No champagne, but Ryan’s still all smiles

It might not have had a fairytale end we were all hoping for, but Australia’s first representative in the prestigious French Trotteur Francais Recontres Internationales Ryan Sanderson was satisfied with the outcome.

Sanderson posted a credible 11th in a big field of 15, with the Matthieu Lebrec-trained Fan de Phyt’s (Magnificent Rodney) at the beautiful Vincennes Hippodrome complex, in Paris earlier this morning (AEDT).

“We just got too far back,” Sanderson said after the race.

“The barrier 9 was always going to be hard, but I’ve got to be happy with the way we went.  The only thing I could perhaps have done was gone wide up the straight and seen how the horse could finish off, but the result probably would have been much the same,” he said.

“I thought the horse went really well and the trainer was happy with how the horse got home.”

Sanderson restrained from the start from his extreme outside barrier draw and was always at the tail of the field with limited opportunities to improve. He angled for a three wide trail with a lap to go, but with little movement in front of him, elected to switch back to search for inside runs.  Fan de Phyt’s made good ground over the concluding stages to finish 11^th. The race was a home-town win for accomplished French reinsman Eric Raffin on Forsica Du Rocher (A Heripre Guy).

To watch the full replay, click here.

Twenty-year-old Sanderson was selected by Harness Racing Victoria and Harness Racing Australia to spend two weeks in France for the event. Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, Belgium, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, Spain, Malta, Serbia and Austria were all represented.

It was the first time Australia has sent a representative and a terrific experience for Sanderson has opened the door for other talented young Australian drivers for at least the next four years.

Sanderson has spent the past week under the tutelage of world-renowned horseman Jean-Michel Bazire at the magnificent Domaine de Grosbois training centre, southeast of Paris.

“I’m looking forward to spending the next week back with Jean-Michel at Grosbois and learning more – it’s just been the best experience.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink