Patience pays off for Delacour

Leigh Delacour’s stable has been rising in prominence since Delacour, a onetime assistant to trainer Graham Motion, and her husband, Arnaud, a former assistant to Christophe Clement, went out on their own in 2007.

The stable has gained a reputation as an organization that uses a European approach in the development of young stock and careful placement of its proven runners.

Having impressed horseplayers at Tampa Bay Downs in recent winters with their turf horses, the Delacour outfit added a prominent new client midway through the 2011 season when the Lael Stable of Roy and Gretchen Jackson sent 10 horses to the Delacours to train. Known most prominently as the owners of the brilliant but ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, the Jacksons have been active owners since 1978 and since Roy retired from a career in baseball management. The Jacksons have had horses in training at several tracks while also being active buyers and consigners at the major sales venues in North America and Europe.