Having already won the La Barka Hurdle (Gr2) at Auteuil in late spring, Jeu de Thaix struck again, this time in the Carmarthen Hurdle (Gr3), and is expected to be seen in the Grand Prix d'Automne Hurdle (Gr1) on the Butte Mortemart.
The son of Authorized, who runs in the colours of the Papot family, was bred by Michel Bourgneuf, the creator of the "Thaix" line, which has produced champions such as Baraka, Alaska and Dica de Thaix.
Born in Paris, Michel Bourgneuf nonetheless spent his childhood at the races. He studied agriculture in the capital before settling in the Loiret region and then, in 1969, in the Nièvre region, not far from Cercy-la-Tour, on the former 350-hectare family estate. Quickly caught up in the AQPS fever, endemic in the region, he rose to third place in the breeders' rankings a few years after his first foals were born in 1992, notably thanks to Old River's Ferdinand Dufaure 4yo Chase (Gr1) victory for Claude Cohen. President of the Nièvre AQPS syndicate for 19 years until 2019, Michel Bourgneuf, with his tall stature and the proverbial softness he never loses, is one of the most important and popular figures in AQPS breeding in France.
The latest gem from his breeding operation, Jeu de Thaix, did not get off to a particularly thunderous start: "Jeu de Thaix is out of Victoire de Thaix, a Voix du Nord mare who was trained by Laurent Viel," recalls his breeder. "She only raced over the Flat because she had an accident and we had to have screws put in her. She had the aptitude for jumping but we preferred to preserve her health. Her dam, Glorieuse de Thaix, was trained by Alphonse Kleindienst in the East and she didn't have a great racing career. As a foal, Jeu de Thaix himself didn't stand out from the crowd, as he wasn't a big colt. His dam has now produced a colt by Nirvana du Berlais and is in foal to Karaktar."
The breeding operation has stabilised over time with around twenty broodmares, a number that has remained fairly constant over the seasons. Only the orientation of the progeny has evolved: " I used to sell all my male foals," explains Michel Bourgneuf, "but that has changed since Hupeca, of whom I kept 50%. As for Jeu de Thaix, I didn't intervene in the sale, his trainer Daniela Mele dealt directly with the Papot family."
The breeder is also counting on Jonca de Thaix and Kouca de Thaix... "Jonca was Group-placed last year (2nd in the Amadou 4yo Hurdle-Gr2 in April after two consecutive victories at Angers and then Auteuil, editor's note) but she had a health problem after her last race and should be back in competition in a few weeks. We also think very highly of Kouca de Thaix, a 5-year-old daughter of Tunis who has already won at Auteuil, and who the Peltier family have given a bit of a rest. Things aren't going too badly for us this year. We are 13th in the breeders' rankings, and that with a small number of runners."