Gérald MosséGérald Mossé (born 3 January 1967 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

) is a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 in thoroughbred horse racing

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

. He began riding professionally in April 1983 and his success during his apprenticeship under Patrick-Louis Biancone

Patrick Biancone

Patrick Louis Biancone is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He is currently based in the United States, but enjoyed success in both Europe and Hong Kong earlier in his career...

 led to an offer to ride for renowned trainer François Boutin

François Boutin

François Boutin was a French Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of a farmer, he was born in the village of Beaunay in the northerly Seine Maritime département. He began riding horses at a young age and competed in show jumping and cross-country equestrianism...

 and his stable of horses belonging to Jean-Luc Lagardère

Jean-Luc Lagardère

Jean-Luc Lagardère was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardere Group, one of the largest French conglomerates....

. Mossé went on to become one of his country's top jockeys, winning the 1990 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...

. In 1991, he rode Arazi to five straight wins in France then spent 1992 and part of 1993 racing in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

From 1993 to late 2001, Gérald Mossé was the principal rider for the horses belonging to the Aga Khan IV

Aga Khan IV

Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...

. He then returned to live and race in Hong Kong (where he is also known in Chinese as 巫斯義) but continues to ride in major Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an and international races.

On November 2, 2010, Mossé became the first French jockey to win the Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...

 on the US bred horse Americain

Americain

Americain is an American-bred French trained thoroughbred racehorse. The six-year-old stayer won the 150th Melbourne Cup in 2010, ridden by Gérald Mossé, trained by Alain De Royer-Dupre and owned by Melbourne businessmen Gerry Ryan and Kevin Bamford....

.