Head-Maarek to Retire in February

Criquette Head-Maarek | Racingfotos.com

Veteran French trainer Criquette Head-Maarek will retire on Feb. 1, she announced Sunday. A member of the training ranks since 1977, the 69-year-old will now devote more time to the family stud, Haras du Quesnay in Deauville. She will saddle her final runners on Feb. 1. Head-Maarek is best know as the trainer of dual G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}).

“I've got some runners on Friday and I've got runners on the 1st of February and then I will stop,” she told Press Association Sport. “I'm going to spend more time there [the stud] now. I love breeding. I will keep my stable and rent it for the moment unless someone wants to buy it from me. It was a tough decision to take, because it is always tough when you decide to change. I owe everything to every owner I have worked with–Prince Khalid Abdullah, Maktoum Al Maktoum, the Wertheimer Brothers, my dad [Alec Head]. I owe everything to my dad. I have had so many good owners in my life and I was very lucky to train good horses.”

Born into the Head racing dynasty that began with her great-grandfather, she was assistant to her father Alec before starting off on her own in 1977. Head-Maarek became the first female to saddle the winner of the Arc, when sending out Three Troikas (Fr) (Lyphard) in 1979, ridden by her brother, Freddy, and owned by her mother, Ghislaine.

“Three Troikas was not bred by my dad,” she said. “I bought Three Troikas as a yearling at Tattersalls. It was something fantastic for me in my second year to train an Arc winner.”

Many Classic victories followed: the French 1000 Guineas seven times, the French Oaks (3) and their 2000 Guineas and Derby once each. Head-Maarek also struck abroad, landing four G1 English 1000 Guineas–the first coming with Ma Biche (Key to the Kingdom) in 1983 and the latest with Special Duty (GB) (Hennessy) in 2010. The latter and Ravinella (Mr. Prospector) completed the English/French Guineas double, the latter in 1988.

Head-Maarek recalled her first Group 1 winner was Sigy (Fr) (Habitat) in only her second season with a licence.

“My first Group 1 was Sigy in the Abbaye,” Head-Maarek said. “I started in September 1977 with the yearlings and my first Group 1 was in 1978 with Sigy who was a 2-year-old. My last Group 1 was with National Defense (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere [in October of 2016]. I think I've won about 80 Group 1s and roughly maybe about 3,000 winners in all, but I don't know exactly. I know it's quite a lot. As a trainer and being a woman I've had a fantastic life.”

Treve is the horse Head-Maarek will forever be associated with. Bred at Haras du Quesnay, the Motivator filly won six Group 1 races, her first coming in the G1 Prix de Diane in 2013. The first of her two Arc victories came that October and she struck again the following year before running fourth to Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in 2015.

“Treve was a blessing for me, because she was bred by my dad, so that was something to win the Arc,” she said.

Head-Maarek had plenty of success in England, including the G1 Champion S. with Hatoof (Irish River {Fr}) in 1993, the G1 July Cup in 1996 with Anabaa (Danzig) and she won the G1 Cheveley Park S. on four occasions. Hatoof also scored in the GI E.P. Taylor S. at Woodbine in 1992 and the GI Beverly D. S. at Arlington in 1994.

“I really have had a fantastic life training. I have been blessed. Good horses make good trainers and I've had a lot of good horses in my yard,” she said. “I have been president of the European Trainers Federation for three years and president of the French trainers also. I was happy to do these things. I want the young ones to come and I will help them if they need me.”

Lord Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, Head-Maarek's longest-serving owner, paid tribute to Head-Maarek on Sunday.

“Their association goes back well over 30 years,” said Grimthorpe. “She's been a fantastic trainer for us. She trained the winners of 250 races, notably Special Duty, who was champion 2-year-old and won the Guineas. American Post (GB) (Bering {GB}) was a very vital Group 1 winner. When he won the French 2000 Guineas [in 2004] it completed a clean sweep of homebred French and English Classic winners for Prince Khalid. More recently we've had Epicuris (GB) (Rail Link {GB}), who won the Grand Criterium de Saint-Cloud [in 2014]. Above all, her and her family have given tremendous service to Prince Khalid and she's been a special trainer for Juddmonte.”

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