17 minute read
Bright young sparks
Bright sparks
Martin Stevens chats with four rising stars of the French bloodstock industry
SEBASTIEN DESMONTILS will be a familiar figure to many in the British and Irish bloodstock industry, having spent three years working in Darley’s nominations team at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket.
Since returning to his native France five years ago, to assist in growing the burgeoning Al Shaqab operation, he has become involved in just about every facet of the racing and breeding industry.
He is a prominent purchaser of stock under his own Chauvigny Global Equine banner, both on a public and private basis; runs various racing syndicates; invests in stallion shares; owns a stud at home in the Mayenne region south of Normandy; and even has an innovative new horse trading website to talk about. It’s a wonder he finds time to sleep.
“I wasn’t too involved in the horse business until after I finished my studies,” says the Craon native, whose grandfather and uncles are big names on the trotting circuit. “I studied international business in Paris, and then did an MBA in New Orleans in my mid-20s.
“When I came back to France I worked for a medical company and started to ride out for Etienne Leenders in the mornings, and took out an amateur jockey licence.
“I’d always wanted to be a jockey when I was a kid, but studied instead. I obviously wasn’t very good as otherwise you would have heard of all my big-race successes!
“But I really enjoyed riding and it got me hooked on the racing game, so I decided to turn my passion into my job and I was lucky enough to be accepted onto the Godolphin Flying Start course from 2011 to 2013.”
Desmontils joined Darley after completing that programme, replacing his future colleague at Al Shaqab, Benoit Jeffroy, as the organisation’s Frenchspeaking representative in the nominations department.
He credits his time at Dalham Hall for giving him the ideal grounding for his further work in the industry.
“Dawn Laidlaw was a very good boss to me and I learned so much there,” he says. “I saw how the business worked, and met a lot of people – nearly all the French breeders and many in Britain and Ireland too. I think working in nominations helps a lot in giving you a good overview of what’s happening in all areas of the breeding business.”
Desmontils joined Al Shaqab in 2016 and received the thumbs up from his new employer to conduct his own business interests in racing alongside looking after the Qatari owners’ affairs.
“For some people that might seem a bit strange,” he admits, before explaining how the arrangement came to be and functions healthily.
“I said I would be very happy to do so, but I wanted to be free to do my own business in my own time. Sheikh Joaan is a very wise man and sees how things get done in our industry, and knew that the more business I would do, the more business Al Shaqab would do. He knows we’re a lot sharper when we have our own skin in the game than when just spending other people’s money.”
Desmontils struck it lucky early in his own business dealings as Ecurie Brillantissime, a syndicate that he put together made up of friends, owned the Turtle Bowl filly Azaelia, a €27,000 Arqana October yearling purchase, who was sent out by trainer Simone Brogi to win two races and to finish a close fourth to La Cressonniere in the Prix de Diane in 2016.
“I wasn’t able to get credit at the sales when I started out as no one knew me at all, and so I started the syndicate with five friends all chipping into the pot, and we got lucky as Azaelia was our first horse,” he says. “I’ve been very fortunate to have friends who were prepared to gamble by re-investing everything we made year after year, and they’re still in the game, with legs in around 30 horses in training and at stud.”
Desmontils also landed himself and his partners a huge payday when Coolmore pounced to buy Wootton Bassett out of Haras d’Etreham last year, as he had bought “quite a few” shares in the son of Iffraaj.
“Everyone was fairly happy when the big deal got done,” he says with some understatement.
He also has a big Japanese client in Hisaaki Saito, for whom he has bought the promising Frankel three-year-old colt Integrant, and has done the legwork in France to help British agent Alex Elliott complete the private purchases of a number of smart jumpers, including the dual Grade 1-winning chaser and Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up A Plus Tard, the Grade 3-winning hurdler Mitchouka and the useful handicapper Tiger Voice.
And there’s more! He was the intermediary in the deal to sell the Spanishtrained colt Sir Andrew to Hong Kong, where he went on to win two Grade 1s and more than £2.5 million in prize-money under the name Helene Paragon, and he has bought a number of stallions to stand in France, including Manatee, a dual Group 2-winning son of Monsun, and Bande, an Authorized half-brother to Doctor Dino, who covered 150 mares this year.
