Where Is Il Est Francais? Inside the Sudden Split as Superstar Horse Is Removed from Yard
By Chloe Bennett
The split was complicated by family dynamics. Noel George, son of veteran Gloucestershire trainer Tom George, relocated to France to build an operation alongside Amanda Zetterholm. Their Chantilly setup was designed precisely to extract the best of both worlds: French juvenile speed conditioning paired with British race planning.
Tom George had previously planned to saddle Il Est Francais at Ascot in races like the 1965 Chase to ease logistics when crossing the Channel. That cross-border bridge provided flexible access to British autumn fixtures while basing primary recovery in France.
Yet cross-border dual management introduces complications. Training tracks in Chantilly differ radically from Cotswold schooling grounds. British owners expect constant visual access, domestic gallop reports, and targeted alignment with UK fixtures like the King George VI Chase at Kempton. When performance plateaued, the split yard dynamic became a sticking point. Noel George expressed immense professional pride in what the yard achieved with the horse, noting that taking an unpolished chaser to world-beating heights was a privilege, even as the parting of ways left clear professional scars.
Chloe Bennett explores the intersection of pop culture, streaming entertainment, digital trends, and contemporary lifestyle. Her weekly commentary reaches thousands of culture enthusiasts.
