Christopher Head

Gifted an ideal lead in Sunday's G3 Prix de Fontainebleau, Aurelien Lemaitre took full advantage to steer Nurlan Bizakov's Ramadan (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}--Raushan {Ire}, by Dalakhani {Ire}) to success in the key G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains trial. Race-fit having registered a five-length success in the Listed Prix Omnium II at Saint-Cloud last month, the Christopher Head-trained homebred who had been fourth in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud last term ticked off honest fractions on the front end before kicking in early straight. Getting the jump on the returning...

The entries for the first two Classics of the season have been released, with 49 horses entered in each of the Qipco 2,000 Guineas and Qipco 1,000 Guineas. The colts will line up at Newmarket on Saturday, May 4 when it is likely that much of the attention will focus on the unbeaten City Of Troy (Justify), who at this stage is the ante-post favourite for the 2,000 Guineas. Trained by Aidan O'Brien, he has left Ireland for two of his three starts to win the G2 Superlative S. at...

Christopher Head won his first Classic last season with Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and he is now eyeing a possible run un the Qipco 1,000 Guineas for Ramatuelle (Justify), who was the top-rated juvenile in France in 2023. The winner of the G2 Prix Robert Papin, and runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny, Ramatuelle is also entered for the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and she will begin her preparations for the Classics in Deauville on April 9. "Ramatuelle has been a tremendous filly for us as a...

Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), the joint-top-rated 3-year-old filly in Europe last year and a Group 1 winner in both of her seasons to race, has been moved from the stable of Christopher Head to that of his fellow Chantilly trainer Maurizio Guarnieri. The news was first reported by Jour de Galop.  Blue Rose Cen races in the colours of her breeder Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals of Yeguada Centurion, who, along with Head, also had the second-top-rated horse in Europe last year in Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire})....

   Continuing the profiles of the favourite horses of TDN Europe's editorial team in 2023, Emma Berry selects the French raider who took QIPCO British Champions Day by storm. I'd been impressed by Christopher Head since the day I first visited his stable in July 2019 and found him on the end of a broomstick sweeping the floor outside the rented boxes of the five horses he had in training at that time. His ascent has been rapid, and by now his string must be 20 times that size. And,...

Christopher Head's two star three-year-olds of 2023, dual Classic winner Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and Saturday's sensational Queen Elizabeth II S. winner Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), will both remain in training for next season. Timeform has awarded Big Rock a rating of 129 for his six-length romp on QIPCO British Champions Day, which is the highest figure recorded by a miler in Europe this season. The winner of two Group 3 Classic trials in the spring, Big Rock was second to Ace Impact (Fr) in...

Leaving his G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. rivals strung out down Ascot's straight mile, Yeguada Centurion's Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}--Hardiyna {Ire}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) produced a masterclass from the front under Aurelien Lemaitre in one of the great displays throughout the history of this prestigious affair. Quickly out on his own, the Christopher Head-trained 3-year-old who had not won since looking a force in the mud in the G3 Prix la Force and G3 Prix de Guiche this spring was always way beyond the reaches...

G2 Prix du Muguet winner Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}-L'Ancresse {Ire}), by Darshaan {GB}) has been added to the Arqana December Vente d'Elevage and is set to go under the hammer during the first evening of the sale Saturday, Dec. 9 when consigned by Haras de l'Hôtellerie. A winner of the Listed Prix de Liancourt at three, the Christopher Head-trained mare finished fourth in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary and G1 Prix de Diane. In the spring of her 4-year-old campaign, she went on to take her first group win in...

Multiple Group 1 winner Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), who won the G1 Prix de l'Opera and booked her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf as a result, will skip that engagement and is being freshened prior to being prepared for a 4-year-old campaign, Jour de Galop reported on Friday. The Yeguada Centurion homebred is trained by Christopher Head. In 2022, she won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac, and then completed a rare triple when adding the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and G1 Prix...

Wertheimer and Frere will add two new trainers to its team this year in the form of Yann Barberot in Deauville and Christopher Head in Chantilly, their manager Pierre-Yves Bureau told the Jour de Galop on Thursday. The two have enjoyed success on French and European racecourses this past season. Their addition to the training ranks comes after the brothers' addition of the Wildenstein Family's Dayton Investments bloodstock portfolio this past August. Bureau also told the JDG that they would be retaining their existing trainers; Andre Fabre, who currently has...

Yeguada Centurion's Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}--Queen Blossom {Ire}, by Jeremy) had failed to fire in two starts after notching a Classic double in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and G1 Prix de Diane, but was pitch-perfect in Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines at ParisLongchamp to secure for a fourth elite-level triumph in game fashion. Last term's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine was supported down to favouritism in the betting market and broke on the lead from the inside stall before accepting a tow in third in...

Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) has exited the G1 Prix du Moulin in good order and will aim for the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. on QIPCO British Champions Day, according to trainer Christopher Head. Successful in a listed race in March, the Yeguada Centurion homebred added the G3 Prix la Force and G3 Prix de Guiche in successive months. He has finished second in his last three races, all at Group 1 level--the Prix du Jockey Club, the Prix Jacques le Marois, and the Prix du Moulin,...