CRIQUETTE HEAD-MAAREK

will bring the curtain down on a glittering training career when she saddles her final runners on February 1. The legendary French handler, who won back-to-back runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe courtesy of brilliant mare Treve, is calling time on a career spanning more than 40 years to spend more time overseeing her family stud based in Deauville. The 69-year-old said: ‘I’ve got some runners on Friday and I’ve got runners on February 1 and then I will stop. It was a tough decision to take, because it is always tough when you decide to change. I owe everything to every owner I have worked with and I was very lucky to train good horses.’