'It's a bit like Dettori - we both just needed people to place trust in us'
France correspondent Scott Burton talks to the four-time Arc winner
This time 12 months ago a few commentators were questioning whether John Gosden and Bjorn Nielsen might need to update their little black books when it came to the top jockeys in France.
Stradivarius had come through his trial for the ultimate challenge in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and, with Frankie Dettori wed for eternity to stablemate Enable, Olivier Peslier had been confirmed as the man who would be entrusted with the ride.
Partner of four Arc winners including the immortal Peintre Celebre, Peslier, then 47, had remained popular with visiting trainers from Britain obliged by Covid-19 to seek local expertise. But he was on his way to finishing 41st in the jockeys' championship, only just breaking 250 rides for the calendar year. Hardly evidence of a man in demand with his compatriots.
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