Deauville, François Boutin, Prix Djebel, Treve
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Is this yet another star unearthed by top agent Larrieu? | Topics:…ançois Boutin, Prix Djebel, Treve | Thoroughbred Racing ComMentary 09/04/2018 2227 SEARCH About TRC | Readers’ letters | TRC GLOBAL RANKINGS Racing Breeding and Sales Jockeys, Owners and Trainers Welfare Commentary Breeding and Sales NEXT ARTICLE More Breeding and Sales Articles Is this yet another star unearthed by top Why California is the agent Larrieu? only place to be for this ambitious Thoroughbred John Gilmore | APRIL 09, 2018 SHARE operation Emily Shields | March 26, 2018 From ‘sullen teenager’ to a classic contender: the transformation of Midnight Disguise Teresa Genaro | March 21, 2018 New Hong Kong Derby hero is the latest star to come from this remarkable boutique nursery NZ Racing Desk | March 19, 2018 By the same author Sail round the world and watch ‘Darkest Hour’ - now Criquette can get on Top prospect: Sacred Life winning the Prix Thomas Byron at Saint-Cloud by six lengths last October. Photo: France Sire with her post-racing to- do list In a rich and varied career, Gérard Larrieu has done it all, from finding future John Gilmore | February 02, 2018 classic winners as an international bloodstock agent to developing two stud farms in the South of France - and discovering a lucrative system that saved racehorses An American in Paris: from the abattoir. He also has a rule that he won’t buy horses in the U.S. - and, the life and times of a despite prospering while based at Chantilly, he reckons anyone starting a horseplaying adventurer bloodstock business these days should steer well clear of France. John Gilmore | January 07, 2018 At Deauville today, his exciting recent purchase Sacred Life is the likely favourite Arc week special: ten for one of Europe’s most important Guineas trials, the Prix Djebel. Larrieu spoke to reasons why the French John Gilmore. are struggling to compete John Gilmore | September 27, 2017 A catalogue of success Sacred Life (Siyouni - Knyazhna), trained at Deauville by Stephane Wattel and owned by Jean-Louis Bouchard, won all his three races as a 2-year-old and ended the season the second highest-rated juvenile in France after winning the G3 Prix Thomas Byron by six lengths at Saint-Cloud in October. Both horse and trainer were deprived of a chance to win their first G1 when a strike by racing staff at https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/yet-another-star-unearthed-top-agent-larrieu/ Page 1 sur 5 Is this yet another star unearthed by top agent Larrieu? | Topics:…ançois Boutin, Prix Djebel, Treve | Thoroughbred Racing ComMentary 09/04/2018 2227 Saint-Cloud at the end of that month meant the meeting, which included Sacred Life’s intended target, the G1 Criterium International, had to be cancelled. The horse was purchased for €55,000 at the 2016 October Arqana yearling sales by Larrieu, of Chantilly Bloodstock. Larrieu (pictured) has been buying horses for Bouchard for the best part of 30 years and is known for his astute buying of yearlings at reasonable prices. His winners for Bouchard include four French Derby successes (Celtic Arms 1994, Ragmar 1996, Blue Canari 2004 and Dream Well 1998) and Sierra Nevada, who took the 1994 Prix Vermeille. All were trained by Pascal Bary. Dream Well also won the Irish Derby, when he was owned half by the Niarchos family and half by Bouchard. The colt had been presented as a yearling at Deauville but was not sold. Larrieu bought 50 percent of him privately for Bouchard after the sale. Learning from a master Larrieu, who comes from a farming background in Pau in South West France, got into racing during the mid-70s, when he worked for jumps trainer Jean Couetil in the same region. “After three years doing everything in the yard the opportunity arose to work for [top Chantilly trainer] Francois Boutin thanks to Couteuil’s friendship with him,” said Larrieu. “I stayed four years with Boutin as assistant trainer, which proved invaluable, learning the ins and outs of the job from a master, with my long-term objective at that time to eventually become a trainer in my own right.” Buying French horses for Americans Through Boutin’s connections abroad, Larrieu was offered the chance during 1981-2 to work with leading Mackenzie Miller in New York, a private trainer for Paul Mellon, who loved European racing and owned Mill Reef, the first American-bred horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (in 1971). “I wanted to go to the U.S. and gain another experience. I had never been before and, at that time, speed was coming from the U.S. and the leading American owners