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French jockeys - are they really that bad?

La Casaque Noire makes a case for riders from across the Channel

French jockeys are held in about as high regard by the English race-goer as Scottish goalkeepers are by soccer fans south of the border. This dates back longer than most can remember.

A Channel 4 trivia question a few years back summed it up: "Who, or what, is Ioritz Mendizabel?". Cue the experts ... not one of them had a clue. Hint: Champion Jockey in 2004 with 220 winners (a record at the time)!

Freddie Head (now a successful trainer) was worshipped as a true champion by the French, yet this side of the Channel the only ride anyone can remember is his Derby mount that detoured into the fun-fair at Tattenham Corner.

Lester famously borrowed the whip of a French "colleague" at Ascot having dropped his own and Alain Lequeux was a definite no-go when riding for Newmarket-based Olivier Douieb.

More recently we had Thierry Gillet proving that the shortest route between two points definitely is a straight line when he steered the scenic route on Bago at York.

Jacques "catch a cab" Ricou is a laughing stock here but in France his first Cravache d'Or (jockey's title) last year with 133 winners was rewarded with promotion to France's top jump's job, replacing perennial champion Christophe Pieux as retained rider for Sean Mulryan (leading owner in France last year).

Olivier Peslier is the exception which proves the rule - he's had a couple of decade's success of Channel-hopping. Just a few years ago he showed why, producing one of the rides of the season on Westerner at 'Royal' York. You only have to see how keen the connections of Cockney Rebel are to secure his services (when many British jocks would love the mount) to witness just how highly he's still regarded.

How come? Well, I think the real reason is that he's a true world-class jockey, whereas most of the others aren't. Simple as that!

So, is the tide turning? Christophe Lemaire has turned some heads, notably with his riding of Starcraft. Christophe Soumillon (we'll ignore the fact that he's Belgian) is another that has talent but he still has some way to go to convince everyone. Godolphin put him up in the Derby as a teenager, and more recently Coolmore have used his services regularly. But you only have to step into a betting shop and listen to the grumblings ("I wish Kieran wasn't banned") to realise that his acceptance is not universal. I suppose when compared to Fallon, you're always going to come off second best.

The latest French super-jock is Stephane Pasquier. Now if I had said that twelve months ago, 99.9% of you would have said "who?". But after his excellent ride on Rail Link in last year's Arc, and more recently his win on Manduro at Royal Ascot (where incidentally, Soumillon rode Dylan Thomas), he is an established name. I've followed him since his apprentice days, and for me, he's now France's number one. He's worked enormously hard on his riding style, can use the whip in both hands, has the strength to match Fallon (almost), and has a shrewd tactical brain (notably missing in most jocks) - and he's still improving.

He had a spell as number two (to Peslier) for Wildenstein and now he's retained by Khalid Abdullah. He's leading the jockey's championship (119 wins) and looks well on the way to securing his first "Cravache d'Or".

So, what does the future hold and what are the names to watch? I like the look of Alexis Badel who seems to be a level-headed young man. Still just seventeen, he's had forty winners already this year (over seventy in total). He certainly has the pedigree, being the son of trainer Myriam and jockey Alain. Apprenticed to Andre Fabre, he won his first race in spring 2006 and he's already had a four-timer.

Maxime Guyon is another "boy" making a name for himself at Fabre's. His boss considers him a good a lad as he's ever had, with "great hands". Now didn't they say that about the young Pat Eddery?