"At the end of last year, Gallorini announced that he would be scaling down his training operation, however the 68-year- old has no plans to retire yet. His Maisons- Laffitte base is currently home to the same number of horses.  Born into a family that had no connection with racing, the Frenchman's love of horses developed after a visit to a local farm. ""A neighbour started up a riding club near me, and I went to have a look around. I then started going regularly.""  It was here that Gallorini sat on a horse for the first time, becoming quickly obsessed. Before this, the ever-original Frenchman had started his riding career in his parent's garden.  ""I used to ride our pig Arthur around the fields, but there were no races for them, so I quickly moved on to the farm. One of the lads there used to work in racing, and it was with him that I went to the races for the first time.""""  After this initial visit, the young Gallorini was hooked. ""From then on I used to go to the racetrack very early in the morning to watch the horses, but I was afraid of being seen, so I watched from behind a hedge.  ""One day a local trainer stopped to talk to me, and I ended up becoming his apprentice. Two and a half years later, I made my debut as a jockey at the age of 151⁄2 on a horse called Clinton in the Grand Prix des Apprentis at Marseille Pont de Vivaux, and we won.  ""For me it was an extraordinary feeling, especially as I hadn't come from a horsey background. I continued to ride for him, and  then as I became too heavy, transferred to National Hunt, winning the Grande Course de Haies. I probably rode around 50 winners in total.""  Gallorini then made the move to the big smoke, joining the yard of champion National Hunt trainer Andre Adele close to Maisons- Laffitte, where Andre Fabre was an apprentice at the time.  Events however took a turn for the worse, as one day when riding at Enghien, Gallorini had a bad fall over jumps, resulting in a fractured skull. ""I was in a bad state for a while, and once I had recovered, I became a trainer with the support of Andre Adele.  ""I always wanted to set up on my own, and moving back to Marseille was not an option. You have to be in Paris to get to the summit of the Eiffel Tower! I wasn't a great jockey because I thought too much, but being a trainer gives you time to do this.""  Gallorini took out his licence in 1975, renting some stables near his former boss. ""I had no money, and used to buy horses from the butcher for FF5,000 (€750). I gave these horses the chance that nobody had ever given them before, and we started winning some good races.""  Success came quickly for Gallorini, and with that, accusations of doping and cheating from his rivals. ""When you have results with horses that no one wants, there is always going to be jealousy, as they don't see how I could do any better than them.  ""When I was younger, I always had to defend myself. My father immigrated to France from Italy because of Mussolini. As a result, I was called macaroni, spaghetti, and all sorts of names, and was made to sit at the back of the class. It is because of this that I decided in life, whether it be a human or horse, to give them a chance.  In 1978, Gallorini started training for the renowned Daniel Wildenstein, an association that was to give the handler some of his greatest successes. He remembers his summons with amusement.  ""I went to Mr. Wildenstein's office on Rue La Boetie in Paris, and after waiting to see him for what seemed like an eternity, he said to me from behind his Louis XV desk, 'I am going to send you three horses – I only have one thing to say to you, I won't be made to look ridiculous.'""  A year later, Gallorini won his first Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteuil with Chinco, having received the horse only a few weeks earlier. Although not owned by Wildenstein, the prominent art collector and dealer would  certainly not regret his decision. Grandak was to start their fruitful  collaboration when winning the Group 1 Prix Cambaceres Hurdle for his owner in 1980. Several other top-level victories followed in the years to come for Gallorini, including talented jumpers Ardfern, Villez, Vaporetto, Nickname, and N'Avoue Jamais.  Just six years after beginning his training career, the Frenchman won his first trainers' championship, in 1981. This was the first of 11 titles that he has since won, including six consecutive between 1988-1995.  It is well known that the straight-talking Gallorini has never been one to follow the trend, and it is thanks to him that female jockeys started to receive recognition in France in the 1980s, most notably the talented Beatrice Marie.  ""It took me three years to get Beatrice a licence, as the Stewards would have none of it. I said to myself, there is no reason why women can't ride as well as men in races. If you are competent, it doesn't matter what sex you are.""  Gallorini's instincts were right, as Marie made a winning debut at Auteuil in the Listed Prix Finot Hurdle, as well as over the bigger fences. In 1988, she became the first woman ever to win a Group 1 event in France when triumphing on Goodea in the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil.  Later on, Anne-Sophie Madelaine was another top-level female jockey who passed through his hands, winning the Grand Prix d'Automne in 1997 and a year later on Mon Romain for Urban Sea's trainer Jean Lesbordes. Gallorini currently has capable young rider Paola Beacco attached to his stable.  Despite Wildenstein's numerous successes on the flat as well as in the National Hunt sphere, his dream was to win the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, which Gallorini was to make reality twice in the 1990s.  ""The Comte de Montesson, a very well known jumps breeder, who had already had success in the race with Katko three times, wanted to reduce his numbers. Together with Jean-Pierre Dubois, Mr. Wildenstein bought his  two-year-olds, of which the exceptional Geos, Katarino, and of course Kotkijet came out of.""  Under the care of Dubois for his first 10 starts at the age of four, Kotkijet then joined Gallorini's stable. The son of Cadoudal became a champion, winning 13 of his 18 races for him, before being transferred once again, this time to Arnaud Chaille-Chaille.  Under the guidance of Gallorini's regular jockey ThierryMajorcryk, who after an interval has rejoined the trainer, Kotkijet took the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris for the first time in 2001, and again three years later.  Wildenstein said after the gelding's initial victory in France's most important event, ""I have won some of the best races worldwide on the Flat and in trotting, but this win means the most to me.""  A couple of years after Kotkijet's second victory, Gallorini received another champion in his yard in the form of Remember Rose, owned and bred by the Swiss Ernst Iten.  The gelding came from small beginnings. In 2002, due to the Foot and Mouth travelling  restrictions in Ireland, his dam, Couture Rose, was unable to go to her intended match. As a result, she was covered by the nearest stallion to the farm where she was boarding.  This turned out to be Insatiable, who stood for €1,000 at the time. Second in the Champion Stakes for Sir Michael Stoute, the son of Don't Forget Me had recorded the best win of his career in the Prix Dollar at Longchamp.  Sent to Gallorini, Remember Rose becoming France's leading three-year-old chaser after taking the Group 2 Prix Congress, the most important event on the calendar. The following year, he took the Prix Maurice Gillois at the highest level.  In November 2008, Remember Rose recorded the first of consecutive Group 1 Prix La Haye Jousselin victories. The following May, the gelding triumphed by 10 lengths in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, and was hailed as a superstar by his jockey Christophe Pieux.  Lining up to defend his crown last season, Remember Rose caused one of the most  controversial moments in recent French racing history. Having anticipated the rising of the tapes, the horse was struck on the nose by them as he moved forward, ejecting Pieux at the same time. The race was not recalled, causing outrage from Gallorini and several professionals.  Still in training, Remember Rose has not quite lived up to expectations since, and was operated on over the summer. ""We will just take it slowly, and I was very pleased with his comeback run in unfavourable conditions.""  Another remarkable story is that of Mandali's win in the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil under champion Flat jockey Christophe Soumillon last June.  ""The gelding's owner Bartabas (Ecurie Zingaro) invited Christophe to dinner after one of his equestrian displays in Japan, and it was here that he expressed his wish to ride over jumps for the first time.  ""Mandali was the perfect choice, as he had already ridden him before on the Flat for the Aga Khan, so Christophe knew the horse well. He needed to gain experience before the Champion Hurdle, so just a couple of days before he rode at Auteuil, finishing third.  ""The following Sunday, just before giving him a leg up, we discussed tactics. Christophe explained that he thought everyone was afraid to make the pace for the champion Questarabad, so he would go out and do it himself.""  This is exactly what happened, and by  halfway, Soumillon had stretched his advantage to a jump in front of his rivals, producing one of the most astonishing performances in the history of the race as well as a huge upset, going on to win by a distance.  In 2011, the trainer has enjoyed success with Group 2 winners Roi du Val, owned by his partner Alexandrine, who triumphed in the Prix La Barka in May, as well as recent Grand Steeple-Chase d'Enghien victor Formosa Joana Has.  One of the newest stars in Gallorini's stable is  his homebred Caesar's Palace. Named after one of his sons, as well as his father Cesare, the four-year-old is currently unbeaten over hurdles in five starts, including two Group 3 events.  Clearly breeding is another one of the trainer's passions. ""Together with Alexandrine and her father Jean-Louis Berger, we have 11 broodmares. We recently bought a stud near Paray-le-Monial (Burgundy) with 92 hectares.  ""It will be called Etoile du Berger, because that was the name of Jean-Louis's first broodmare. He has since bred Rubi Ball and Rolling Ball, both winners at the highest level over fences.  ""I trained Ceasar's Palace's dam, who was crazy and not very talented. She won for me, and then I sent her to Voix du Nord, who nobody believed in. I chose him because he was a talented racehorse, and comes from a long line of Wildenstein breeding, of which I knew very well.  ""He was always a lovely looking horse, and although I have had several offers for him, you don't sell your son! I will see how he goes over the winter, and I might think about sending him to the Cheltenham Festival next March.""  A true horseman, Gallorini's extraordinary success is not only in the National Hunt field. He has also trained a number of Group winners on the Flat, and even had two runners in the Prix du Jockey Club last year.  Quite a career from such an inauspicious start."
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