were buying all the top European horses for the big farms of Bunker Hunt, Claiborne and Gainesway.” It was this keen interest at the time for European horses in the States that resulted in Larrieu getting involved in the bloodstock business. “I was asked by an American to buy some European horses and came back to France, purchasing three from Boutin, and one of them went on to win a lot of Graded races in the States,” he said. “Thanks to that success, I became involved full time in buying racehorses from France at all prices as they were having so much success in the U.S. on grass. A French listed winner could win a Graded race in the U.S.” Saving well-bred stock from the abattoir Larrieu also discovered a lucrative buying market in France for horses that would otherwise be destined for the abattoir. “I discovered a lot of well-bred horses by Lyphard, Riverman [and other top stallions] who were no good on the track in France and were being sent every Wednesday to the abattoir,” said Larrieu. “So I was buying up well-bred racehorses at butchers’ prices of 7,000 francs [just over €1,000] and then selling them on through public auctions in the U.S. for a good profit. I did this for two or three years.” How the Bouchard relationship began But, in 1985, he decided to come back to France, setting up his Chantilly Bloodstock Agency. “I chose to be based in Chantilly as it was home to over 2,500 racehorses and the top training centre in France. I had the links in the U.S. and good contacts in France.” https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/yet-another-star-unearthed-top-agent-larrieu/ Page 2 sur 5 Is this yet another star unearthed by top agent Larrieu? | Topics:…ançois Boutin, Prix Djebel, Treve | Thoroughbred Racing ComMentary 09/04/2018 2227 One of the first major French owners Larrieu started to work with was Jean-Louis Bouchard, but not immediately. “M. Bouchard started with another agent for a few years,” said Larrieu. “In one year, he bought ten yearlings with another agent without success and one filly from me. That filly a year later won four races.” And so began a working relationship that has lasted to this day. Why trainers and breeders get better as they get older "To succeed at this game you have to fully understand the pedigree, the breeder and the trainer,” said Larrieu. “When I look at a racehorse to buy, I want to see the presence of the horse and I don’t like plain horses. “I have reached an age where I know the third dam, so I have the experience. I was taught first by trainers, but my best teacher is all the mistakes I made, to make sure I didn’t do them again. “I must thank M. Bouchard because he paid for my mistakes at the beginning. That is why trainers and breeders are better at the end of their careers. They learn from their mistakes. Just look at Andre Fabre - he seems to be getting better with age.” Why I won’t go to the U.S. sales Larrieu can be seen at all the French, Newmarket and Irish yearling sales, plus broodmare sales at Newmarket and Arqana in France, but not the U.S. “Most of the horses I buy as yearlings cost up to €150,000. I don’t have the clients to spend more. “I never go to the U.S. sales anymore. They have been breeding and selling horses on medication for the past three generations. Before, it was different. In Europe, we are racing where not a single horse is on day-to-day medication, with strict regulations, and we are breeding sound horses in France and other European countries.” How the operation works Today Larrieu has four major clients whose racehorses he manages, including 26 in training for Bouchard. From the 12 yearlings bought for Bouchard (pictured) in 2016, six proved successful 2-year-olds last year, including Sacred Life, bought for €55,000 at the Arqana October sales in 2016. Last week, Naturally High (Camelot - Just Little) was a promising winner of a 3-year-old maiden at Chantilly for the Bouchard-Bary combination. “My relationship with Bouchard is based on trust,” said Larrieu. “If I see a horse I like in training, I do the deal before telling him ‘I bought a horse for you’. I also keep my eyes open for 2-year-old races, where I think Bouchard can buy and the deal is done quickly, but at the sales he decides what to buy. It’s different with the Arab owners - they decide everything.” Even impressive 2-year-old winners of top maidens can fetch a tidy sum. “Prices can range from €1 million to €1.5 million for a top 2-year-old after winning a maiden by four or five lengths [and possibly being] capable of capturing a Group 1, down to €200,000 for an ordinary maiden winner,” said Larrieu “In the USA, I deal with other agents on a 50-50 basis for commission.