'It is an amazing story but he is an exceptional horse'
Scott Burton visits Retraining of Racehorses day in Deauville
The cheers that echoed around Longchamp on days like his Prix Ganay defeat of Treve provided moving testament to the public’s affection for Cirrus Des Aigles.
Famously 'Fighting Cirrus' never got to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on account of being a gelding. But as the ten-year-old and seven other former heroes file out from the Deauville racecourse stabling block for a parade of champions, the swelling strains of Vangelis’s soundtrack to the movie Alexander instantly pull the crowd into those tense final moments in front of the stands on Arc day.
At a course where he once pulverised his rivals in the Grand Prix by ten lengths, Cirrus Des Aigles is the headline act today as French racing embarks on a new commitment to caring for its heroes after their racing days are behind them.
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