By Mélodie Janvier
A pioneer of “modern” breeding, Jean-Pierre Dubois is largely credited with the revolution in French trotting breeding. In the 1980s, the opening of the French Trotter stud book to foreign bloodlines marked a turning point. Among those who fully capitalized on this revolution was Jean-Pierre Dubois. Nicknamed the “chef,” he didn’t simply use a few American stallions, he selected key mares, carefully planned their matings and left a deep and lasting legacy on the French and European trotting landscape. His influence remains paramount even thirty years later.
The turning point: an opening…
The shift occurred in the mid-1980s when the French stud book was opened for five years to crossbreeding with foreign trotters (mainly American). Jean-Pierre Dubois immediately grasped the stakes and explained at the time: “I had already raced in the U.S. and noticed they had some strange young trotters. Nesmile and Nevadara were the only two fillies I had with potential. I sent them while they were still young. Opening the stud book was essential. If we hadn’t, we would have been wiped out. We needed fresh blood. In France, we were going in circles. Genetically, it was too limited. I saw the Americans were way ahead in type and development. Their horses were faster, sturdier. We had to integrate them - but wisely. We had to cross them intelligently.”
Dubois made a reasoned choice: “The two leading sires at the time were Speedy Crown and Super Bowl. But they were too big for my already strong mares. And they were too expensive—$50,000 per covering. Speedy Somolli and Royal Prestige, on the other hand, cost $20,000 and suited my mares better. They were smaller. Speedy Somolli was 1.55m tall, with tremendous speed and strong hocks. Royal Prestige was small and stocky, less impressive. I used both, along with Baltic Speed—another small horse—and Ambro Goal, well-bred but with a tendency to drag his hocks. We brought back the embryos. Nesmile’s foals produced Buvetier d’Aunou, Défi d’Aunou, Unispeed, Amour d’Aunou…”
Buvetier & Défi d’Aunou: the first dynasty
Buvetier d’Aunou proved to be a star both on the track and at stud, and an outstanding broodmare sire. He won top Group 1 races such as the Critérium des Jeunes, Critérium des 4 Ans, and Prix de Sélection. At stud, he produced numerous Group race winners, including 2015 Prix d’Amérique winner Up And Quick, and Gobernador, who was sold by Dubois to Pierre-Désiré Allaire for Écurie des Charmes and won four Group 1 races in just over two months.
Ganymède, winner of two Group 1 races including one in Oslo, was another prolific sire, father of Elitloppet 2019 champion Dijon and many others. His younger brother Défi d’Aunou (by Armbro Goal) surpassed him in earnings with nearly €2.4 million. Unlike Buvetier, Défi was trained by Jean-Pierre’s son, Jean-Étienne, and won prestigious races such as the Critériums for 4- and 5-year-olds, the Prix de Paris, and the Prix de l’Atlantique. As a sire, Défi produced quality performers like Mahana, interestingly, another “Dubois” mare descending from Standardbred patriarch Star’s Pride, but didn’t match Buvetier’s consistency at stud.
Nesmile’s influence didn’t stop with Buvetier and Défi. She also produced Amour d’Aunou (by Speedy Somolli), an exceptional broodmare. Her progeny include the champion Private Love (by Goetmals Wood), In Love With You (by Coktail Jet), and Guilty of Love, dam of Love You. Meanwhile, another mare emerged as a true matron: Armbro Glamour, a Canadian-bred mare by Super Bowl, crossed with French sire Quouky Williams, produced Jean-Étienne Dubois’ first star: Coktail Jet.
