By John Curtis

EVERY new trainer needs a headline horse to kick start their career.

Thanks to a surprise phone call a couple of months ago from an overseas owner he has never met, French expat MARC CHEVALIER, in only his first year of training, is in a position to hopefully have his first Group 1 runner in the $2m Sydney Cup (3200m) at Royal Randwick on April 9 during The Championships.

Having simply enquired about the details of the horse when he fielded the call and received a very pleasant response, the talented stayer Torrens was on his way to join Chevalier’s fledgling Hawkesbury stable.

“Singapore owner Vincent Balasubramaniam rang me and it was totally unexpected, especially as I am yet to meet him in person,” Chevalier said.

“He has a share in an unraced two-year-old in my stable, and apparently had decided to look for a new trainer for Torrens.

“He was of the opinion that the French are the best at training stayers, and that’s the reason I got him.

“I’m very fortunate indeed to have the opportunity to train Torrens, and the Sydney Cup is our goal.

“Vincent wants the horse to go to stud when his racing career is over.”

Torrens, a five-year-old stallion by Cox Plate winner Adelaide, has won nine of his 27 starts – and three of them came from his last four metropolitan outings under his previous Sydney trainer Lauri Parker.

Torrens won the Listed Tattersalls Cup (2400m) at Randwick on October 23 at $20, and then bolted away with the inaugural running of the $300,000 The Beauford (2300m) at the metropolitan The Hunter meeting at Newcastle on November 13.

Chevalier is pleased with Torrens’ progress and initially intended to begin his Cup campaign at Randwick on Saturday in the Listed Randwick City Stakes (2000m).

However, because of Sydney’s wet weather, he has opted to wait a week and run him in the Group 3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens.

Chevalier and his wife Charlotte moved north from Melbourne to set up the Hawkesbury stable in May last year.

And, whilst many pundits in New South Wales might not know much about him, rest assured he is certainly no racing fly by nighter.

Chevalier has had a thorough grounding in many facets of the industry, and though he has long wanted to train, he didn’t rush into it until he felt he was ready.

Marc and Charlotte Chevalier at the Inglis Classic yearling sale.

“I rode at pony clubs and show jumping in France when I was young, but really fell in love with the thoroughbred when I was 16,” he explained.

“I rode them work for a trainer on the beach at Normandy for a couple of weeks. Their speed and beautiful action got me.”

Subsequently, whilst working at Shadwell Stud in the UK, a meeting with the Aga Khan’s manager Georges Rimaud led to him making his way to Australia – and eventually starting a training career.

“Georges offered me a job back in France as a break-in rider at the Aga Khan’s farm at Normandy,” Chevalier said.

“I was there for two seasons and, knowing I wanted to train, Georges recommended I go to Australia.

“As they had connections with Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley by sending a few mares there, Georges arranged a job for me with Paul Messara as a trackwork rider.

“I was at their training centre at Scone for six months, and wanting to do some more travelling to learn as much as I could, also worked at Turangga Farm in the Segenhoe Valley and then Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand.”

Chevalier found his way back to Arrowfield for another two and a half years as a foreman at the fillies’ barn (when international winning mare Ortensia was there).

When Arrowfield boss John Messara persuaded son Paul to take over managing the stud and focus less on training, Chevalier joined Gary Moore when he returned from overseas to set up shop training at Rosehill Gardens.

“I spent three years with Gary as an assistant trainer, and life was never boring,” he quipped.

“During my time there, Gary won the 2016 Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes in Perth, and I was a finalist in the 2015-16 Sydney Strapper Of The Year Award.”

Furthering his experience to become a trainer, Chevalier ventured south and joined Melbourne Cup legend Lloyd Williams and son Nick at Macedon Lodge for 18 months before taking on an assistant training role with another Melbourne Cup winner, trainer Danny O’Brien, at Flemington.

“I learnt so much from Danny,” Chevalier said. “He was great to work for and didn’t hold anything back; always prepared to share his knowledge.”

Satisfied he was finally ready to take on his new training venture, Chevalier never had any doubt about starting off in New South Wales.

“It was always my preference,” he said. “The prizemoney is fantastic, and I learned the Midway Handicaps were about to be introduced in Sydney on Saturdays.

“Hawkesbury is a really nice place to train. It’s been a slow process, but I’ve got 12 horses on my books, including a lovely Headwater yearling I picked up at the recent Inglis Classic sale.”

Aptly, Chevalier’s breakthrough winner was a horse called Tri Nations at Bathurst on January 25.

But the gelding exited the stable soon afterwards for Queensland, and is now in the care of Mackay trainer Mark Cochrane.

“The owners and myself felt it was the right time to move him on,” Chevalier explained. “Racing is a business and you have to make tough decisions, but being my first winner, it was sad to see him go.

“Training my first city winner in my first year is something I would like to achieve.”

Torrens might be just the horse to do it for him. Perhaps even a Group 1 Sydney Cup? Now what a story that would be!

HOOFNOTE: Chevalier doesn’t know if he is related to the legendary French musical comedy star and entertainer Maurice Chevalier (who died in 1972 at 83 years of age).

Irrespective, this young man has left no stone unturned to succeed in his chosen profession, and is marching to the beat of his own drum!

Great read Shawy, thanks