Etienne & Grégoire Leenders Race-horse trainers

…with this beautiful photograph on which horses and jockeys look towards to… the future…the year 2019 arrives!!

All the members of the stables E&G. Leenders send you their best wishes for 2019.

We have serious hopes for our young horses but also with the confirmed and older ones who do their work well!!

Best wishes to all of you…

…in a “quinté” (big handicap) for Sébastien Martino with SINNARI at Chantilly on December 26^th… A nice Christmas present.   

  We are all very happy that Sébastien won his first “quinté” for us… he gets on really well with the horse and rode him to perfection.   

   Sébastien started working for us about 6 months ago and he adapted quite well to the life in Anjou…and we have already a good percentage of success together.  

 Furthermore, other trainers regularly call him for successful rides.   

                                           Well done Sébastien.

When winning Prix d’Epsom, the “quinté” (big handicap) of the day at Chantilly on December 26^th SINNARI offered us a good surprise… we knew the horse was well and had improved…but not to the point to win in such a way… he did surprise us!

Ridden with a lot of confidence by Sébastien Martino, the horse took the lead from the start and gave the race a good rhythm… and from the entrance of the finishing straight, Sébastien launched his horse and could not be rejoined.  

SINNARI is a good horse who will provide us with more good surprises in 2019. 

 Bred by his highness The Aga Khan, this horse is well bred: his sire is Oasis Dream and his dam Siyenica is the half-sister of Siyouni… therefore a superb pedigree.

Best wishes to all of you for a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS.   

 From Etienne, Grégoire and Christine Leenders                                                                                                                                        

DARHAGRETI ran at Pau on December 22^nd over hurdles in Prix Cercle Anglais. It was his 3^rd race and he finished 4^th. Getting off his horse, Félix de Gilles, his jockey told us: “A good horse with a potential, but late”.

That is why he debuted over jumps quite late and we took our time with him.

…finished 7^th at Pau in Prix Cercle Anglais: a hurdle race for 3 year-olds over 2 miles and 1 ½ furlong. He is a really good horse as he knows how to jump and finish and this race doesn’t reflect his level.   

 But it was a wrong day for Clément Lefebvre who didn’t ride according to instructions (went in front, up with the pace and the horse was not able to finish).

FANTASTIC BERE will be back in 2019 he’ll run in our area at the beginning of the year and he’ll show us what he is able to do.

…for FRANSLEEN at Pau on December 19^th, ridden by Stéphane Paillard.  

 He finished 3^rd in Prix Monein, a maiden hurdle race for 3 year-olds over 2 miles and 1 ½ furlong.

Slightly “surprised” over some hurdles, FRANSLEEN stayed in his pace to finish but hasn’t lost our esteem at all!

Like his dam Quristine, he is a late horse and we had chosen to run him on the flat at the beginning of his career… (3 times in the frame).

This race at Pau will do him a lot of good… and we know we have a good horse for 2019. 

On December 18^th at Pau, DEAUSEILLE ran a chase: Prix A. de Portago over 3900m (2 miles and 3 1/2 furlongs). She didn’t finish her race, Stéphane Paillard stopped her…

Explanation: he was too offensive in his way to ride her (the instructions were 5^th /6^th) and the mare could not breathe properly… as a result when they accelerated, she couldn’t cope and Stéphane had to stop her. Actually it was nearly a comeback race as she did not finish her last two races because she fell.

There is something positive about this race at Pau… She performed a perfect race, jumped well without any hesitation and she didn’t seem to fear the fences.

It is infuriating because we know she is a good mare, but success isn’t there yet!   

…for TINARILOU at Deauville on December 14^th ridden by Sébastien Martino. In Prix de la Roche d’Oetre over 2500m (a mile and 4 ½ furlongs), the nice grey filly started in 5^th, 6^th position, kept her place all around and out of the bend she started accelerating with the rest of the field. Mid-straight, TINARILOU slightly took the lead… two other horses attacked her… the winner took two lengths and there was a photograph for second and third place.

Sébastien was disappointed: ”at mid straight, I was sure to win but once she had taken the advantage, she slightly pulled herself back and it cost me the second place.” She was 3^rd in a good style: courageous, determined… and for the future, we now know that she shouldn’t take the advantage too soon.