Veteran jockey Gerald Mossé will again be in the big-race spotlight when he partners French Classic winner Mangoustine in Royal Ascot’s Coronation Stakes. He tells Graham Dench about the filly’s chances – and his own plans for a future career as a trainer
Top-level international competition has been meat and drink to Gerald Mossé for the best part of 40 years, so it’s no wonder he is looking forward to returning to Royal Ascot to ride an exciting filly in one of the week’s showpiece events.
We must make the most of the much-travelled veteran while we still can, however, for while the 55-year-old has yet to set a time and place for starting the next phase of his career, his preparations for becoming a trainer are well under way.
Mossé is hoping his recent Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas) winner Mangoustine can give him a third victory in the Coronation Stakes on the Friday of Royal Ascot.
‘I have a training licence in my pocket’
But he is also readying himself for the next chapter. “When I stop, I know what I’m going to do,” he says. “I have a training licence in my pocket, having passed the tests last winter, but I don’t have a yard yet. I’m looking, and when I find one I’ll prepare it for when I feel the time is right to switch. So where and when will be another story, but I’m getting ready.
He adds: “I want to be prepared and well organised for my second career. I don’t want to be wondering what to do next when I finish as a jockey, and I’m making sure I’m not stuck waiting for the documents.”
But he admits it won’t be easy to give up riding. “I was born to do this, so it’s hard for me to think I’m going to stop one day,” he says. “I still have support, which you need to get the best rides, and I enjoy it so much that when I change jobs it will probably be a bit less fun. But I’m looking forward to a new challenge one day.”
With about 80 G1s worldwide including multiple successes in all five French Classics, Mossé has a CV to die for. Indeed, he has won Prix de Diane alone on no fewer than five occasions – but Mangoustine’s narrow defeat of 1000 Guineas winner Cachet in the Pouliches was his first in a Classic since he landed a third Prix du Jockey Club on Reliable Man in 2011.
That 11-year gap can be explained in good part by an insatiable quest to sample the delights of different racing jurisdictions, which saw Mossé follow two years in England in 2018 and 2019 with a successful stint in Bahrain.
Mossé was only 23 when his ride on Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Saumarez earned the highest praise in Racehorses of 1990 from Timeform, who described it as “a brilliant piece of race-riding … perfection … demonstrating first-class tactical appreciation”.
There have been about 75 more G1 winners since then, and while well over half of them have been gained in his native France – where he was the Aga Khan’s principal rider between 1993 and 2001 – Mossé has long been demand all over the globe.
A truly world-class rider, he can point to major success in seven other major jurisdictions outside France, including Australia – where he won the 2010 Melbourne Cup on Americain for long-time ally Alain de Royer-Dupre.
“I’ve been lucky to ride all over the world for many of the top people,” says Mossé. “I really appreciate having been able to ride in France, England, Hong Kong and many other countries.
“I’ve enjoyed it wherever I’ve been,” he goes on. “Horses can lose a bit of interest if they go to the same track every time, and taking them abroad can give them a second breath . My Chinese birth sign is a horse, and perhaps I’m a little like that too.”
He adds: “I have never been looking for the numbers – I like quality. Winning big races is more important to me. I rode more than 600 winners in Hong Kong but I was never champion there.”
Mossé can’t wait to return to Royal Ascot, where he has won the Coronation Stakes on Gold Splash (1993) and Immortal Verse (2011), as well as the St James’s Palace on the Aga Khan’s star miler Sendawar in 1999 and the King’s Stand on French sprinter Nuclear Debate in 2000.
“It’s always good to go to Royal Ascot to compete, and if you win it’s even better,” he says. “Top horses and top jockeys, at a top racecourse, is always a good feeling.
‘This is not my job – it’s my hobby’
“This is not my job – it’s my hobby. I like horses and I like competition, so when these two things come together in what is your business there is nothing better. It’s every jockey’s dream to travel the world with the best horses and compete against the best jockeys.”
Now trained by Mikel Delzangles after Frederic Rossi was suspended last November, Mangoustine clearly has what it takes to be competitive in the Coronation Stakes, and Mossé believes she has the quality to win.
“Mangoustine had a fantastic campaign when she was two, and she was expected to improve from two to three, when she was moving stable,” explains Mossé. “She enjoyed a nice preparation when third in the Prix de la Grotte, running well with no pressure, and then she improved big time.
“We were confident before the Pouliches, and she was in very good form on the day. It was very close, but you win when you pass the winning post and I felt that I had the race in hand from the start of the finishing straight. She was fighting all the way to the line. It was great.”
While it’s relatively early days for Mangoustine, Mossé is ready to compare her to one of his previous Royal Ascot-winning fillies. “Immortal Verse had a terrific turn of foot and was a very good filly,” he says.
“She went on to beat Goldikova in the Prix Jacques le Marois, and to beat a filly like Goldikova you have to be top class. Immortal Verse was top class – like Mangoustine. When a French filly beats the English 1000 Guineas winner, as Mangoustine did when beating Cachet in the Pouliches, you know they are good.
“It’s going to be competitive, and Homeless Songs looked very good in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, but it’s always good to see the top fillies meet in races like the Coronation Stakes. There are a lot of other top races at Royal Ascot, where it’s always a fantastic atmosphere, but it could be one of the best races of the week.
“I think Royal Ascot will suit Mangoustine. English races are normally run at a good pace, and she should enjoy the uphill finish and long straight. She’s got great acceleration; she has everything. She’s nice.”
Six of the best from Gerald Mossé
Americain
Trainer: Alain de Royer-Dupre – ridden by Mossé for eight wins, including Melbourne Cup (2010)
Mossé says: “Winning the Melbourne Cup was something very special as I was the first Frenchman to ride the winner.”
Arazi
Francois Boutin – five Group wins at two in 1991, including Morny, Salamandre and Grand Criterium
“Arazi was the best two-year-old I’ve ever ridden. I had a fantastic two-year-old season on him, but when he went to the Breeders’ Cup I was signing a contract to ride in Hong Kong and they wouldn’t let me go. What he did at Churchill Downs was astonishing, but luckily Mr Paulson (owner Allen Paulson) was a generous man and appreciated the job I’d done with Arazi.”
Ashkalani
Alain de Royer-Dupre – five Group wins including Poulains and Moulin (both 1996)
Ashkalani had the best acceleration of any horse I’ve ridden. I’ve never known a turn of foot like it. He’d pass from last to first in five strides.
Jim And Tonic
Francois Doumen – 11 wins, including Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Hong Kong Cup (1999) and Dubai Duty Free (2001)
Jim And Tonic was special for many reasons. To start with, his father Double Bed gave me my first big win, but also I got to ride him all over the world, in France of course but also in Canada, England, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.
River Verdon
David Hill – Hong Kong Cup (1991)
River Verdon was a champion and a legend in Hong Kong and I was lucky to ride him for one of his biggest wins there.
Saumarez
Nicolas Clement – two wins including Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (1990)
At the time I was too young to appreciate what winning the Arc meant, but looking back on my career it was obviously one of my early highlights.
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