Christopher Head

After the success for Nurlan Bizakov in the Lagardere, it was the turn of another rising force in French breeding Yeguada Centurion to enjoy the limelight as Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) lit up ParisLongchamp in the G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland in November. Coming off a course-and-distance win in the G3 Prix d'Aumale Sept. 8, the Christopher Head trainee had the perfect tow in third as Aurelien Lemaitre contained her enthusiasm. Let loose...

Yeguada Centurion's homebred 2-year-old filly Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}--Queen Blossom {Ire}, by Jeremy), who followed up wins at Saint-Cloud in June and at Clairefontaine in July with a runner-up finish in Deauville's Aug. 20 Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage in her latest start, made her experience tell in Thursday's G3 Prix d'Aumale at ParisLongchamp and surged to a career high in the one-mile fillies' test. The 13-5 second favourite was steadied to track the leaders in third after an alert getaway. Coming under pressure to reduce...

Sunday's mouthwatering feast of pattern-race action got going with ParisLongchamp's G3 Prix La Rochette and there was a surprise in store as last month's Deauville maiden winner Tigrais (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}--Maharana {Fr}, by Iffraaj {GB} swooped late to deny 'TDN Rising Star' Breizh Sky (Fr) (Pedro The Great) for a career high in the seven-furlong contest for juveniles. She had opened up with a July 17 debut seventh, behind the 'TDN Rising Star' display of Alia's Rose (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), over seven furlongs at Chantilly and had changed...

Galileo (Ire) had been omnipresent throughout the week and his influence even extended less directly to Saint-Cloud on Sunday when Sibila Spain (Ire) registered a pattern-race double for Frankel (GB). Following on from the impressive G2 Prix Greffulhe success of Onesto (Ire) earlier on the card, Yeguada Centurion SLU's daughter of the G1 Irish Oaks runner-up L'Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) took advantage of a change of plan to prevail in the G2 Prix du Muguet. Abandoning the front-running tactics that had been employed of late, Aurelien Lemaitre anchored the TDN...

'TDN Rising Star' Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will be supplemented to the June 20 G1 Prix de Diane and will be the first Classic starter for trainer Christopher Head. Head is the son of hugely successful jockey and trainer Freddy Head, while other members of the historic racing family include Freddy's sister Criquette and father Alec. Sibila Spain was bred by Coolmore and races for Yeguada Centurion. She suffered her first career defeat when fourth, beaten a length, in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary on May 24, and looks to...

The name Head appears multiple times in the winning trainer category on the Prix Saint-Alary roll of honour. Alec, Criquette and Freddy have all trained winners of the fillies' Group 1, and the latter also rode the winner, usually for his father or his sister, on seven occasions. In the line-up for the 2021 running of the Saint-Alary next Monday is likely to be a filly trained by one of the next generation of the Head family, Christopher, a son of Freddy, who has taken the bold decision to supplement...

There were several unraced fillies in the line-up for Thursday's 10-furlong Prix Monade at Saint-Cloud with immense residual value and abundant racing promise, but at the end there was only one that mattered as Yeguada Centurion's Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) put them to the sword with an audacious front-running display of power. Showing impressive instant pace to arrive at the head of affairs soon after breaking from the widest stall, the April-foaled daughter of the high-class L'Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) was then able to switch off and cruise in an...

As one Head retired from the French training ranks in 2018 with a deserved fanfare of tributes, quietly another member of the family added his name to the list of Chantilly trainers some months later. The low-key entrance of Christopher Head was quite deliberate. The 32-year-old son of Freddy and nephew of Criquette--who retired 18 months ago--has worked alongside both his father and his aunt, as well as completing a stint with leading French jumps trainer Guillaume Macaire, but he is determined that when it comes to training, he is...