track where in 1964 he inaugurated his series of victories Freddy Head6 years younger than Yves and his great rival during the 70s.
Per Saint-Martin, vice versa, it was the 60s that consecrated him as a jockey of primary importancetestified by having won the “Golden Whip” (“Cravatta d’Oro”) in 1960 and, consecutively, from 1962 to 1969, Prize reserved for the French jockey who has accumulated the most victories in the season – which will see him collect as many as 15 at the end of his career – among which, in this decade, the statements abroad in the Washington International in 1962 stand out, the year in which he joins the Coronation Cup e le Oaks di Epsom, nonché le King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakesand then, the following year, also achieve success in the prestigious Epsom Derby …
Obviously, the victories in the homeland are much more numerous – just think that upon cessation of activity in 1987, Saint-Martin will be able to boast 3,275 triumphs on national soil compared to a total of 3,314 – but at the age of 30 he has not yet managed to bring a horse he rode first to the finish line of the “Price of the Arc de Triomphe”, or rather the most prestigious transalpine race that takes place on the first Sunday of October each year on the famous Longchamps track, vice versa first coin caught at only 19 years old by Head in 1966 riding a Bon Mot.
It is therefore necessary to enter the 70s for the taboo to finally be debunked, when on October 4, 1970 Saint-Martin was called to mount Sassafrascoached by the aforementioned Mathet, for a combination that has already secured the “Jockey Club Prize” a Chantilly ed il “Prix Royal Oak” on the same track as Longchamps, albeit over a longer distance of more than 3ooo meters …
Definitely a horse to be taken into consideration for a placement, but certainly not as the first favourite, given the presence of the undefeated Irishman Nijinskithe last specimen to date to have won the “Triple Crown”, or having won the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and St. Leger Stakes during the same season, and moreover riding the “legendary” Lester Piggott, with therefore all eyes on him …
And, in fact, the “Baronet” does his homework, launching the unbeaten three-year-old Irishman into the center of the track in the middle of the straight so as to fill the void behind him, except for Sassafras that does not give an inch to then get the better of the photo finish due to the reduced margin of a gluefor what the French press defines as “The surprise of the century” and which definitively crowns Saint-Martin to the rank of “The Little Prince of Hippodromes” (”The Little Prince of Racetracks“), given the height of 1.58 m for 51 kilos, especially for the value of the “scalp” conquered.
“Winning helps you win”, recalls an old adage and, therefore, the triumph of the beginning of the decade does not remain isolated for the now 30-year-old Yves – who has become a celebrity in France, so much so that at his wedding he will have as witnesses no less than Coco Chanel and Maurice Chevalier ( !!) – which, after having had to give up in the 1972 edition riding Rescousse for a length and a half compared to San San edited by Head ed come second also the following year with Allez France at a safe distance from the winner Rheingold with Piggott holding the reins, leads Allez France himself to cross the finish line first …
Given a half favorite together with Paulista ridden by Head, Allez France does not disappoint, with Saint-Martin launching him towards the finish as soon as he enters the finish lineperhaps anticipating the attack (as the jockey himself admits after the race …) even if 200 meters from the finish line victory seemed certain, before an imperious return of Contesse de Loir who almost catches him and the now 33-year-old Yves has to call on all his experience to keep a head ahead at the photo finish.
Got the encore, the second half of the 70s is stingy with satisfactions for Saint-Martin, beaten again by Head riding Ivanjica in the 1976 editionand then it was Piggott’s turn to score a double victory in the two-year period 1977-’78 with Alleged and then see his rival Head achieve, with the affirmation in 1979 by mounting Three Troikas, the poker of successes which, until then, had only been obtained by Jacques Doyasbère, who established himself in 1942, 1944 and in the two-year period 1950-’51 …
Sort of an affront to Saint-Martin who returns to the fore in the 1982 edition when he is called upon to mount the three-year-old Akiyda, owned by the Aga Khanbut without great results in his career, so much so that he was quoted 11-1 by the bookmakers, with the favors of the forecast vice versa oriented towards the Irishman Assert together with Bon Sang, Ardross, Harbor and Bikala, with the latter decisively taking the lead in I start together with Bon Sang, an initiative for which they pay a pledge by concluding behind the lines …
Saint-Martin, who kept Akiyda immediately close to the leaders, seizes the right moment in which they ran out of energy to clearly take command of the fence taking a lead of two pitches before the best could organize themselves, with a pack formed by Ardross (ridden by Piggott …), Awaasif and April Run (the latter with Willie Carson and Cash Asmussen …) gaining ground, but by now it’s too late and at the finish line it is Akiyda who prevails, taking away from Piggott the possibility of also reaching the fourth statement in the race.
Fourth triumph which, on the contrary, Saint-Martin hits the mark two years later on Sagace for his only success without excessive worries, letting go of the reins halfway through the finish line to go over the finish line with two lengths ahead of Northern Trick and as many as 6 on All Along, winner of the previous edition, so that he too can boast a poker of successes, subsequently equaled by Pat Eddery, Olivier Peslier and Thierry Jarnet, and then be surpassed only by Frankie Dettori, who rose to 6 with victories in the two-year period 2017-’18 riding Enable …
curious detail, the following year, Sagace again finished first, but was downgraded for having hindered Rainbow Quest who was reassembling it, so as to assign the victory to the latter …
Shrewd though he had no Saint-Martin in the saddle (who finished fourth with Sumayr …), but the 20-year-old Eric Legrix and therefore little expert in a head-to-head finish with an established jockey like Pat Eddery, who vice versa inaugurates the series of a trio of consecutive successes …
When they say “Never change a winning team …” …
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