A large stable can only maintain its position at the highest level with the support of top-class owners and breeders. Since the late 1970s, and the arrival of André Fabre, this population has been almost completely replaced. The Gulf princes arrived at this time, and foremost among them were two who would almost never cease to send the Chantilly trainer an extraordinary and substantial selection of foals: Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum of Dubai and Prince Khalid Abdullah, a member of the Saudi royal family. They represent the largest share of the Fabre stable’s high-level winners, and its main suppliers of yearlings.
Anthony Stroud, manager of Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum’s horses in the 1980s, and regularly in the service of the ruler of Dubai, confided in Julian Muscat for his profile of André Fabre, published in October 2019 in the British daily Racing Post. He explains how the Sheikh and the heir to André Adèle got along: “At that time we were looking for our own man in France but we also wanted to have two-year-old runners in England. Andre was all for it. Within eight years he had won two Middle Parks [Lycius and Zieten] and a Dewhurst [Pennekamp] for us.”
The Frenchman was then only following the ideas already developed in 1983 in the columns of Galop Informations, according to which it was necessary to constantly challenge the British on their home turf. He also announced that American races were within our reach, and proved it ten years later with Arcangues, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic on the dirt at Santa Anita at odds of over 120/1. Did you say he had long-term vision?
Despite the quality of his method and his experience as a horseman, André Fabre would not have been able to stay at the top for so long if he had not been able to cultivate the interest of his clients, from the greatest to the most modest. He has always managed to keep owners from all walks of life and to organise his stable without creating conflicts of interest between his clients, including with his own horses since he has been involved in breeding with his wife and daughter Lavinia.
While the numbers sent by the Gulf silks have fluctuated over time (see statistics opposite), particularly when the Godolphin stable was set up at the Evry racecourse instead of sending its foals to Chantilly in 1998, André Fabre has always been able to maintain a stable number of horses in training. This is the sine qua non condition for achieving consistent results and maintaining the activity of a valuable workforce - the stable has even appointed a human resources manager, simply to avoid having to deal with the vagaries of modern-day management and the French appeal for red-tape.
However, some high-profile divorces have punctuated his career, notably with Mahmoud Fustok, the Aga Khan and the Wildenstein family.
André Fabre has principles and undoubtedly non-negotiables that no one can challenge. Except, perhaps, his horses.
He has the faults of his qualities. Patient, he cannot stand being in a hurry. Hardworking, he cannot suffer dilettantes. Rigorous, he does not tolerate approximation. Observant, he is not there to dream.
His horses must be happy. So must his owners, but not at any price.
• Edouard de Rothschild has been rather successful with André Fabre, whom he entrusted with his very first horse, back in 1985.
«I’ve known André Fabre since his victory in the 1977 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, which he won as a jockey aboard Corps A Corps, for my uncle Teddy Van Zuylen. My father had his horses with François Mathet, then he moved them to him for a few years [from 1982 to 1987, Ed.] and he was able to celebrate that with the Prix Saint-Alary win of Grise Mine, for example, as early as 1984. For my part, I had my very first runner with him in 1985. It was a filly named Ialdoa that we had bought as a yearling and she made her debut at Longchamp with Lester Piggott! A very amusing memory. After that, I had horses in training in England, then with Jean-Marie Béguigné, and finally with François Boutin. When he left us, in 1995, I transferred my string to André Fabre.
It’s a partnership, and I have a very easy, very pleasant dialogue with him. As one of my friends said, once you’ve had horses with him, the rest, there’s very little to say about it. André Fabre is quite simply excellent. And the information he gives us, as breeders, is absolutely essential. So it’s a team effort between those who look after the foals at the stud, the trainer, the stud manager and the owner.»
• Manager of the Lagardère stable, Roland de Longevialle worked with André Fabre when the offspring of Linamix were revealed, whose potential the trainer was able to exploit.
«I think the career that is most significant of André Fabre’s talent is that of Sagamix. The colt started in March at Saint-Cloud, then he beat Dream Well, future winner of the Jockey Club, for his second outing. So André tells us that he loves the colt but that if we left him alone, we could aim high. It was a bit hard to swallow for Jean-Luc Lagardère, especially since Dream Well won the Prix La Force behind. But our other classic hope, Sayarshan, had won the Prix Hocquart in the meantime, which allowed the colours to go to the Jockey Club, even without Sagamix. In the autumn, Sagamix won the Niel, then the Arc! I have been able to observe many similarities between André Fabre and François Mathet, whose method was based on patience, rigour and observation.»
• Charles-Henri de Moussac witnessed André Fabre’s rise to fame at first hand, since it was in the family colours that Trempolino, the first of his eight Arc winners, won the race in 1987...
«We had been following the results of André Fabre’s stable for some time and I was pushing my father to entrust him with horses. When the opportunity arose, we sent him Trempolino and Mill Native, two future Group 1 winners... And five years later, he saddled another Arc winner bred at Mézeray with Subotica. I think I can say that my father had his best years as an owner with André and Elisabeth Fabre. Everything seems bland once you’ve had horses sent to them. They are consummate professionals and the feedback you get is crystal clear. Having horses with them is a real pleasure. They are in superb condition and the yards are very well kept. He also knows how to stop before the race too many. Trempolino had been narrowly beaten in the Jockey Club, then he had finished 3rd in the Grand Prix de Paris. And he had disappointed us in the Prix de la Côte Normande (now Prix Guillaume d’Ornano). At the time, he had asked Dr Giniaux (an osteopath for horses who also worked on the great trotter Ourasi, editor’s note) to look after the horse, who won the Arc and finally took 2nd place in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. André Fabre works in a very traditional way, with hay, oats and water, ensuring the quality of these feeds. He receives the foals without worrying too much about their origins. He takes them as they are, and not as they are supposed to be. When a horse is not so well, he will give it a rest, listen to it. There are very few veterinary costs with him. When we had about twenty horses with him, we knew early in the spring what we were dealt with our 2-year-olds. I also noticed that he didn’t make any comments to the jockeys in front of the owners. If there was to be an explanation, it would be afterwards. The same goes for the horses. I’ve never heard him say a bad word about a horse, even a mediocre one. He always shows them a lot of respect and just looks for the best solution.»