With this prescient headline printed, Gabriel de la Falaise, the most elegant reporter at Week-end, set the tone for the next forty years as early as 1983. The Sphinx of Mont-de-Pô had been buried for less than a year, and his successor was already spotted, even though he had just given up Auteuil to concentrate on the arrival of the Fustoks.
In 1987, just five years after the death of François Mathet, André Fabre, who now occupied his yard with some of his staff and management, had already reproduced the environment that had served him so well since the 1950s.
There are other similarities between the two men, some of them coincidental, others linked to their status as leaders in a World governed by a certain empiricism.
What is less well known, and measurable, is the ability of both to take a step back from their role and their abilities. They are masters of their craft, but Mathet believed that it could not be considered as an art, just a technique, or even a method. John Hammond, who was André Fabre’s assistant before becoming a classic trainer himself, noted in the Racing Post that his former boss was, in private, rather modest and capable of self-deprecation. This is not the only testimony to this effect.
But there is a line that will not be crossed. When André Fabre speaks of the «pride of his profession» in relation to Mathet, or when his honour is called into question by the stewards of France Galop, it is not the pride of a braggart that is at stake, but that of a craftsman invested with a mission, a role, and a heritage that cannot be undermined by just any journalist.
This translates on a daily basis into the rigidity born of wearing an plate-armour, and the weight of noble principles that may, alas, seem outdated today.
• Bloodstock agent Frédéric Sauque is associated with André Fabre’s first major success as a flat trainer, namely the career of Al Nasr, winner of the 1982 Prix d’Ispahan, which truly marked the beginning of his Classic career.
«I met André because Moufid Dabaghi, a Lebanese owner I was working for, and I had a mare in training with André Adèle and she got injured after winning a race. Mr. Adèle advised us to send horses to this young trainer, André Fabre, who had just set up and was going to become a top-class handler. He wasn’t wrong!
Before the sales, I went for a tour of Haras d’Étreham, Roland de Chambure’s stud, and I came across this magnificent colt. So much so that I thought to myself that we wouldn’t be able to buy him. He was tipped to be the top lot. Well-bred, good-looking and with a great temperament. The day of the sale arrives, it’s an evening sale, everyone’s in their finery, and I start bidding on a rather expensive horse. Over a million francs at the time. Mr. Dabaghi and I were sitting just two rows below Mahmoud Fustok. They start talking in Arabic. No one understands, of course, but they knew each other very well. And Fustok says to him «Please, leave him to us». Mr. Dabaghi asks me to stop bidding. The hammer falls. I think it was a million two or a million three. These things happen. And the famous Étreham colt enters the ring shortly after. At 500,000 francs, no one! I think I bought him for 550,000 francs! Tipped to be the top lot, and there’s deathly silence. Mr. Dabaghi had turned around to say to Fustok: «this one is for me!». What had also happened was that a few days before the sale, the colt had given himself a bit of a knock to a fetlock. Nothing serious but still. We didn’t have X-rays in those days, and that had put a lot of people off. The colt went to André Fabre. He was already a cut above many trainers. The best trainer in France and one of the best in the world. He didn’t do anything special. He just took his time. André Fabre gave him a career on the quiet, but as we had started very strong then we went to run the Epsom Derby. Piggott wanted to ride him. We celebrated the victory... the day before in London! But it wasn’t to be at all. It was Shergar’s year and we finished a long way off. We don’t know what happened. The horse was blowing hard. We never understood.
«André Fabre changed the day he realized his power. Because before that, he was a good bloke. We had a good laugh, when we did America together. With him, it lasted ten years. Yes, he was someone who could be funny at the time. He very quickly built up a big stable because I think that’s his way of expressing himself. André Fabre is assisted by his wife, of course, but I think he’s someone who can very well train a lot of horses.»
• Bloodstock agent Paul Nataf sent a filly he had bought at the sales in 1982 to be trained by André Fabre, in the fourth year of the stable’s existence, and things did not get off to a very good start...
