From the Grand Prix de Bretagne, the first of six Grand Prix d’Amérique qualifying events, Chica de Joudes obtained her qualification. A legitimate satisfaction for Alain Laurent his trainer, who had set himself this goal for his mare which he describes as “dream horse”, bred by the Vulliamy family.
Continuous progression
Beginning of spring 2018. At the end of a winter meeting where she chained one after the other better races on the main track of the Hippodrome Paris-Vincennes, Chica de Joudes flew over the Prix Jean Cabrol. Her raw performance that day placed her at the gates of a Grand Prix d’Amérique. It’s no surprise for Alain Laurent, who leads one of the finest trotting awards. With this daughter of Jag de Bellouet, himself the winner of the world’s largest harness racing, her trainer took her time and shaped it through the seasons. Since her debut at the age of 2, she has run less than 50 times for 15 successes. If she was rather showy in her youth, Chica de Joudes has become a calmed mare, very attentive to her partner, to whom Alain Laurent has succeeded in giving “envy”, a very important characteristic in the eyes of this latest. At the age of 8, Chica de Joudes will compete in the first Group I of her career, directly in the Grand Prix d’Amérique. As a final step in a continuous ramp-up.
Alain Laurent, the perfectionist
Alain Laurent has one of the finest records in French trotting. Holder of more than 2,300 victories, he has notably won the Grand Prix de Cornulier three times, the first of which in 1974 at the age of 20 in the saddle on This History, a resident of Gérard Mottier. Also in 1974, he won the Etrier d’Or for the second consecutive year, which each year crowns the best jockey in trotting. His career is definitely launched. He will become a sought-after driver and coach. Very good rider, trainer at heart, Alain Laurent defines himself as a perfectionist. Under his training, he enjoyed great success with horses like Escartefigue and Hermès de Péricard, with whom he participated in the American Grand Prix in 1998 and 2001, as well as Kidacra, Forcing de Kacy, Kallighan, etc. “Horses have given me satisfaction all my life, so they are my friends,” he confided to Equidia at the end of last year when asked about his profession that he continues to practice with the same passion.
The “Joudes”, the legacy
Les “Joudes” and Alain Laurent, it’s a long story. The association between the breeding of the Vulliamy family and the Ile-de-France professional dates back to the 90s. Some time earlier, Jean-Pierre Vulliamy, passionate about horses and settled in Switzerland where he runs like in France, bought land in Saône-et-Loire to establish his trotting farm, in Joudes precisely. After the untimely death of their father at the end of the 90s, Christophe, Alexandre and Sylvie, his children, continued his work with the support of their mother. In recent years, the label “de Joudes” has been particularly distinguished with Atlas de Joudes, the older brother of Chica de Joudes, who has become a classic stallion with the victories of Gala Téjy, and Artiste de Joudes.
