It's not just football in life. From Budapest, where the Blues conceded a draw (1-1) against Hungary this Saturday in their second match at the Euro, Antoine Griezmann, the tricolor scorer, will probably not lose a crumb of the Prix de Diane, knowing that the scrub was scheduled by Didier Deschamps at 5.30 p.m., that is, an hour and a half before the race bringing together the best 3-year-old fillies. For the first time, the FC Barcelona international striker will have his jacket (black and pink stripes) represented in one of the most prestigious events in France at the Chantilly racecourse (Oise), four years after having started in the horse racing adventure. "If there had not been the Euro, he would have gone there for sure", slips his father, Alain, who will replace him in the round of presentation, probably in the company of his wife,Isabelle, and her daughter, Maud.
All will encourage
Natsukashi
, trained by Philippe Decouz and whose name refers to a song by rapper Nekfeu that Antoine Griezmann appreciates.
“She is a very good filly.
Now 7 or 8 stand out, and it is often a question of course, of rope numbers in this kind of races.
We have the 16, which is not ideal, but it is everyone's dream to participate, especially since Antoine does not have a team like the Aga Khan.
And you know, when you invest in horses, there is no certainty, ”continues Alain, who transmitted the virus to his son.
Since childhood, Antoine Griezmann has attended races with his father, Alain (left).
Scoopdyga / Laurent Dyga.
It all started in Mâcon, in Saône-et-Loire, where the number 7 of the Blues was born. "Little, I went every Sunday with my father to the local bar as he was called, I drank my strawberry syrup and I made my little tiercé, the quinté did not exist at the time", specifies Alain . He therefore logically shared his passion with Antoine, then a teenager, by taking him to the races in Cluny, about twenty kilometers from the family home: “I let him bet one or two euros. I remember he had played a junk flat, around 40/1. He was 13, that was before he left for Real Sociedad. I told him:
You're not going to bet on a horse at this odds
. And he won! From a very young age, he loved racing, the animal. And even more when he turned professional. It was his escape, his breath of fresh air. “To the point of deciding to become the owner in 2017 and to set up his own stable, managed by Alain and comprising a dozen gallopers and as many trotters.
At the end of April, Antoine Griezmann won his first quinté flat at ParisLongchamp thanks to
Hooking
, but he does not want to stop there. Like Tony Parker, the 2018 world champion, new PMU ambassador, has the ambition to one day win the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, one of the biggest equestrian events that takes place every year in autumn. “Once again, everyone has dreams, such as having a horse that is out of the ordinary to reach an exceptional level, concludes Alain. In any case, it's a real passion for them! "
