• Born: Dec. 20, 1969, in the Maine-et-Loire region, France
• Resident: Sartrouville, Paris, France
• Family: wife Veronique, daughter of trotting trainer Guy Verva; two children

Quick facts about Thierry Gillet:

• Has ridden Bago in all 14 career starts, including five group 1 victories, most notably the 2004 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
• This will be his first Breeders’ Cup.
• Started his career in racing at the apprentice school in Maisons-Laffitte at the age of 14. He was first apprenticed to Raymond Touflan from 1984 until 1990, thereafter becoming stable jockey to trainer Bertran de Balanda.
• First group winner was in June of 1995, but career was derailed after two accidents, first in July 1995, then again in September of 1996.
• In 1999 he decided to go out on his own and ride as a freelance jockey. That year he forged an alliance with his first top-class horses, Bimbola, winner of the Prix de Pomone and runner-up in the Hong Kong International Vase, and Star of Akkar, who won three group races and finished second in the Prix de Diane.
• Gillet had to wait until 2001 before landing his first group 1 race on the Jonathan Pease-trained Act One in the Criterium International and followed up with a further group 1 success on the same horse in the 2002 Prix Lupin.
• Enjoyed a superb year in 2004, finishing 11th in the French jockeys’ championship with 62 wins from 536 rides. Only three jockeys earned more prize money than him during a year in which, aside from Bago, he also enjoyed big-race success aboard Execute (Prix Ganay) and Sweet Stream (Prix Vermeille).
• Currently one of the top ten French jockeys, regularly riding for trainers Andre Fabre, Criquette Head, John Hammond and Jonathan Pease.
• Lists the cinema, music and scuba diving as his interests.