Not forgetting the innovative online syndication platform that he launched in January.
Equibiz (equi-biz.com) is only a few months old, but its listings have already given visitors the chance to buy into Nationalista – no less than a Nathaniel half-sister to star sprinter Soffia – who went on to win the Listed Prix Urban Sea at Le Lion d’Angers in May.
“Equibiz was launched mainly to help young trainers such as Mathieu Brasmes, Gabriel Leenders and Edouard Montfort syndicate their horses, although we also offer shares in broodmares and stallions,” says Desmontils.
“It’s helping everyone as it allows people an inexpensive way to buy equity in horses, and for those young trainers who buy on spec and want 50 per cent of the horse – they can easily sell the other 50 per cent now.
“The site is more tailored to the French market at the moment, although I believe an English owner has bought one of the mares having had the horse put up to her by a French user.
“We haven’t done much work in Britain or Ireland so far, but the website is in English and we aim to make it more international in time.”
Desmontils has many achievements to pick from, then, when asked what the highlight of his young career has been.
However, his answer reveals that he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“I feel lucky just to still be in the game after playing at so many tables,” he says. “As everyone knows, it’s hard to keep your head above the water when there’s so many ups and downs in this game.
“I suppose Azaelia was the filly who started everything for me; it gave me a big kick to buy a yearling and get a Group 1 runner in my first year.
“She gave me a lot of credibility and also, importantly, helped financially as she was the first filly Peter Brant bought when he got back into ownership.”
Neither is Desmontils getting carried away when asked about his remaining ambitions in the industry.
“Of course, I’d like to win the Prix de Diane or the Arc with either a horse I bred or bought for a client, as they’re momentous, and to win a race at Royal Ascot would be a great achievement,” he reflects.
“But really, I’d just be happy to look back on a successful career with as few regrets as possible, and I want to be seen as an honest person who works with transparency and integrity, and with the right people.”
Hard-working, inventive and resourceful, Desmontils typifies the dynamism in the French bloodstock industry at present.
“When I started the Flying Start course in 2011, the two hottest stallions here were King’s Best and Elusive City, standing at €15,000,” he says. “Now we have top-class proven sires headed by Siyouni and Le Havre, and exciting younger names such as Al Wukair and Zelzal at Bouquetot. And even though Wootton Bassett has just left, he still has a lot of exciting young stock on French farms.
“There’s a lot happening. Perhaps the younger generation here has been more proactive in terms of doing business internationally, but we also have a great system with premiums and prize-money, whereas rewards for owners and breeders are still difficult in Britain.”
An international outlook for the new recruit at Capucines
JEAN-DANIEL MANCEAU received a ringing endorsement for his rise through the ranks when the renowned Normandy nursery Haras des Capucines recently hired him as bloodstock representative.
The son of successful jump jockey and trainer Loïc is, like many of his generation, making a name for themselves in
France, determinedly internationalist in outlook. An anglophone, he has previously worked for the Arqana bloodstock team in France, at Tweenhills Stud in Britain and in James Cummings’ stables in Australia.
Manceau was in charge of the horses-in-training purchases and sales at Arthur Hoyeau’s bloodstock agency before receiving the offer to work at Capucines from Éric Puerari, Michel Zerolo and Philippe Lazare.
“The collaboration with Capucines got off to a good start with some good results at the breeding stock sales, highlighted by the sales of St Mark’s Basilica’s half-sister Lady In Lights for 520,000gns at Tattersalls and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches third Mageva for €430,000 at Arqana,” he says.
“The removal of the travel restrictions has allowed us to add some nice prospects to our yearling drafts, including a very good-looking Camelot colt and some well-bred fillies by Almanzor and Galiway.
His arrival has coincided with the Haras des Capucines graduates hitting a rich vein of form, too, he reports.
