A young star rising rapidly in racing's firmament

While many in Britain and Ireland may have become aware of Pierre-Charles Boudot only in 2013 when he partnered Ocovango in the Derby, the son of the late jumps trainer Marc Boudot has been nurtured by Andre Fabre since he arrived in Chantilly as a 15-year-old apprentice.

The now-23-year-old notched his first winner in April 2009, and at Fabre's he followed hot on the heels of Maxime Guyon and Mickael Barzalona, who had been the master trainer's young guns for the preceding two years.

Boudot earned his first Group-race victory on the Fabre-trained Brigantin at 17, and it was the multiple champion trainer who provided him with his Group 1 breakthrough in 2014, with 33-1 chance Gallante in the Grand Prix de Paris. Only weeks later he landed another Group 1 aboard stablemate Esoterique in the Prix Rothschild.

Esoterique continued to define Boudot's career, earning further top-level successes at Deauville and Newmarket in 2015, a year by the end of which he had become embroiled in a battle with Christophe Soumillon for the Cravache d'Or (the 'golden whip' awarded to the French champion jockey).

Ultimately the pair shared the title on 179 victories, but, starting in early January, Boudot and agent Herve Naggar have attacked 2016 with gusto.

Boudot passed Soumillon's national record of 228 successes on October 16, by which time he had already nominated Peter Schiergen's European Flat record as his next target.

As well as surpassing that, this year has brought quality along with quantity, with Boudot adding Group 1 victories with National Defense and Waldgeist.