Amanda Zetterholm joins Noel George on training licence as exciting Il Est Francais gears up for seasonal return

When the exciting Il Est Francais makes his debut in all-aged company next Sunday in Auteuil, he will run under the names of trainers Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm for the first time. 

George ran a Chantilly satellite in conjunction with his Gloucestershire-based father Tom last year and passed the France Galop trainer's exam at the turn of the year. 

With horses set to move back and forwards between the two bases according to opportunity, George will share the licence with Swedish-born Zetterholm, a hugely respected figure in France who passed the exam last summer and who owns the yard at Avilly Saint-Leonard – on the outskirts of Chantilly – from where the operation will be run.

"Amanda approached me when she was going to buy the yard and when I went to see it I loved it," said George. "It has lovely paddocks and being outside Chantilly suits the way we train. Amanda is great with clients and I went with her to Cheltenham when we were thinking about starting and it worked really well."

An accomplished amateur rider, Zetterholm worked in client relations with the Aga Khan Studs and later Goffs, and was also a driving force in the early part of David Cottin's training career. 

Noel George with members of the Crossed Fingers Partnership after Jar Du Desert finished second at Auteuil on Saturday

"She's respected by a lot of people in France and we have a great team of owners, both through Amanda and me," George said. "She plays a big part in communicating with owners."

Il Est Francais is co-owned by Richard Kelvin Hughes and breeder Nicolas de Lageneste and, in the long term, could be a chaser in Britain for Tom George. 

Having carried all before him against his own age group as a four-year-old, the son of Karaktar will stay in France this spring, with the Grande Course de Haies (French Champion Hurdle) his main aim. 

"The plan is to run next Sunday in the Prix Juigne and Felix de Giles takes over as James Reveley is injured," George said. "Felix has already schooled him and worked him on the grass Saturday morning. 

"He said he didn't think he'd worked him very hard but it was just the others who were made to work hard!" 

Among 19 entries for the Prix Juigne are last year's winner of the French Champion Hurdle, Hermes Baie, and crack mare L'Autonomie. 

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