Delacour Barn Has Come Into Its Own

Arnaud Delacour was no clueless rookie when he arrived in the United States from France to work for a countryman, trainer Christophe Clement.

Delacour worked in France under Alain de Royer-Dupre, one of the top horsemen in Europe whose stable was full of regally bred runners owned by the legendary Aga Khan and also spent a year in Argentina as an assistant trainer.

"No, I didn't come to America as a novice when it came to horses, but I did have a lot to learn about the differences between racing in this country and racing in Europe." Delacour said. "Learning to understand how those differences affected how to train horses here—now that was challenge. Fortunately I was still young with an open mind, and after being around Christophe and watching and learning from him and others like Graham (Motion) I started to get the feel of what it takes to succeed here.

"Because we race at a number of different courses in Europe and every one has a different layout, much of our preparation has to do with the type of ground the horse will have to race over, and whether it's a left-hand course or a right-hand course or a straight course. And our courses go uphill and downhill.

"And of course in our races the pace is usually slow early and fast coming home, whereas in this country most races, especially on dirt, go fast early then slow down as the race progresses. Adjusting my thought processes took a while, but in time we learned more and more of what we had to understand to success in the U.S."

It has been nine years since Arnaud and wife and training partner Leigh launched a public stable, and it's readily apparent Delacour has acclimated to racing American-style quite nicely.

The stable first began generating headlines several years back with multiple graded stakes-winner turf sprinter Ageless, a Successful Appeal   mare who won seven of 13 turf starts for Lael Stables and was beaten less than a length versus males in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT). After garnering attention predominantly with turf runners for several seasons, the Delacour outfit demonstrated it could train and develop good dirt horses as well with its handling of Divining Rod.

Divining Rod, a 4-year-old Tapit   colt owned and bred by Lael Stables, showed his mettle in the late winter and spring of 2015 when he finished third in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (gr. III) and second to the then highly regarded Carpe Diem   in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II). A very professional winning performance in the Lexington Stakes (gr. III) at Keeneland earned him a shot in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), and Divining Rod ran a solid third behind eventual Triple Crown winner American Pharoah   in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

This season the Delacours are in the headlines again. The stable has 53 wins from 186 starts and their runners have earned more than $1.9 million in purses.

Dark Nile, a PioneeroftheNile filly, overcame a racing surface that was turned into a quagmire at Delaware Park after a torrential downpour hit the area just prior to the Delaware Oaks (gr. III) and captured that race to run her career record to four wins from five starts.

A. P. Indian has won six of nine starts since moving to the Delacour barn and turned in a brilliant performance last time out when he captured the Alfred Vanderbilt Stakes (gr. I) at six furlongs at Saratoga Race Course for his fourth straight win. A. P. Indian, a 6-year-old Indian Charlie gelding bred and owned by Green Lantern Stables, now has to be considered among the top sprinters in the country. 

Delacour's between-race schedule with A. P. Indian shows the adaptability of the European horseman's training philosophy. A.P. Indian won the Belmont Sprint Championship (gr. III) July 9, and the Vanderbilt was run July 30. In spite of the short turnaround, Delacour worked the horse five furlongs July 23.

"We wanted him to tell us if he was up to a race that quick back," he said. "A. P. Indian is an older gelding and older horses like that have tough constitutions. When he worked, he was sharp and happy and he came back good so we decided to run him. Now if that were a younger horse or a filly we wouldn't have considered that type of move. Whether it's turf or dirt, short or long, it all boils down what's best for the horse in question."

The seven-furlong, $700,000 Forego Stakes (gr. I) Aug. 27 at Saratoga is next for A. P. Indian, and he can earn a guaranteed starting spot in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) if he wins.

The Delacour barn also has its share of well-bred 2- and 3-year-olds.

"To be honest, I can't give you the exact number but it's certainly the largest group of young horses we've ever had in training," Delacour said, "And that's a credit to my owners, who have made a commitment to the future by breeding their own mares to top sires and being proactive at the sales to give us some well-bred babies from good families.

"You could say the schoolyard's full of precocious students, full of life and promise. This is one of the best times for a horseman, having a chance to work with horses that could develop into the stars of the sport."