At just 1.56m, Saonois does not even make it to the average height for a racehorse.
His rider is a 21-year-old. His owner is Pascal Treyve, a village baker from "la France profonde" who stumped up a few thousand bucks to live the dream of being a racehorse owner.
Yet on Monday, Saonois will take on the cream of the thoroughbreds - 17 mounts owned by Arabian, Persian and European nobility, schooled by the top European trainers and ridden by celebrated jockeys - in one of the world's most prestigious races.
Just 2400m separates the horse with a big heart from snatching the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Europe's premiere season-ending race.
At the start of this year, you would have been considered a mug to even think of betting on its chances, for the bookies gave the odds at 500-1. Now the chances of the bay colt bagging the €2.2 million (NZ$3.5 million) winners cheque have narrowed to 8-1.