Lead player in France's renaissance
While
it certainly would not be fair to describe the French breeding industry
as a 'poor relation' within Europe, it can be hard at times to remember
that French bloodstock was formerly far, far more dominant than has now
been the case for several decades, writes John Berry .
In the middle of the 20th century, French horses regularly cleaned up
in Europe's biggest races. The years following World War II were a
golden era for cross-channel raiders to England - which is doubly
remarkable bearing in mind the havoc that German occupation had wreaked
to every aspect of French life - with French-bred Derby winners in the
first couple of post-war decades being Pearl Diver, My Love, Galcador, Phil Drake, Lavandin, Relko and Sea Bird. The Ascot Gold Cup told a similar story, with seven of the first 11 post-war winners (Caracalla Ii, Souverain, Arbar, Pan 2nd, Aquino, Elpenor and Macip)
being French-breds. It is hard nowadays to envisage French-breds again
dominating Britain's greatest races to this extent, particularly as
most of the recent fancied French-trained contenders at Epsom have not
been French-bred, an obvious example being Visindar, the unplaced 2/1 favourite in 2006 who was conceived in Ireland, born in Britain and from an American-bred mare.
The decline in French breeding can really be traced to the 1970s, or
possibly earlier. In the years following the war, the best French
stallions (such as Vatellor, the sire of Pearl Diver and My Love; and Djebel, sire of Galcador and Arbar - and, of course, Djebel's sire Tourbillon)
could truly be described as world-class. However, by the 1970s, France
was becoming bereft of stallions who merited such a description. The
reason for this was fairly simple: it had become commonplace for the
best stallions to be sold overseas, the consequence of the 'jam today'
philosophy then favoured by French stallionmasters. Prince Taj, leading French sire in 1967 and '68, was sold to Florida, while Snob, leading sire of 1969, was sold to Japan, which was also the destination of the American-bred Traffic, leading sire in 1971 (largely thanks to the exploits of his son Rheffic, winner of the Prix du Jockey-Club and Grand Prix de Paris). Thankfully, Val De Loir,
champion sire for the three years 1973 to '75, was never exported, but
sadly neither did he make old bones: he died aged only 15, in 1974. The
great Luthier, four times champion sire and responsible for the likes of Sagace
(one of the few horses to pass the post first twice in the Prix de
l'Arc de Triomphe, although unfortunately only remembered as a one-time
winner, courtesy of being disqualified in favour of Rainbow Quest in 1985), also died relatively young, succumbing to laminitis in 1981, aged only 16.
Around this time, France was also home for short periods to some other
truly world-class sires, all of whom went to America pretty much as
soon as their merit was apparent. Riverman, Arctic Tern and Green Dancer (responsible between them for a host of top-class horses, including respectively Triptych, Bering and Suave Dancer) emulated Prince Taj and Snob in being exported from Haras du Quesnay, while Lyphard (sire of numerous champions including the Arc winners Three Troikas and Dancing Brave) was dispatched from Haras d'Etreham. Caro, champion sire in 1977, was exported from Haras du Bois Roussel to America, while Caro's Prix du Jockey-Club-winning son Crystal Palace (champion sire in 1985) was sent from Haras de Meautry to Japan. Nureyev (born, like Riverman and Lyphard, in America) enjoyed only two seasons at stud in France before heading to America, while Kenmare (champion sire in 1988 and '89) was a high-profile export to Arrowfield in Australia.
This catalogue of emigration proved to be a series of blows from which
French breeding still has not recovered. However, recently there have
been two world-class sires at stud in the country, doing between them a
large amount to restore at least some of France's former reputation as
a source of high-class horses. Of these, Linamix (sire of the 1998 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sagamix) was retired from stud duties a couple of years ago as a result of infertility, while Anabaa
sadly died, following complications consequent to colic surgery, on 6
July, aged only 17. During Anabaa's lifetime, he proved to be at the
vanguard of a renaissance among French breeding, and as such his loss
represents a huge setback to French breeding in general. To his home
Haras du Quesnay, it represents a particularly cruel blow, coming only
11 days after the sudden death (from a heart attack) of his long-time
fellow resident Highest Honor, ten times the leading French-based sire and three times the country's leading sire overall.
