BENOIT DE LA SAYETTE


Fabre’s, or he was thinking about Mr Gosden’s,” recounts de la Sayette. “He saw Tony at the BP garage and asked him


if he could organise it for me to have three weeks’ work experience at Clarehaven. “For a 15-year-old, to ride horses by Galileo,


Dubawi and all the top sires – that is unbelievable. “A lot of my friends were going to things like


accountancy firms!” Three years on, de la Sayette is living the dream. Frankie Dettori – “I’ve been watching him on


the TV from the age of eight, or even younger than that” – is now a work colleague, and 1000 Guineas and Oaks fancy Indigo Girl his regular partner on the gallops.


An unknown when donning the Godolphin silks


aboard Gosden’s Bosphorus at Chelmsford on November 23 for his first ride, he’s seen his stock soar and reputation flourish, thanks to a strike-rate of one in four. “To put the colours on was exciting, and so was riding with such big jockeys – William Buick and


James Doyle were in the race,” adds de la Sayette. “For sure, I wasn’t expecting, three or four months ago, that it was going to happen so quickly.” Rather than squander his allowance on the


trinkets of pre-season, de la Sayette will conserve his claim until the 2021 Flat campaign is at full speed. His family heritage makes the Prix de l’Arc de


Triomphe the young rider’s ultimate goal, but a challenge for the apprentice title is his immediate aim. “Every young jockey dreams to be champion


apprentice and that’s what I’ve got on my mind,” reveals de la Sayette. “This month, I will take a little break, so I can get 7lbs off nice horses in nice races for the turf season and, if everything carries on from the Guineas meeting to Champions Day, I can be up there. “It has always been my ambition to be a jockey,


and I’m very lucky to be where I am. “I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my


career.”


Benoit is John Gosden’s first apprentice since 1992


Benoit celebrates with his parents at Clayeux in 2017


RACING TV CLUBMAGAZINE 25


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