A Discussion With Jean De Roualle, One Of The Most Famous Names In Horse Racing

He spoke with Ten Furlongs about his four-decade career and what he has planned for the future.

Even without a family history in horse racing, the passion for horses came at an early age, as the trainer told us.

"We have been around horses since we were very, very young—I always had an interest in them," de Roualle said.

"Not specifically in horse racing, but we had been riding since we were four years old. "All horses get my interest—polo, show jumping, hunting horses, which my dad had, and racing, of course."

After his one-year duty in the army, as is the requirement in France, he would decide to study at university while he eased into the racing world—where passion truly lies.

He would go on to complete his disciplines in business and economics before being given the option of either working for a company in Paris or going to the United States to pursue the horse racing industry.

De Roualle would choose the latter, to the disappointment of his father, but it is a choice he will never look back on.

"He was extremely disappointed! He had great expectations for me; I did not know what he thought. If I were to become the President of France or something like that,

"Instead, I went to muck stables for two years in Kentucky.

"I went to Kentucky, and I worked on two farms (Bedford and Spendthrift). At Bedford, I was taking care of brood mares and the breeding section.

"At Spendthrift, I was in charge of four stallions, so I learned about all the best pedigrees in the world and the best horses in the world—this pushed me to come back to Paris."

Arriving back home, he started at one of the largest and most well-known training centres in France, the Chantilly Training Center, becoming an assistant to the legendary late trainer Francois Boutin for four years.

"After that time, he came to me and said it was time to get my own training licence," a memory that brings a smile to de Roualle’s face on reflection.

He would receive his first licence on January 1st, 1983, and he recalls the fact that he has been in this industry and successfully training consistently for such a long time.

"In two months, I will have been a trainer for forty years—can you believe it?"

With this experience, he has learned much along the way, and some of those lessons have been not only for the horses he trains but also personal lessons for himself.

He places significant importance on the need to introduce his runners to the racetrack early and sees it as an education that is imperative for any horse that he receives.

"Arabic horses are new to me; I discovered them seven years ago when I came to the UAE. For my entire life, I have been training thoroughbreds. But, whatever the horse is, education, or schooling when they are young, is the foundation.

"Thirty years ago, for financial reasons, only trainers used to bring yearlings to school them to do the whole job and get them ready." Now they send their young horses to the pre-training centre to prepare them because training fees are extremely high all over the world, but you need to run your business.

"I think pre-training is important to school the horses, but it takes more than that." I feel people make mistakes because they think that for a cheap price, they can have their horse ready to run, and it simply does not work that way.

"If you overrun, you are in a hurry, and you will make a mistake and ruin your chances with the horse."

With a career that has seen him train 37 Group One aircraft, including seven of those in the UAE, his lessons are important.

Caerlina won the Prix de Diane (the French Oaks) in France, the country's first classic race for fillies, in 1991, eight years after obtaining his training license.

"That was massive for me as it was my first Group One, and it helped me a lot in my career."

Although he is proud of his career, he does not like to pick favorites, as he sees it as unfair to all the others that have been and will be under his guidance in the future.

"I never like to compare horses; some people ask me who the best horse I ever trained was, but I don’t think it is nice to give a name." Forty years after getting my license, I am sure horses go faster than they used to, and when you see horses like FlightLine winning the Breeders Cup, I am certain that the athletes have changed.

"Although I must admit, I don’t know why mostly fillies have been more successful for me than colts, and I have had some amazing fillies." Queen Maud won three group races in France and won in Hong Kong on International Day.

One horse that he has spoken fondly about is Satwa Queen and what she did for his career after winning a Group One in 2007, the last he won before leaving France for the UAE.

"Well, she was a marvellous mare!

"Satwa Queen’s owner was living in Dubai and the UK, and he named her Satwa Queen because at that time he was living in Satwa in Dubai.

"This filly won this last group one, which was the Prix de la Opera on Arc Day. We had a marvellous time and a lot of fun with her going to Hong Kong and going to the Breeders Cup.

"She won five group races, including two group ones."

The move to the UAE from France came after three attempts to persuade him to relocate, and it was widely publicised at the time.

He places significant importance on the need to introduce his runners to the racetrack early and sees it as an education that is imperative for any horse that he receives.

"Arabic horses are new to me; I discovered them seven years ago when I came to the UAE. For my entire life, I have been training thoroughbreds. But, whatever the horse is, education, or schooling when they are young, is the foundation.

"Thirty years ago, for financial reasons, only trainers used to bring yearlings to school them to do the whole job and get them ready." Now they send their young horses to the pre-training centre to prepare them because training fees are extremely high all over the world, but you need to run your business.

"I think pre-training is important to school the horses, but it takes more than that." I feel people make mistakes because they think that for a cheap price, they can have their horse ready to run, and it simply does not work that way.

"If you overrun, you are in a hurry, and you will make a mistake and ruin your chances with the horse."