Anabaa
was not French-bred. That basically goes without saying because,
following the two decades' worth of stallion 'brain-drain' which had
preceded his birth, world-class credentials could really only be found
in overseas stallions. However, in every respect other than the
identity of his sire and the place of his birth, Anabaa was a proper
French horse. His first five dams were all French mares, including his
dam Balbonella (a daughter of the Alec Head-trained Gay Mecene)
who proved herself a high-class filly from the stables of, initially,
Francois Rohaut (for whom she won the Group One Prix Robert Papin) and,
subsequent to her purchase by Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum,
Criquette Head. It was only natural that Sheikh Maktoum should send her
to America when she retired to the paddocks, as there was there a far
greater selection of good stallions than was available in France. Her
first three mates were Chief's Crown, Danzig and Zilzal, and these three matings produced three top-class horses: Key Of Luck, Anabaa and Always Loyal.
While Key Of Luck and Always Loyal raced very successfully for their
breeder, Anabaa carried the colours of Criquette Head's mother. Having
been diagnosed as a wobbler as a two-year-old, he was given to the Head
family by Sheikh Maktoum. When it became apparent that there had been a
misdiagnosis, the offer was made to return the gift, but such decency
was reciprocated in kind: the Sheikh, a natural sportsman and
gentleman, maintained that a gift was a gift, and he refused to take
the colt back. The rest is history: Anabaa began racing as an autumn
three-year-old, showing good form, before becoming champion sprinter of
Europe as a four-year-old in 1996. His July Cup victory that year in
retrospect seems particularly special, as his victims included Pivotal and Danehill Dancer.
Having retired to Haras du Quesnay in 1997, Anabaa spent a large chunk
of his stud career there, the remainder of the time being spent at
Widden Stud in New South Wales (where he served 11 southern hemisphere
seasons) and Castletown Lyons Stud in Kentucky (whither he was
dispatched for one northern hemisphere season). The decision was taken
last year that his 2008 season at Widden would be his last, so when he
arrived back at Haras du Quesnay in January this year he was set to
spend the rest of his life there; it is just a very sad surprise that
the rest of his life proved to be so short a period.
Anabaa proved, like so many good Northern Dancer-line stallions, to be
an influence for ability rather than for concentration on a particular
distance. His Australian crops included three high-class sprinters (Yell, Virage De Fortune and Imananabaa) but he also sired a Derby winner there (Headturner) as well as Teranaba,
winner of the Spring Champion Stakes over 2000m and placed in the
Victoria Derby. A sixth Australian-bred Group One winner emerged for
him this season when Le Drakkar
won the Cape Guineas over 1600m in South Africa. His northern
hemisphere-sired offspring have also shone at most distances from five
to twelve furlongs. At the upper end of this spectrum have been Precision (a Group One winner over 2000m and 2400m in Hong Kong) and Anabaa Blue (winner of the Prix du Jockey-Club when it was still run over 2400m - and now sire of the Arlington Million winner Spirit One in his first crop), while Rouvres won the Prix Jean Prat over 1800m and Amonita the Prix Marcel Boussac over 1600m. His best sprinter in Europe has probably been Miss Anabaa, winner of the Ballyogan Stakes over five furlongs.
Anabaa's winners in the last twelve months alone include the Aga Khan's Irish-trained Group Two-winning colt Arazan, as well as Court and Stokehouse, Group Two winners in Australia. They also include arguably his best child: the mighty Goldikova,
whose win in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket two days after her
father's death was her fourth victory at the highest level. As these
successes include a tremendous win in last year's Breeders' Cup Mile, a
race for which she is being set again this year, she can be held up as
a perfect tribute to her admirable father. Furthermore, the past twelve
months have also thrown up two Group One winners out of daughters of
Anabaa (Lush Lashes and Silver Frost) so, while Anabaa has sadly gone, his influence is definitely set to last.
French breeding appears currently to be in a phase of resurgence. It is
to be hoped that the history books subsequently confirm this to be the
case; if they do, they will surely also record that Anabaa was at the
forefront of it.
