ENGLISH TEXTS
It was in 1985 that Yannick Fertillet then entrusted them with Princesse Étoilée , a 4-year-old AQPS mare who would go on to win three steeplechases in a row that summer at Loudéac , Pornichet and Questembert , then twice more the following autumn . The following year , she even won the second division of a handicap hurdle at Auteuil . Easy ! Not so fast ... For the next twenty years , the Papots would fumble around trying to rationalise this activity , which , over time , would occupy the few moments of free time that these serial entrepreneurs would allow themselves . But it wasn ’ t going smoothly . It wasn ’ t until the early 2000s , when Patrick Papot decided to organise and take his retirement , that things changed . Why ? Because the young retiree needed a substitute activity for the one that had kept him so busy until then .
An exceptional genetic lineage entrusted to the best trainers in the country . Suddenly , the family stable became the Papot Father & Son business . In a word , the stable began to think and operate professionally . Advised by Benoît Gabeur , a particularly astute and effective veterinarian and breeder ( he notably , and to be brief , bred three winners of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris , including two for the Papots ), they began to invest in foals at the breeding stage . At that time , British demand was not so strong , and it was possible to acquire many foals without breaking the bank , even when they were by good stallions , because stud fees were also controlled : foals were not expensive to produce , and a quick return on investment for breeders was all the more appreciated as , certain to see their progeny race in France under the Papot banner ( who almost never sell ), they could count on breeders ’ premiums in case of success ! At the same time , the Papot family could thus access exceptional genetics , which they then entrusted to the best trainers in the country . Very quickly , the formula produced exceptional results . 122 nd in the 2003 standings with five runners , the silks entered the top 20 five years later , just after Kami des Obeaux ’ s victory in the Grand Cross de Craon , trained by Guillaume Macaire . 22 nd in 2006 , 11 th the following year , they finished 6 th in 2008 before winning their first title in 2009 , the year of their first Group 1 , the Prix Ferdinand Dufaure 4yo Chase ( Gr . 1 ) won by Rubi Ball .
Sharing his experience The rest is well documented , but the Papot family , rather than resting on their laurels , did not let their guard down . The recruitment channel that had enabled their success began to deteriorate under pressure from the English and Irish markets , whose offers exceeded those that had prevailed until then for the acquisition of well-bred and well-conformed foals . This was the beginning of a second revolution for the Papots : to launch themselves into breeding , again professionally . The first 3-year-olds from this restructuring were born in 2014 , and they appeared in the racecards three years later . There were four of them then , and 33 in 2023 , when they collectively reached one million euros in earnings , for a total of 2.24 million in prize money and premiums for the silks that season . Interviewed in May 2022 by a journalist from Ouest-France , just before Sel Jem won the third Grand Steeple-Chase for the family , Xavier Papot said he was ready to share his experience to boost the recruitment and especially the training of new owners . According to him , and undoubtedly rightly so , good training is essential to face a world of breeding and training fraught with pitfalls . A learning curve is characterized by a first plateau during which everything seems difficult , then comes the ascent , sometimes dizzying , and finally the plateau characterizing mastery . Other owners , perhaps luckier from the start , have felt that they reached the top of this curve very easily , but these sometimes tire a little quickly , perhaps jaded , perhaps lost . The Papot silks , probably a little in spite of themselves , had to respect all the necessary decompression stops to get their heads above water , but they have retained all the lessons of their adventure , and their success now stands as a model
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HORSE
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By Emmanuel Roussel
ROMANTIC WARRIOR , LORD OF WAR
The richest horse in the world , who has just won Hong Kong ’ s biggest race for the third time , is on the cusp of an ambitious campaign in the Middle East . But he has already pushed boundaries by winning at the highest level in three major racing nations .
The horse that has taken the world by storm in recent months is Romantic Warrior . By winning a third consecutive
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