Charloe Fellowes - unhappy with Mickael Barzalona ride

Charlie Fellowes feels Zarigana should be disqualified herself in French 1000 Guineas

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Mon May 12, 2025 · 8M ago

Connections of Shes Perfect look set to appeal against her demotion in Sunday’s French 1000 Guineas – but the focus will be on the ride Mickael Barzalona gave to the promoted Zarigana.

Trainer Charlie Fellowes accepts that interference took place between the two fillies at Longchamp but feels the winning ride may have broken the rules soon after the French jockey dropped his whip.

Speaking on Monday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast, he said: "I’m not denying there was interference, it would be stupid of anyone to argue against that. I think the margins are so fine and it happened such a long way out that the filly had more than enough time to get back up and beat us. But the stewards disagreed with that.

“I drove straight home from Paris, I was on my own in the car, I had it with me because I’d been at the Deauville Sales. So I had six hours in the car on my own to Newmarket and the one thing I have a problem with is, and that we will raise in an appeal if we get to that, is the way Zarigana was ridden after the interference.

“And by that what I mean is, the interference happens over a furlong out. We push Ryan (Moore, on eventual fourth Exactly) and Ryan pushes Mickael’s horse (Zarigana) across the track and Mickael pulls his stick through into his left hand. He gives her two hits and then drops it.

“That drop has absolutely nothing to do with the interference, it’s a pure jockey error. He then puts both hands back on the reins because his filly starts to hang right, and he hits her with his hand 12 times down the neck.

“I don’t believe that is riding within the rules of racing because, if you’re allowed to do that, then every jockey in the weighing room would go to the limit - in France it’s four in England seven - then they’d put their whip down and hit the horse with their hand for encouragement.

“I don’t believe any of the rule-makers in France or England believe that is what should happen when you’ve used your limit with the stick.

“Obviously, in France the rules are four - that is the limit. Anything between four and nine is a ban and a fine, anything over nine is disqualification. Now, they either decide that the hand counts as hitting a horse which I believe it is, then she should be disqualified.

“If that was allowed, every single jockey in France from now on will use four hits, they’ll put their stick down then start slapping their horse down the neck. He wasn’t slapping the horse down the neck to give her a pat and say well done, he was slapping her down the neck to get her to go faster. And that I don’t believe is allowed.

"They’re in danger of setting a precedent here that they don’t want to, but nothing was said on the day.

“That’s where I want clarification. I don’t want clarification on the interference or anything like that, that’s not going to get overturned. I agree there was interference and I agree the margin at the line was incredibly small. I don’t have a problem with that.

“What I don’t like, and what I’m not sure about, is the way their filly was ridden from the moment Mickael dropped his stick to the winning line."

Fellows admits he still has a mixture of emotions after Sunday’s drama, pride in the performance for Shes Perfect and Luther in the 2000 Guineas on the same card, as well as sheer frustration at losing a Classic in the stewards’ room.

“When you get disqualified from any race you’re going to feel hard done by, when it’s a Group One, and not just a Group One but a Classic, it’s particularly hard to stomach," he admitted.

“It was a funny day, a real rollercoaster of emotions, but essentially, I’m unbelievably proud of the performances of both my horses on Sunday. I knew going there I had two horses in their peak condition, who had been trained to the minute, and it was just a question of if they were good enough.

“Thank God they both stuck their hands up and proved they definitely deserved to be dining out at the top table as I have always felt they did.

“Obviously, initially it was elation and a huge amount of emotion. It’s been very hard, things haven’t really gone to plan for me in the last couple of years, my stable’s not where I want it to be, and I felt one thing that has always held me back is our record at the very top level.

“Although we’ve had lots of very nice winners and big winners, there’s always been a glaring omission on my CV, and I thought I had just corrected that."

Charlie Fellowes feels Zarigana should be disqualified herself in French 1000 Guineas

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