Horse trainer Christophe Clement dies at 59 from rare eye cancer

Christophe Clement who trained longshot Tonalist to conquest in the Belmont Stakes and won a Breeders Cup race in has died He was Clement stated his own death in a prepared message that was posted to his stable s X account on Sunday Unfortunately if you are reading this it means I was unable to beat my cancer it noted As several of you know I have been fighting an incurable infection metastatic uveal melanoma It s a type of cancer that affects the uvea the middle layer of the eye It accounts for just of all melanoma cases in the U S however it can be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body in up to of cases according to the Melanoma Research Alliance s website The Paris-born Clement has been one of the top trainers in the U S over the last years He learned under his father Miguel who was a leading trainer in France Clement later worked for the prominent French racing family of Alec Head In the U S he first worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey Clement went out on his own in winning with the first horse he saddled at Belmont Park in New York He had career victories and purse earnings of over million according to Equibase I am very proud that for over years in this industry we have operated every single day with the highest integrity inevitably putting the horses wellbeing first Clement wrote in his farewell message One of his best-known horses was Gio Ponti winner of Eclipse Awards as champion male turf horse in and He finished second to Zenyatta in the Breeders Cup Classic In the Belmont Tonalist spoiled the Triple Crown bid of California Chrome who tied for fourth Tonalist won by a head after not having competed in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness that year Steve Coburn co-owner of California Chrome caused dispute when he noted afterward the horses that hadn t run in the other two races took the coward s way out He later apologized and congratulated the connections of Tonalist Clement s lone Breeders Cup preeminence was with Pizza Bianca owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay in the Juvenile Fillies Turf Clement had seven seconds and six thirds in other Cup races Clement s report stated he would leave his stable in the hands of his son and longtime assistant Miguel As I reflect on my journey I realize I never worked a day in my life Clement s announcement commented Every morning I woke up and did what I loved bulk surrounded by so much love Besides his son he is survived by wife Valerie daughter Charlotte Clement Collins and grandson Hugo Collins AP horse racing https apnews com hub horse-racing Source