Meet the France-based Irishman aiming for Group 1 glory at the Curragh

The irony is not lost on Gavin Hernon. Less than a decade after choosing to launch his training career in France rather than his home country in favour of greater opportunities, the Irishman will return to his home soil at the Curragh on Saturday with big ambitions of making a Classic breakthrough when his star filly Dare To Dream (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) lines up in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks.

Described by the soon-to-be 32-year-old trainer as the best horse he has ever had in his hands, Dare To Dream has been trained with the Curragh Classic in mind for almost a year now.

The daughter of Camelot benefits from some course experience having finished third in the G3 Staffordstown Stakes as a two-year-old and, after an unlucky fifth place in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly on her last appearance, Dare To Dream can be backed at odds of 8-1 for the Group 1 contest.

“She’s in great form, I don’t think I’ve had her as good this year,” said Hernon. “Now it’s just a question of whether she’s good enough, but I think she’s got good form lines. I think she screamed over a mile and a half and she was unlucky in the Prix de Diane where she got stuck on the rope.

“Alexis (Pouchin, jockey) thinks she would have been in the top four at least if she hadn’t hit the traffic. We’re going in there with our fingers crossed and hoping for a good race. We’re excited about her chances and I think she’s made a good step forward since the last day. That seems pretty typical of this pedigree too – they seem to get better and better throughout their three-year-old careers.”

Not only has the Chantilly-based breeder done an excellent job of nurturing Dare To Dream’s talent, but Hernon can also be credited with finding the filly for just €67,000 at Arqana’s October Yearling Sale from leading vendor Monceaux.

Recalling the transaction, he said: “Her owner, Dun Lee, had a mare in Normandy. He would send me the progeny of that mare every year, but they only needed to look at the gallop before they had any problems. I asked him if he would let me buy a foundation mare from him instead and with the pedigree, the sire and the physique of this filly, I thought she fit the profile perfectly. She was quite an athletic filly as a yearling. She wasn’t one of those big Camelot models, she was very athletic with a good hip.

“We took our chance and she showed us she had a lot of class right from the start. I probably could have run her in May or June as a two-year-old but we gave her extra time and ran her in August just because the Montjeu (Ire) can come out in her mentally. So we took our time with her and I think it’s paying off. Dun’s dream was to have an Oaks runner at Epsom. We came close to buying her, we could have gone for it but I didn’t think it was the right thing for her at that stage of her career. Even though it was his dream, he was very happy not to go to Epsom and he’s a great owner to have in the stable.”

“Obviously the Irish Oaks has been on our radar for a very long time. That’s why she made the trip there last year for the Staffordstown Stakes (Group 3), just to get the experience of the trip, and she did very well.”

Hernon, whose family owns Castletown Stud in County Cork, was born to work in horse racing. His father, Joe, works as a manager for Coolmore in Castlehyde, so his life has been a soundtrack to horses. But Ireland was considered a closed country when Hernon decided to become a trainer. That’s why he moved to France. After working with giants of the game like Jim Bolger, Andre Fabre and Nicolas Clement, he set up on his own in 2018 and has never looked back.

“I decided at 16 that I wanted to be a trainer. I was working with Jim Bolger at the time. I guess I dreamed of becoming a jockey, but nature took over! But from then on I thought Ireland was ultra competitive with only one race a day, so for a young lad like me starting out it was going to be very difficult to get started. With England the prize money situation was daunting, but there were no such worries on that front here in France.”

“I thought there were a lot of opportunities for youngsters here and I spent time working with Andre Fabre and Nicolas Clement. I also had a stint in America before moving here in 2018. It went well and we had a few Group winners, a few Listed winners, but we’re still waiting for that decisive Group 1. It’s pretty special to come back to Ireland – after leaving thinking we couldn’t compete – with a real chance in a Classic. It would be incredible if that came to fruition.”

An Irishman based in France, Hernon boasts a wide range of owners, all keen to sample what France has to offer. Prize money is the biggest draw, as are premiums, and the trainer explained that an increasing number of international owners have been picking up the phone in recent times.

He said: “The majority of my owners are based outside France. That ranges from America to Hong Kong, England and Ireland. The market is growing all the time and people are starting to realise the benefits of racing in France. It’s nice to buy these yearlings and hope they’ll take you to the classics, but the reality is that 75% of the horses are in the lower categories. France is the only country where an average horse can make it. That’s a game changer.”

Hernon doesn’t have to worry about paying the fare with Dare To Dream. Asked if the Irish Oaks contender is the best horse he has been associated with so far, Hernon replied: “I’m based at Alain de Royer-Dupré’s old stable in Chantilly and, interestingly, Dare To Dream lives at Chaquita’s old stable. We know she’s the best he’s trained in quite some time. Everything comes very easily to her. She takes her job in stride and did brilliantly after the Diane. She didn’t even lose a kilo. When you have a stable of 40 horses, when you have a horse as good as Dare To Dream in the field, she stands out. It’s very exciting to have one as good as her.”