«I had bought a filly at Goffs in Ireland for the owner Alan Clore, who didn’t want her. She had cost me £40,000 or £50,000, which was a lot of money at the time, and I put her with André Fabre, who was already having good results. He didn’t get that many good yearlings then, but she was still the worst of the lot. She was last in every gallop… So we ended up running her, in December at Saint-Cloud, and a few days before the entry deadline, André saw an advert for Thatching, the filly’s sire, in a Coolmore catalogue, and he noticed that he wore blinkers in races. So he declared her with blinkers and Yannick Fouin, who was his apprentice. And she won! Then she won again on her comeback in a Listed race at Evry, finished 2nd in the Grotte (Gr3) behind Sakura Reiko. I wanted to go for the Saint-Alary, but André wanted the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. He was looking for a rider to go in front and we found Jorge Velasquez, but it didn’t work out. I then sold the filly very well and it paid for my flat at the time!»
• Owner and racing enthusiast Patrick Offenstadt experienced his finest hours as an owner with André Fabre, whom he has known for almost 45 years.
«I came to racing through betting. My father was an owner himself and passed on this passion to me. In 1979, on the eve of my thirtieth birthday, I decided to become an owner and gamble less. So, at the beginning of 1980, I thought about my project as an owner and set out to find a trainer. André Fabre’s name seemed obvious to me, as his results were so good with the small number of horses he had. His statistics were remarkable. He was about the same age as me, so I went to meet him to explain my ambition to become an owner. I mentioned the name of a horse I was following and intended to claim. I gave him the name of the horse, he encouraged me in this direction, and I asked him for his training fees, which were very reasonable. So, I decided to claim the horse (Romantic Isle) and entrust it to him. It was an excellent pick from every point of view, as the horse won 3 tiercés. That was no mean feat, because at that time, these races were particularly sought-after. There wasn’t a tiercé every day in the early 1980s. In the wake of this first purchase, we continued along this path and bought other horses. In particular, I acquired a yearling from Mr Lombard, a filly named Zalataia. In 1980, I believe, André Fabre had only received three yearlings into training. That shows how far he has come and how successful he has been. Zalataia started at the age of 2, very wisely. Before André Fabre managed to make her a champion (She won the Prix de Pomone-Gr2 twice, then the Grand Prix de Deauville-Gr2, before winning at Gr1 level in the USA, editor’s note). With another trainer, I’m convinced that the filly would not have had such a career! She was a fragile, late-developing filly who needed to be understood, waited for and listened to. I remember that on the day of her debut, the filly was shaking like a leaf. She had to be given confidence and made aware of her potential. That moment confirmed to me that André Fabre was an extraordinary guy. I think that in the training profession, the hardest thing is to give horses a voice. He knows how to understand them and listen to them. He’s a man who may seem cold, but he’s not at all unpleasant. And he’s very attentive to the people close to him. I lost my wife in the 1990s and it obviously wasn’t an easy time. He and his wife then made a gesture that betrayed real kindness and benevolence. On another occasion, he gave me a very nice pair of binoculars, claiming that he found them too big for him. These binoculars have accompanied us on many of our journeys, including when we went to race Zalataia in the United States. I remember it as if it were yesterday. We were both watching the filly’s race with our respective binoculars when André, in the last turn, generally impassive, said to me: «Shit, it’s all over!». The filly had been badly hampered in the turn. That was without counting on Freddy Head’s talent and the filly’s class. She came back to take the prize near the finish. You know, in 1983, going to race Stateside for modest French people was exceptional and daring.”
Another memory that helps to better understand André Fabre is the story of Tuesday’s Special. I’d spotted this horse in Rouen. Very far back at the start of the race, he’d finished well and I liked that. I followed him and he won before disappointing, even running with blinkers without success. He was then entered in the end-of-season sales. I told André Fabre about his profile. He said, «Why not?». I then suggested I ask a lad from the stable he was with. His answer was clear and definitive! «If you ask anyone for information, I won’t buy the horse and I won’t train it... I’ll go and see it myself and I’ll decide.” I obeyed. He liked the horse and we bought it successfully, as it won several races including the Exbury (Gr3) and was exported. There aren’t many trainers capable of that sort of thing! What makes him André Fabre? He understands racing better than anyone else. He has an uncommon analysis and sensitivity. When I watched races with him, he was unbeatable. He understood the race live in terms of the horse’s aptitude, in terms of harmony with the rider. Not all good jockeys are suited to every horse. He understands this intrinsically. When it comes to horses, he has a well-rounded perspective, excelling also at polo, another of his passions. He is an inquisitive man, well-read, and shares his love of horses with his wife Elisabeth. Crucially, he doesn’t over-race his horses, allowing them time to develop and reach their full potential. Tribalist’s recent success in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a prime example.”