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• 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 .»
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• 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 .»
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• 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 .»
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