Meet The French-Based Irishman Gunning For Group 1 Glory At The Curragh

The irony is not lost on Gavin Hernon. Less than a decade after he elected to launch his training career in France rather than his home country in favour of more opportunities, the Irishman will return to home soil to at the Curragh on Saturday with leading claims of making the Classic breakthrough when his star filly Dare To Dream (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) lines out in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks. 

Described by the soon-to-be 32-year-old trainer as the best horse he's ever had through his hands, Dare To Dream has been trained with the Curragh Classic in mind for the guts of a year now. 

The daughter of Camelot boasts course experience after finishing third in the G3 Staffordstown Stakes at two and, following a luckless fifth in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly when last seen, Dare To Dream can be backed at odds of 8-1 for the Group 1 contest. 

“She's in flying form-I don't think I've had her this well all year,” Hernon said. “Now it's just a question as to whether she is good enough but I think she has some pretty solid formlines to her name. I think she has been crying out for a-mile-and-a-half and was just unlucky in the Prix de Diane where she got trapped down the rail. 

“Alexis [Pouchin, jockey] thinks that she'd have been in the first four at least had she not met the traffic. We go there crossing our fingers and hoping for a big run. We're excited about her chances and I do think she has taken a good step forward from the last day. That seems to be quite typical of this pedigree as well–they seem to just get better and better throughout their three-year-old careers.”

Not only has the Chantilly-based handler done a fine job in nurturing Dare To Dream's talent, but Hernon can also be credited for sourcing the filly for just €67,000 at the Arqana October Yearling Sale from leading vendor Monceaux. 

Recalling that transaction, he said, “Her owner, Dun Lee, used to have a mare in Normandie. He would send me that mare's progeny every year but all they had to do was have a look at the gallop before they'd run into problems. I asked him if he would let me buy him a foundation mare instead and, with this filly's pedigree, sire and physique, I thought she fit the bill quite nicely. She was quite an athletic-looking filly as a yearling. She wasn't one of those bigger Camelot models, she was very athletic with a good hip. 

“We took our chance and she showed us that she had a lot of class from the get-go. I probably could have run her in May or June as a two-year-old but we gave her the extra time and ran her in August just because the Montjeu (Ire) can come out in her mentally. So we took our time with her and I think it's paying dividends. Dun's dream was to have an Oaks runner at Epsom. We've come close to buying him that-we could have gone there, but I didn't think it was the right thing for her at that stage of her career. Even though that was his dream, he was very cool about not going to Epsom, and he is a great owner to have in the yard.

“Obviously the Irish Oaks has been at the forefront of our minds for a very long time. That's why she made the journey over there last year for the Group 3 Staffordstown Stakes, just so she would get the experience of travelling, and she came through that very well.”

Hernon, whose family own Castletown Stud in County Cork, was born to work in racing. His father, Joe, works as a manager for Coolmore at Castlehyde, so his life has been a soundtrack to horses. But Ireland was seen as a closed shop when Hernon first set his sights on becoming a trainer. Hence why the move to France came about. Having spent time working with giants of the game like Jim Bolger, Andre Fabre and Nicolas Clement, he set up on his own in 2018 and hasn't looked back. 

He explained, “I decided at the age of 16 that I wanted to become a trainer. I was working with Jim Bolger at the time. I suppose I had dreams of becoming a jockey but mother nature took over! But from there, I just thought that Ireland was ultra-competitive with one race meeting a day so, for a young lad like myself starting out, it was going to be very difficult to get up and running. With England, the prize-money situation was off-putting, but there were no such worries on that front over here in France. 

“I just thought there was a lot of opportunity for young people over here and spent time working with Andre Fabre and Nicolas Clement. I did a stint in America as well before setting up here in 2018. It's gone well and we've had a couple of Group winners, a couple of listed winners, but still waiting for that breakthrough Group 1. It is pretty special to go back to Ireland-having left there thinking we couldn't be competitive-with a live chance in a Classic. It would be amazing if it came off.”

An Irishman based in France, Hernon boasts a broad diaspre of owners-all keen to have a taste of what France has to offer. Prize-money is the greatest lure, along with premiums, and the trainer shared how an increasing number of international owners have been picking up the phone in recent times.

He said, “The majority of my owners are based outside of France. That ranges from America, to Hong Kong, England and Ireland. It's growing all of the time and people are starting to wake up to the benefits of racing in France. It's lovely when you buy these horses as yearlings and hope that they bring you to Classics but the reality is that seventy five per cent of horses operate in the lower grades. France is the one country where an average horse can pay its way. That changes the game.”

Paying the way is not something that Hernon has to worry about with Dare To Dream. Asked if the Irish Oaks contender is the best horse he has been associated with to date, Hernon replied, “I'm based in Alain de Royer-Dupre's old yard in Chantilly and, funnily enough, Dare To Dream lives in Chaquita's old stable. We've known that [she's the best he's trained] for a while. Everything comes very easily to her. She just takes her work brilliantly and came out of the Diane bucking and everything. She didn't even lose a pound. When you have a yard of 40 horses, when you have a horse as good as Dare To Dream in the string, she stands out. It's very exciting to have one as good as her.”