ENGLISH TEXTS
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TRAINER
FRANCIS-HENRI GRAFFARD COVERS ALL THE BASES
Francis-Henri Graffard ’ s rise seems unstoppable . This season , for the first time , his stable has reached and surpassed € 5 million in earnings . The major races of the season are behind us , and he sits in 2 nd position in the trainers ’ championship behind the maestro Fabre , who appears to be his last and considerable obstacle before ascending to the throne of French Flat racing .
Now at the helm of the Aga Khan ’ s stable , he has achieved some notable feats across the Channel this season , which would allow him , in a European ranking , to surpass his former mentor ( before Alain de Royer Dupré ) thanks to the € 1.77 million gleaned by Goliath and Calandagan last summer in Britain . However , he would still be 2 nd at the European level , € 4 million behind Aidan O ’ Brien ’ s € 10 million .
The 47-year-old native of Le Creusot still has time on his side . He is eight years younger than the Ballydoyle giant and thirty years younger than the Chantilly Emperor .
However , Francis-Henri Graffard ’ s situation is not a sinecure . When we studied the reasons for André Fabre ’ s success in our last edition , there are three lessons that the young trainer could draw inspiration from : you have to know how to manage an abundance of owners , you have to listen to Alain when he tells you to watch André , and you can ’ t travel far alone .
Lisa-Jane Graffard , in a different register from Elisabeth Fabre , is undoubtedly a great ally in the stable ’ s success .
And then , there is this obvious desire to try new paths possibly inherited from his Darley Flying Start curriculum , to sometimes go for races that his colleagues wouldn ’ t have thought of , to explore ? May this desire last and take us far !
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HORSE
BACK TO THE ARTICLE �
SAINT DES SAINTS THE IDEA OF THE CENTURY
A great National Hunt stallion has just retired from duty at the Haras d ’ Étreham . Saint des Saints has twice topped the French National Hunt stallion rankings , finished in the top three ten times , and several of his progeny are now stallions themselves , such as the promising Jeu St Eloi and Goliath du Berlais . Even though he was conceived to become a stallion , Saint des Saints ’ success has exceeded the wildest hopes of his breeder , Nicolas de Lageneste .
Saint des Saints was born in 1998 in the Allier region of France , bred by Nicolas de Lageneste . He was the result of an original idea by his breeder , who was looking to create a stallion that had proven itself over jumps . At the time , this was not common , and sometimes fortuitous . When Saint des Saints entered stud in 2003 , only the extraordinary Cyborg , who had raced over jumps at top level until the age of 6 , and Saint Preuil had raced and won at Auteuil among the top fifteen National Hunt sires in France . In 1997 , there was only one . Today , there are six . Four are even in the top five , including ... Saint des Saints .
To achieve this result , Nicolas de Lageneste started by choosing the right dam : “ I found her in a dispersal sale that took place after a normal session at Deauville ,“ he explains . “ Chamisène had an ideal pedigree to produce a jumps horse , a daughter of Pharly with a dam by Tanerko , who had good performances in the Fustok colours . She had finished 4 th in the French 1,000 Guineas , which she had contested as a pacemaker , and she had won the Prix de Malleret for her own account . I got her for only 9,000 francs (€ 1,372 ). It must be said that she hadn ’ t produced a foal for four years . I immediately sent her to Cadoudal , who was then leading sire ...“
Chamisène was a real race mare . As Nicolas de Lageneste pointed out , she had set the pace for a certain Mystérieuse Étoile , also in the Fustok colours , who finished second in that infamous 1983 Poule d ’ Essai des Pouliches won by L ’ Attrayante , who became the dam of another winner of the Longchamp Classic , Madeleine ’ s Dream . The 3 rd that day , Maximova , would become the dam of Macoumba , winner of the Prix Marcel Boussac , and of the stallion Septième Ciel , and is the granddam of the Classic winner and stallion The Grey Gatsby . Chamisène had finished 4 th in a dead-heat with Little Meadow .
She won her next three starts within eight weeks of her placing . For her last victory , she beat Alexandrie by two lengths over the 2,000 metres of the Prix de Malleret . And what did Alexandrie produce ? Poliglote ! One of the best National Hunt stallions in France in the early 2000s .
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