“We’ve been lucky on the track with some good black-type results and impressive newcomers such as Who Knows, a Siyouni filly who scored in a competitive two-year-old maiden at Chantilly, and Making Moovies, a son of Dabirsim who won his maiden by 5l,” he says.
Going into more detail about the forthcoming Arqana August fixture, he adds: “It’ll be my first yearling sale with Capucines, but I’ve been involved in different roles around the sales ring for a number of years now, especially working as bid spotter and bloodstock assistant with the Arqana team, but also as vendor with Haras de la Perelle, and as buyer with Arthur Hoyeau.
“At Arqana I’ll have a dual role for Capucines – I’ll be present at our boxes to welcome clients, discuss the draft and meet new people, but I’ll also be inspecting yearlings to form judgements on the first-crop sires so I’m better equipped to help clients in their quest to breed future champions.”
Asked if he can put his finger on what makes Arqana August so special, he says: “It’s the first yearling sale in Europe and everyone is excited to be back inspecting stock. In Deauville you have the cream of the annual French-bred crop go under the hammer in a party atmosphere. As well as that, of course, you have the Group 1 races run just across the road!
“What I really like about this sale, though, is the depth in variety and quality of the catalogue. You could find a horse to triumph in every corner of the world – a nice typical French-bred to try to win the Arc with, a pure stayer to target the long-distance races in Australia or even a sprinter to triumph in the US. The results of Arqana graduates prove that each year.”
Manceau explains the rise of the new generation of energetic, ambitious French industry professionals, to which he certainly belongs, as part of the world getting smaller in the digital age.
“French-bred horses and people are successful and popular all over the world,” he says. “Lots of young French people have been gaining more experience abroad each year, and some of them have never come back and reached new heights – David Menuisier in England or Johann Gerard-Dubord, Ciaron Maher’s assistant in Australia.
“The French community was also a huge help during my experiences abroad, sharing their contacts and giving me support.”
National Hunt success propelling to new bloodstock horizons
THEY SAY THAT THE KEY to the success of French NH horses is the fact they are put to work much earlier than their British and Irish counterparts. Funnily enough, the same could be said for Thomas Leffray, who was instrumental in breeding one of the best French-bred stars around, Allaho.
His father, a small-scale breeder based near Le Mans, asked him to source a new broodmare and the 15-year-old Leffray found Allaho’s dam Idaho Falls for sale on the internet and bought her for a pittance.
No wonder Leffray caught the bloodstock bug. He started out at Haras de Montaigu and Haras d’Ombreville and then, seven years ago at the age of 20 and unable to speak English, left France to further his knowledge at Dromoland Farm in Kentucky and Ballylinch Stud in Ireland.
Leffray then spent a year in Australasia, where he worked at Waikato Stud and Newgate Farm, and later settled back in Ireland where he completed the Irish National Stud breeding course and worked with the stallions at Coolmore.
He was snapped up by Arqana last year to join its bloodstock team, focussing on horses in training and the NH sector.
“My first year at Arqana was good despite everything happening in the world,” he says. “The Arqana team is great and they offer me plenty of chances to learn and meet people.
“In the past 12 months I’ve been working on sourcing high-profile horses in training that would suit our different sales.
“With the help of the bloodstock team I’ve been working a lot on the NH department of Arqana, which I really, truly enjoy.
“It’s always a pleasure to inspect the best French jumps stock, seeing the different pedigrees and various physical traits. I find it very interesting to see the many different methods and opinions of breeders, from the smallest to the largest operations. Every meeting with a breeder, owner or trainer is a new adventure and a new opportunity to learn more about the thoroughbred industry.”
Thomas Leffray
Of course, it has not all been so enjoyable and easy-going in the year of COVID, with several key Arqana sales having to be transferred to Britain due to changing lockdown rules in France.
“Arriving in a new role during a pandemic like this doesn’t make things easy, but I always tell myself that better days will come!” says Leffray philosophically. “There are greater challenges than usual at the moment but, as it happens, I like challenges! “All the Arqana team has been working hard throughout the crisis to make every sale happen in the best possible conditions.
