The First Look at Chantilly

On August 1, 2023, I officially arrived in Chantilly for the start of this new adventure; however, my entrance into French thoroughbred racing began a couple months before that.

I was fortunate to start my “racing career” with the two biggest races at the Hippodrome Chantilly: the Prix du Jockey Club (June 4) and Prix de Diane (June 18), for 3-year-old colts and fillies, respectively.

The first step was deciding what to wear, which I think is an adventure deserving of its own blog post in the future. Let’s just say that I am now the proud owner of 6 different “horse hats,” as I call them, and even more dresses that match our racing silks.

My Fridays of both weekends consisted of apartment hunting and exploring the Château. (You would think they would have rooms available in the castle for Princess Leia, but apparently not!)

Both Saturdays, we went to check on the horses at the stables, where I made quite a few new friends (including Big Rock and Blue Rose Cen, whose names you should remember).

Dinner on race eve for both events was held at my new favorite restaurant - La Vertugadin. Located near the Musée du Cheval, my go-to on the menu is anything with the homemade crème Chantilly. The owner/chef Michael is a Knight of La Confrérie des Chevaliers Fouetteurs de Crème Chantilly, what I like to call the "Brotherhood of Chantilly." To put it in layman's terms - he is a whipped cream expert.

Anyways, back on topic: horses. On Sunday, we were off to the races...

Stay tuned!