Wonderful Tonight: 'She truly won all of her races like a proper champion'

Fans' Favourites is a weekly feature in the Racing Post Weekender in which we talk to those closest to racing's most popular horses and find out why they tug on our heartstrings. This week's subject: Wonderful Tonight

Several months may have passed since Wonderful Tonight suffered a career-ending injury while in her pomp but the affection in which she is held by her trainer David Menuisier shows no sign of diminishing.

She was being prepared for the Prix Foy in September before a tilt at the following month's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when disaster struck and she suffered a serious fetlock fracture during routine exercise.

There will always be a sense of what might have been for a talented filly with the world at her feet, but that does not detract from what she achieved for her connections during her rapid rise to the top.

"It's a bit of a Seabiscuit story," says Menuisier, who still gets quite emotional discussing his former stable star "She's one of the people. Anyone could have bought and trained her. She's well bred but not in the purple to the point that only a handful of people could afford her.

"She went to the ring and nobody bid. I bought her after she was unsold. She's a little streetfighter who took on the world's best. She did it the hard way all the way through. She was always near the pace but she would just gallop to the line and refused to give up.

"She truly won all of her races like a proper champion, not doing it the easy way. You had to take your hat off to her. She wasn't given everything, she had to go and take it. Nobody was going to give it to her and it's a bit like the story of my life. We come from a humble background and nobody gives us anything, and she was the same.

"She went and took it. Many people do that in all walks of life and perhaps they're able to see a little bit of themselves in her story."

David Menuisier: alongside his former stable star Wonderful TonightCredit: Edward Whitaker

Her story began at the yearling sales at Deauville in August 2018. The daughter of Le Havre went unsold in the ring but Menuisier had an eye for a bargain and convinced Christopher Wright, a leading music industry executive who produced Blondie and Spandau Ballet.

"I bought another horse, Winter Reprise, for a lot of money," says Menuisier. "Chris Wright had just sold the top price on that day, with a son of Siyouni. I already trained for him and while I congratulated him we discussed that not all horses have to cost a lot of money.

"I said there was an unfurnished filly by Le Havre who was probably at the wrong sale but has a lovely pedigree. She cost £40,000 and I said she'll win a maiden in France and you'll get your money back. That's what I thought when I bought her and it was a lucky strike."

Wonderful Tonight finished third on her debut at Doncaster and then fulfilled Menuisier's promise when winning for the first time at Saint-Cloud in 2019, beating Kalarina by a short head under Olivier Peslier.

It was not until the August of her three-year-old campaign that her trainer realised he had a top-class horse on his hands. After making the frame in two Listed contests, Wonderful Tonight won the Group 3 Prix Minerve at Deauville by two and a half lengths on heavy ground.

She then stepped up to the big leagues in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille but the ground went against her and she could only manage fifth at Longchamp behind last year's Arc second Tarnawa on good ground.

"Until Deauville she was running a bit green so it was hard to judge her. The way she won indicated she could be special," says Menuisier. "The ground was really heavy but she somehow just flew through it.

"The ground dried out before the Prix Vermeille in September and it was a very good race. I just felt she didn't perform to her best and we started to think perhaps she was favoured by softer conditions."

Wonderful Tonight: won the Prix Royallieu under Tony PicconeCredit: Edward Whitaker

Her connections did not have to wait long for her to land a Group 1. She was aimed at the Prix de Royallieu on Arc day in October and, on her favoured heavy ground at Longchamp, ran out an exciting winner and left Menuisier wondering if he should have been more ambitious.

"Due to Covid-19 restrictions I decided not go to to Longchamp so I actually watched it from my house, which was a bit heartbreaking," remembers the trainer. "You win a Group 1 in your homeland and you have to watch it on TV. There's a touch of regret as it did cross our minds to supplement her for the Arc as it looked like a weak race.

"The ground was in our favour and she would have carried no weight while in top form. We thought about it for 48 hours but there's no point dwelling on what could have been for the rest of my life. I think she would have won and her victory in the Royallieu was outstanding.

"I don't want to get too emotional. She was absolutely knackered at the end because she pulled hard in her races. When she started to get tired, rather than take the stick the jockey just gave her a pat.

"Even now, two years down the line, it still makes me choke up a little bit because she was amazing. She probably wasn't as good as the rest of them but her heart was bigger and she pulled it off.

"That day some people asked why she was drifting across the track and I said Tony Piccone let her drift because had she gone in a straight line she'd have won by too far. She was just a machine."

The machine kept rolling on to Ascot and Wonderful Tonight provided her trainer with a first British Group 1 when powering clear to land the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes under William Buick.

Wonderful Tonight: scored on British Champions DayCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Ascot was very special," adds Menuisier. "It was a bit of a gamble because we were running 14 days after Longchamp and she had to travel back over. She'd also run on heavy, which knackered her out.

"I had no winners from about 24 runners at Ascot. The track was my nemesis and when you're about to run your best filly, who was tired after the race in France, it was a bigger gamble than people think.

"It's hard to go with confidence when you know you've never won a race there. The filly put me at ease before the race as she had a little canter over four furlongs to open up the lungs and I felt she went faster than before she went to France around two weeks earlier.

"I started to relax and feel confident about the race. The rain came and to me it was a day in slow motion. I genuinely enjoyed every minute of it, having not been able to go to Longchamp. I took my time and tried to enjoy it. When she quickened in the last furlong, I had tears in my eyes because it was just absolutely magnificent."

A phenomenal three-year-old season left her connections dreaming big over the winter and Wonderful Tonight picked up where she left off as a four-year-old, winning the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Lillie Langtry Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

However, there was a slight hiccup at York. Menuisier believed she had strengthened from three to four and thought she may handle better ground in the Yorkshire Oaks last August but she could only manage fourth of seven, beaten eight and a half lengths by Snowfall.

"There was no real pressure heading into her four-year-old season," says Menuisier. "They are our children. The fact they are Group 1 or Classic winners doesn't really matter. We just want them to be well and performing. I never felt any more pressure after her big wins.

"The horses at her level are much more consistent. I'm not saying you could put your life in her hands, but nearly. It's very rare that they disappoint and we always felt she would be better at four. She was much better and was only just coming to hand in the autumn."

Owner Christopher Wright after winning the Lillie LangtryCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Wonderful Tonight was peaking at the right time ahead of the Prix Foy and Arc before her career came to an abrupt end. It was a huge blow for Menuisier and his team, which had been taken to some of the biggest meetings at racetracks in Europe thanks to their star.

Things went from bad to worse. After fixing her fracture, Wonderful Tonight suffered from colic but fortunately underwent live-saving surgery and was able to pursue her second career as a broodmare.

"You do recover but it probably shattered the rest of our season because it was so hard," admits Menuisier. "I didn't even watch the Arc live as I was so gutted. I felt she would have won the race. The track got the rain at the right time and she was in prime condition.

"She's not made of the same stuff as other horses. Her fracture was an easy fix. It was only an inch crack. But she had complications after her surgery and suffered from colic. We didn't want to rush into another operation, which could have been absolutely catastrophic.

"We just had to do it because we came to a point when she would have died of that complication, so we were cornered. I gave the vet the all-clear, and after putting the phone down I really didn't think she would make it that time, but she did, which just shows you how bloody tough she is. Many other horses would not have survived it.

"Following the surgeries we made a point of keeping her here until she had fully recovered from everything and we could take her to Chris's stud. He gave us 100 per cent trust on that. I actually took her myself to say goodbye for the last time while she was under my care. She looks amazing. When I see her I'm tempted to bring her back into training. She's in foal to Frankel so the legacy will live on."

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