With a career that has seen him train 37 Group One aircraft, including seven of those in the UAE, his lessons are important.

Caerlina won the Prix de Diane (the French Oaks) in France, the country's first classic race for fillies, in 1991, eight years after obtaining his training license.

"That was massive for me as it was my first Group One, and it helped me a lot in my career."

Although he is proud of his career, he does not like to pick favorites, as he sees it as unfair to all the others that have been and will be under his guidance in the future.

"I never like to compare horses; some people ask me who the best horse I ever trained was, but I don’t think it is nice to give a name." Forty years after getting my license, I am sure horses go faster than they used to, and when you see horses like FlightLine winning the Breeders Cup, I am certain that the athletes have changed.

"Although I must admit, I don’t know why mostly fillies have been more successful for me than colts, and I have had some amazing fillies." Queen Maud won three group races in France and won in Hong Kong on International Day.

One horse that he has spoken fondly about is Satwa Queen and what she did for his career after winning a Group One in 2007, the last he won before leaving France for the UAE.

"Well, she was a marvellous mare!

"Satwa Queen’s owner was living in Dubai and the UK, and he named her Satwa Queen because at that time he was living in Satwa in Dubai.

"This filly won this last group one, which was the Prix de la Opera on Arc Day. We had a marvellous time and a lot of fun with her going to Hong Kong and going to the Breeders Cup.

"She won five group races, including two group ones."

The move to the UAE from France came after three attempts to persuade him to relocate, and it was widely publicised at the time.

"These horses really get better and mature at five; I have been told by more experienced people than myself that if you run a four-year-old too many times or only once against aged horses, you can destroy this horse." So, all these things, even though I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning, I adapted myself to.

"They (Arabic horses) fascinate me!"When they say yes, it means no, and when they say no, it means yes; they are a bit more complicated to train.

"But with the horses that His Highness is sending me, the quality is getting better every year." Lately, with horses like Loraa, Rmmas, and Somoud, I have been very lucky to win four President Cups in a row in six years of training.

"Each year is new for me though—I have some prospects for this season."

Throughout his career, de Roualle has learned what is truly important in the industry outside of winning and finding the next big star on the track.

"This industry is one of humility." I have seen in some sports people that they have a period of time when they do not win races, but when they do, they act like Napoleon and are better than everybody. You must stay humble because you never know what tomorrow could bring.

"I was a stupid, arrogant guy when I first started, but I know with my experience and hard work I am now no longer arrogant. Tomorrow is another day, and we had a beautiful start last week with four runners, three winners, and one place, but we don’t know what next week or the next will bring us, so we have to remain modest and humble."

"I will tell you one thing—when you have a period of time as a trainer when you are not winning races, number one, your wife is not talking to you anymore, which is a problem, your friends don’t call anymore, and everybody thinks you are no good.

"You suddenly win a race on a small track in the middle of nowhere, and your average horse who is a champion in your eyes, and this gives you all of a sudden the energy when you're driving home on a long, boring road that I fall asleep on every time.""You feel excited, and there is no little or big race—that is the way I see it."

When discussing prospects for the upcoming season, de Roualle admits the upcoming campaign will centre around one or two, but looking to the future gets him excited.

He currently has 36 horses in training, a number that de Roualle is happy with.

"Well, I don't have any older horses; I've got Somoud. He has already won three Group One titles, including two President Cups.

The eight-year-old, sired by Munjiz and out of Wadya, will run next in the Jewel Crown.

"He will meet the best Arabian horses in the world there."

"Behind him, I have two children, four and five years old, and I have lots of expectations for them." The two five-year-olds are called Muraqib and Dareem; they came late last year to me from France, and both won. I have one four-year-old who came to me only this year called Hakkum, who ran and won earlier in the month.

"The rest of them in my stable are three-year-olds, about fifteen to twenty of them." "I have a large crop at that age, so I am really starting fresh for the first time since I have arrived here."

From his team of three-year-olds, he spoke highly and exclusively to us about one of them, in whom he sees a potential future star.

"He could be a star, I think, but we must be very careful and patient with him." He will run on December 2, and his name is Faisal. He is the full brother of three Group One winners: Mabrooka, Joudh, and Rmmas.

"He is a beautiful horse, and the way he is working, he seems to be my best three-year-old. Let’s wait, but I have great expectations for him."

Having turned 69 this year, he still has endless passion, motivation, and drive to keep winning and showing that with experience, humility, and those other attributes, there is no expiry date for what the great trainer Jean de Roualle can do in the sport of kings.

"If you have to wake up early one day and I say it's boring, I have to go to the track again, it's time to stop—you'll get very bad."

"There is no age limit for this; I believe that the more experience you have, the better it is, like a good red wine."If you like competition as much as I do and have the energy and passion that comes from being around horses and your staff, you will be able to perform.

"As long as I wake up with that every morning, I will keep going; if I ever feel the opposite, like I am bored, I will stop."