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Jean Biju rode in races with André Fabre , then he became a journalist at Paris-Turf and met up with his former fellow trainer , but not for very long ...
« I knew him well because one day we rode together at Nantes , I had a bad fall and he offered to take me back to Maisons-Laffitte with Elisabeth . A few years later , I had become a journalist and André Fabre ’ s horses were winning a lot of races at Auteuil . One day , a 3-year-old named Vernusson , who belonged to a former jockey from the west , Jean-Marie Vaillant , joined the Fabre stable to make his debut at Auteuil in the Talhouët-Roy , in November 1983 ( the colt had already run eight times on the flat and eight times over hurdles , editor ’ s note ). And he won by eight lengths , ahead of another horse trained by André Fabre . Trainer Pierre Pelat was furious and challenged me to write what he said , namely that Fabre ’ s horses were « aeroplanes ». A few days later , I was with the editor-in-chief of the Turf , Jacques Orliaguet at Auteuil , and we bumped into André Fabre , who greeted Mr Orliaguet and told him that there was no point in sending anyone else to him after what had been written about his horses ! That ’ s how it started ...»
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THE MATHET OF THE YEAR 2000
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 .
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• 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
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