Tough stayer Torrens is on target to deliver his up-and-coming trainer another stakes win at Rosehill.
With an international resume that reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of racing, emerging trainer Marc Chevalier is unsurprisingly beginning to make some important inroads.
Originally from France, Chevalier honed his craft working for the Aga Khan and Shadwell Stud in Europe before he was encouraged to spend time abroad to further his knowledge.
Arriving in Australia in 2011, Chevalier never went home.
He spent three years with trainer and Arrowfield Stud general manager Paul Messara and another three with former Rosehill conditioner Gary Moore before making the move to Victoria.
“I was also a foreman for Lloyd Williams at Macedon Lodge and an assistant at Danny O’Brien‘s at Flemington,” Chevalier said.
“I started training three years ago at Hawkesbury and it was a bit of a slow start, but now it is really picking up nicely over the last few months.”
Much of that increased support has been thanks to the deeds of Everyone’s A Star, who has won five of her 17 starts since joining the stable 12 months ago.
The mare will be looking to add to her tally in Saturday’s ATC Foundation Handicap (1100m) and Chevalier cannot fault her.
“She just doesn’t get tired,” he said.
“She is up to thirteen starts this prep and every run is going to be the last of her prep, but then she shows that she is loving it and she keeps going.
“She has been so successful this prep it has really helped us fill the stables and enabled us to be a touch more selective. And also for me, I was racing a lot of the horses for myself which is not very good financially, so now I can breathe a bit.”
Chevalier has stayer Torrens in the Listed Winter Cup (2400m), the seven-year-old benefitting from his trainer’s exposure to both European and Australian styles of conditioning.
Torrens was having his first run in 10 weeks when midfield to Eliyass in the Lord Mayors Cup (2000m) at Randwick last Saturday and is a three-time winner over the mile-and-a-half journey.
“He never goes to the paddock this horse. He is a stallion and as he’s getting older, he just gets too heavy,” Chevalier said.
“We give him a lot of slow work, keep him fit and keep him sound and he’s enjoying it.
“It’s a bit more of a European style of training. We try to mix the best of both worlds and it seems to be working well with him.”
Chevalier will be chasing his second black-type win with Torrens, who delivered the trainer his first in the 2022 Christmas Cup (2400m).
He has also accepted with Morpheus Bragi but is yet to decide if that horse will back up from his fourth on the Kensington track on Wednesday.
