Lena Lorieul and Allamericanbeauty strode out of Shug McGaughey’s barn Thursday morning, stopped on the apron and waited like the Hall of Fame trainer’s riders and horses have been doing for decades.
The rider wore black boots high up her calf. Gray socks poking out the top. Worn jeans tucked inside her boots. Black helmet with red seams and a black flak jacket pulled tight.
The filly wore all leather tack. Fuzzy girth cover. White saddle towel. White polo bandages. Black and red wool pummel pad poking between contoured pads and a worn saddle.
Lorieul checked her girth, tightened her knot and joined Cecil Putman and the lead pony. They strode onto the track. Minutes later, clockers hit the siren when a horse dropped his rider halfway down the backside before being corralled quickly. Minutes later, Allamericanbeauty and Lorieul – long, loose rein and leg-length leverage – cantered past the gap.
“You thought that was me, didn’t you?” Lorieul yelled to assistant Anthony Hamilton.
Well, it was more like a cackle, her high-pitched, sweet-natured Swedish voice relaying her upbeat morning attitude.
Lorieul had fallen off the recalcitrant filly the day before. Well, it was more of a step off. Thursday it went smoothly like it’s gone most mornings over a 40-year career as one of the most important cogs in one of the sport’s most iconic machines.
“She’s meant everything. She’s not only a great rider, but she’s a great person,” McGaughey said. “She’s been fun to be around. She’s very enthusiastic about the horses. She’s disappointed when they don’t run good, and she’s very enthusiastic and happy when they do run a decent race. You can put her on about anything. I’m proud of her.”
But it’s time.
Lorieul will retire in November.
“Oh, my body hurts too much. I still really like it, but I hurt a lot,” Lorieul said of a sore hip and a nagging shoulder. “I have worked for Shug for 40 years. So, I think it’s time. I don’t know what I want to do after. I don’t have any big plans. When it’s your decision, it’s great.”
A 40-year novel with some of the greatest chapters ever written – Lure, Personal Ensign, Awe Inspiring, Dispute, Mr Speaker – will come to a close.
“I’ve been so lucky. I’ve worked with so many good horses and good people. I still get excited to come to work in the morning. It’s a luxury,” Lorieul said. “The best horses, I guess, would be Personal Ensign and Lure because they’re in the Hall of Fame, but my all-time favorite is Awe Inspiring. He was a very kind horse. Your first good horse is like your first love. You never forget it.”
Awe Inspiring had the misfortune of being born the same year as Easy Goer. The son of Slew o’ Gold won seven races, two Grade 1 stakes and would have gone over $1 million if it wasn’t for his stablemate who finished in front of him in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
“The biggest thrill was the Kentucky Oaks with Dispute. She was the toughest, but she ran tough, too. Everything has different meaning, it’s not just one favorite,” Lorieul said. “The truly good horses, they always train good. They do everything good. But when they go to the races, they always do better than you think they’re capable of doing. A lot of nice horses, they train good, they run good, but they stay at the same level. That’s really what it comes down to, it’s their mindset. Those really, really good horses, you’re almost in awe of them.”
Personal Ensign awed the sport through 13 wins in 13 starts.
“She was like a good filly, she was bossy, she knew that she was good. It was a lot of pressure. She had to be perfect every day,” Lorieul said. “I don’t even think I realized at the time what kind of history she would make. We were this far away from disaster in the Breeders’ Cup. If she had gotten beat, then you’re just another good horse.”
Lure was anything but just another good horse, winning back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Miles.
“He was just fun. He was handsome and he was good and he knew it,” Lorieul said. “He was so fast. I remember breezing him here on the Oklahoma turf, he could accelerate on the turns. He was leaning, I swear I felt like I was in the infield. Just a good horse. He was very spoiled, but he had earned that, too.”
Lorieul went to the equivalent of an American Pony Club in Sweden, found race horses and rode a few races in Sweden before traveling to England to ride for steeplechase trainer Stan Mellor. She ventured to America with a friend on a lark. And never left.
She married Christophe Lorieul, assistant to Christophe Clement. Their daughter Elsa graduated from the equine industry program at the University of Louisville in May.
“We’re a racetrack family, and I’m proud to be a racetrack family,” Lorieul said as she grazed Stop The Press at the end of training Thursday. “Like I said, everything is because of the horses. That’s why I say when people say the racetrack is a bad place to be, I’m like, not for me. I was never really planning on staying with horses. I thought one day I would wake up and be like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ But that day hasn’t come yet. Which is great, isn’t it?”
Yeah, 40 years of greatness.