Coktail Jet, the foundation sire
Purchased in Canada by 21-year-old Jean-Étienne Dubois, Armbro Glamour wasn’t a champion but came from excellent bloodlines. As Jean-Étienne recalled: “She was tiny, but I liked her.” Bred to his father’s stallion Quouky Williams, she foaled the iconic Coktail Jet. Between 1994 and 1995, Coktail won a slew of top races: Grand Prix d’Europe, Critérium des 5 Ans, Prix de l’Étoile, Prix d’Amérique, Prix de France, Prix de l’Atlantique, Elitloppet, and Prix René Ballière, an incredible run within a single year. But even more remarkable was the long-term impact he would have on the French trotting scene. Retired to stud in 1997, Coktail Jet produced a Group 1 winner in his first crop: Island Dream, trained by Dubois Sr. A wave of top sires followed: Jeanbat du Vivier, Kérido du Donjon, Kiwi, Naglo, Love You, Magnificient Rodney, Quid de Villeneuve, Yarrah Boko, The Best Madrik - all Group 1 winners, six of them surpassing €1 million in earnings. Coktail Jet topped France’s sire rankings six times. He also excelled as a broodmare sire, with champions like Bilibili (two-time Prix de Cornulier winner) and Texas Charmdescending from his daughters. But of all his sons, Love You would carry the legacy forward.
Love You: noble blood never lies
Love You embodies Jean-Pierre Dubois’ forward-thinking breeding vision. His dam, Guilty of Love, is a full sister to Buvetier and Défi d’Aunou, sired by And Arifant, himself by Italian stallion Sharif Di Iesolo, a son of the American Quik Song.
Bred to Coktail Jet, Guilty of Love produced Love You. Although Love You didn’t match his father in earnings or major wins, he still won 17 Group races. As a sire, he followed in his father’s footsteps: leading sire in France three times, in Sweden four times, in Europe four times, and twice the world’s top sire by progeny earnings. He produced a torrent of Group winners, males and females alike: Belina Josselyn (Prix d’Amérique 2019), Quaker Jet (Prix d’Amérique runner-up 2010), Royal Dream (Prix d’Amérique 2013), Qualita Bourbon, Uza Josselyn, Booster Winner, Village Mystic, and many others.
As a broodmare sire, Love You’s legacy continues with Bold Eagle and Face Time Bourbon (a nephew of Qualita Bourbon), between them, four Prix d’Amérique victories, 48 Group 1 wins, and over €7 million in earnings. Both were sired by Ready Cash, whose dam Kidea was by Extreme Dream, another Dubois-marked stallion. This leads us to another cornerstone: Goetmals Wood.
Tahitienne: the american influence
Despite her exotic name, Tahitienne had predominantly American blood. A daughter of Kimberland (1.56m), a U.S.-type stallion acquired by the French National Stud, she descended from the elite male line of Star’s Pride. Though not a top racer herself, Tahitienne, another Dubois mare, proved a breeding gem.
Her masterpiece? Goetmals Wood, by And Arifant (again, a Sharif Di Iesolo son). A top competitor with seven Group 2 wins and placings in the Prix de l’Étoile and Critérium des 5 Ans, he was the full brother of Mahana (by Défi d’Aunou), a three-time Group 1 winner.
At stud, Goetmals Wood was pivotal: sire of 12 Group 1 winners, including Prodigious, whose granddam was also the dam of Cygnus d’Odyssée, another Dubois-Wildenstein success. Prodigious and Singalo each won two of the five Group 1 races during the recent Paris Champion’s Day. Goetmals Wood topped France’s sire rankings in 2009 and has led as broodmare sire from 2022 to 2024.
And he wasn’t alone. Tahitienne was also dam of Extreme Dream, sire of Kidea, dam of Ready Cash, often dubbed the “stallion of the century.”
Over four decades, Jean-Pierre Dubois and his bloodlines reshaped the European trotting landscape. Their influence continues today through sires like Ready Cash, Love You, and Face Time Bourbon. The Dubois blood continues to forge the future…
Most Used Male Lines
As of July 15, 2025, data from the IFCE (via 24h au Trot) revealed:
71 stallions from Ready Cash line — 4,444 mares bred
100 stallions from Coktail Jet line — 3,781 mares bred
48 stallions from Goetmals Wood line — 1,993 mares bred
18 stallions from Buvetier d’Aunou line — 426 mares bred
Nesmile Anecdote
“I bought her for a Canadian client. But she tested positive for piroplasmosis and couldn’t be exported. So I kept her. We raced her before she joined the broodmares. I later sold Nesmile along with other horses to Germany after her racing career. But once there, the buyer tried to lower the price. I refused—so Nesmile came home!”