“It’s not been without pressure and stress at times, but I think the results have been positive and successful. It’s reassuring to see that during these tough times the whole horseracing industry works in harmony to help each other.
“The partnership between Goffs and Arqana to hold our breeze-up sale in Doncaster sums up the spirit of co-operation that has flourished. My greatest satisfaction in my new role so far is seeing satisfied vendors and buyers throughout the last year, in spite of everything.”
Asked for his opinion on how the international stature of young French horse people has risen so rapidly, Leffray describes a virtuous circle of success breeding success.
“I think the French bloodstock scene is getting stronger every year all around the world as we’re benefiting from the success of our strong breeding lines,” he says. “The success of the ‘FR’ suffix abroad has generated a new dynamic in our industry, and we’re being recognised for the results achieved by the good horses we produce.
“But I think that the current energy in France has also been generated by the hard work of all us “Frenchies” working all over the world.
“More and more French breeders, trainers and bloodstock agents, as well as a big percentage of stable staff, have started their careers abroad and become very talented and successful.
“The ‘FR’ trademark seems to be a valuable export and has become recognised in the industry on an international scale, for both equines and humans.”
Yoh-Benet: a busy lady forging a future with her own bloodstock agency
AN INCREASINGLY familiar sight in sales results in recent years has been the name YOHEA as the purchaser of notable lots.
It appeared on the dockets for, among others, Frisella, the winning Frankel filly out of a Dansili half-sister to Kingman, who cost 320,000gns at Tattersalls last December, and Anabasis, a High Chaparral half-sister to A Raving Beauty who was bought for €320,000 at Arqana.
The familiar face behind the name is Anne-Sophie Yoh-Benet, a former project manager at the French Racing and Breeding Committee and key team member of Jean-Pierre Deroubaix’s French Bloodstock Agency.
“My family is not from the horse business, but horses have been my passion for as far as I can remember,” says Yoh-Benet, giving an insight into her background.
“First, I studied sports and then I completed a masters degree in equine science and management between France and the US. During my studies, I learned about horseracing at the Niarchos family’s Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard and at Arqana.
“My first job was at FRBC, where I was in charge of the promotion of French racing all over the world. I travelled a lot – just about everywhere in the world, in fact! Then, I worked for eight years with Jean-Pierre.”
Three years ago, Yoh-Benet decided it was time to stand on her own two feet and set up her own business. The YOHEA moniker combines her surname and the initials of “equine agency”.
“I’m a business woman, but also a mum,” she explains. “I have three kids, so the best way to do everything was to go it alone. When I opened my agency, I started from zero and had to build from scratch. I had to prove my knowledge and competence.
Yoh-Benet’s fortunes as a bloodstock agent changed dramatically in 2020 – she won over a big client by managing to communicate her enthusiasm and knowledge for the breeding industry during a chance call.
“It was around a year ago when I was contacted by Xavier Marie, a new owner who has built the most beautiful stud for sports horses in France,” she says.
“During our first conversation, he asked me many questions about racing, how the business works, how breeding works and so on. After two hours on the phone, he decided to start working with me.
Luckily, all the horses that I bought from the beginning have been winners, and that’s your best advert!
“We’ve now bought seven mares with amazing pedigrees and by the likes of Galileo, Frankel and Zoffany. We’ve mated them with incredible stallions such as Invincible Spirit, Magna Grecia, Saxon Warrior, Frankel, Pinatubo and Camelot.
“He loves breeding. Step by step, we’re putting together an amazing operation at Haras de Hus. I feel so happy every day to have had the chance to work with him.”
Yoh-Benet says her greatest ambition now is “to build for my new client the biggest breeding operation in France,” and adds: “We’d like to import the best pedigrees from the US and Japan, and to breed and race the best horses in the next few years.”
All of which adds to the impression that exciting things are happening in France at the moment.
“I totally agree, and I’m happy about that,” says Yoh-Benet. “There are now more young people in the racing business, and we all have new ideas and amazing goals.”
Yoh-Benet is a busy mum and bloodstock agent, and she has a great passion for the bloodstock industry
