In the steps of Francois Doumen: the French are coming to Cheltenham against all the odds

Scott BurtonFrance correspondent

Francois Doumen leads in The Fellow and Adam Kondrat after the Marquesa captured the 1994 Cheltenham Gold Cup

Francois Doumen leads in The Fellow and Adam Kondrat after the the 1994 Cheltenham Gold CupCredit: Gerry Cranham

When screenwriter Colin Welland announced to a startled Academy Awards audience in 1982 that “the British are coming,” he was speaking beyond the acclaim for Chariots of Fire.

A British film did indeed win the Oscar for best picture again the following year with Gandhi, and would do again subsequently thanks to The Last Emperor, Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech. But Welland’s broader point was about the amount of British-born talent working at home and in Hollywood.

A question I get asked more than almost any other is why more French-trained horses don’t run at Cheltenham.

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Published on 12 March 2023inAnother View

Last updated 14:00, 12 March 2023

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