Her dress, bay-colored, remains commonplace but this 3-year-old mare will not be a starter like the others in the Critérium des jeunes, this Sunday, in Vincennes.
Beyond the ambition displayed by its trainer Philippe Billard who "hopes to compete for the first places",
Idylle à Vie
is the property of the Brennus team, created by Christophe Dominici.
Life, the former French rugby player, born in Toulon (Var) in 1972, chewed it up.
On Wednesday, it will be three months since "Domi" tragically disappeared, at the age of 48, following a fall of ten meters in Saint-Cloud (Hauts-de-Seine), without the 'we know precisely the circumstances of his death.
Producer, winemaker and wine merchant, mineral producer, trader with two ready-to-wear shops in the South, the former international winger of Stade Français, club with which he won five Brennus shields from 1998 to 2007, was also owner of six trotting race horses.
As he told us last June, when he was participating in the discussions for the buyout of the Béziers rugby club.
His mare at the start with the number 11, the same as his on the ground
Sunday, at the start (at 4:45 p.m.) of the Prix Comte Pierre de Montesson, the Critérium des jeunes,
Idylle à vie
will wear the number 11, the same as “Domi” wore on the field.
“It's a sign that Jean-Marie Dominici (Christophe's father) pointed out to me.
We hope this will bring us luck, ”says Philippe Billard.
Of Christophe Dominici, we will obviously keep this image which dates back more than 20 years.
Peroxidized hair, he had scored, on October 31, 1999, an unforgettable try against the All Blacks in the semi-final of the World Cup, giving the advantage (27-24) to France and allowing him to sign one of the greatest exploits in its history (43-31).
Thomas Lombard, General Manager of Stade Français (Top 14) and friend of the deceased with whom he had played, also told us at the time of the tragic news: “Domi, it was a hurricane.
When he landed somewhere, he was spectacular.
An elusive character in the field as in life ... He was someone who did not know the ordinary.
Domi marked everyone because he was not in a traditional relationship.
He was about emotion, affect, challenge, winning, excellence… All that resonated with him and he passed it on to everyone.
"
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Another traveling companion, Christophe Moni, Team manager of the Stade Français, also paid tribute to his lifelong accomplice: “He marked my life, like that of all those who crossed paths with him.
Somehow he helped make me who I am today.
Without Christophe Dominici, I am not at the Stade Français in 1997, I am not living the adventure as we know it.
My life wouldn't have been the same.
He was such a special being, so… ”
A tribute was paid to Christophe Dominici during the match between the Stade Français and Toulon, his two former clubs, in early December at the Jean-Bouin stadium in Paris.
LP / Icon Sport / Anthony Dibon