No one can deny that enormous skill is required to keep a cool head and stir your mount safely through a crowd of 15 exceptional horses on the racetrack to win the US$150,000 ($22.5 million) Mouttet Mile (invitational) — local racing’s most profitable and renowned race.

But Julien Leparoux, a multiple Breeders’ Cup winner, made the challenge look easy, steering the American-bred Rough Entry to a seven-length victory in the one-mile (1,600m) event on Saturday, December 2, 2023.

Trained by Rohan Crichton, Rough Entry came from behind runners to win the Graded Stakes contest for three-year-olds and upward ahead of Ability (Jordan Barrett) and Mamma Mia (Jerome Innis) in a time of 1:38.0.

“It felt great. I mean, I felt very welcomed from the beginning, and it is a big race, and it is very important to be able to win. I see how the fans love racing over here in Jamaica, and they are very passionate about it, so it is great to be able to deliver and win the race like this,” Leparoux told the Jamaica Observer‘s The Supreme Racing Guide.

“If allowed to come back here to ride, I will do that. Riding here at Caymanas Park was an amazing experience, and I enjoyed my stay. It is the first time I am riding here, and it is a moment that I will treasure,” Leparoux added.

It was Leparoux’s second winner on the day as he had earlier won aboard the Anthony Nunes-conditioned Captain Calico in the $1.3-million Main Event Entertainment Group Trophy over 7 furlongs (1,400m).

According to Equibase, Leparoux has an impressive career record of 17,179 starts, with 2,955 wins, 2,463 second-place finishes, and 2,143 third-place finishes, totalling earnings of $192,738,721. Leparoux has won seven Breeders’ Cup races, including the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Mile and the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

On June 4, 2022, Leparoux became the fifth rider to win 1,000 races at Churchill Downs when he guided Walkathon to victory in the Grade 3 Regret Stakes.

“I originated from France, but I never rode there. I moved to the United States in 2003 and started riding two years later, in 2005, in New York at Saratoga. I then moved to Kentucky, and so I have been in America for 20 years, and I have been riding for 18 years,” Leparoux said.

“I had a lot of people behind me from the beginning. I got lucky to get to start my career very quickly, so it was a question of keeping going, and it has been good. My first win was at Saratoga. It was a great feeling to be able to win not only your first race but also one at a track like Saratoga; it was very special for me.

“It has been a great career so far. I can’t complain. I was very fortunate to ride some amazing horses, and hopefully, I can find other ones that can take me to those big races,” said the Frenchman.

During his career, Leparoux has ridden some talented and successful horses, such as Tepin, Forever Together, Classic Empire, Einstein, Informed Decision, and Pure Clan. But he said that Tepin is the best he has ridden.

“I have ridden some big horses, but Tepin is the best to me. She had won at the Royal Ascot and she won at the Breeders’ Cup. Tepin has won a lot of Grade One races. She is a talented racehorse,” Leparoux said.