Flat and jumps, north and south, in many ways Boxing Day belonged to the late High Chaparral (Ire), whose sons Karaktar (Ire) and Contributer (Ire) were responsible for group/graded doubles, one under each code, in Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.
It is beyond dispute that High Chaparral was a brilliant racehorse. Retired to stud in the era of Galileo (Ire) and Montjeu (Ire), the horse who won two Derbys, two Breeders' Cup Turfs, an Irish Champion S. and a Racing Post Trophy perhaps never received quite the level of support he might otherwise have enjoyed but he was a good stallion nonetheless, and was notably successful in Australia.
For his southern hemisphere stints, High Chaparral stood initially at Windsor Park Stud in New Zealand before his good results prompted him to be brought 'in house' to Coolmore Australia. Among his good runners in Australasia, he sired the outstanding multiple dual-hempishere Group 1 winner So You Think (NZ), six-time Group 1 winner Dundeel (NZ), Australian Derby winner Shoot Out (Aus), and the VRC Derby winners Monaco Consul (NZ) and Ace High (Aus). The latter won the Derby at Flemington just three days before High Chaparral's British-foaled son Rekindling (GB) won the Melbourne Cup for Joseph O'Brien in 2017.
Another of his sons from 'the north', Contributer, who was bred by the late Lady Chryss O'Reilly's Petra Bloodstock Agency, raced initially in Britain for Ed Dunlop and George Bolton before joining Godolphin's Australian stable of John O'Shea. To his two Listed wins in England, he added four group victories in Australia, including the G1 Chipping Norton and G1 Ranvet S.
Syndicated by Darley in partnership with Mapperley Stud, Contributer has stood in New Zealand since 2016, two years after High Chaparral died at the relatively young age of 15. Already the sire of G1 Randwick Guineas winner Lion's Roar, Contributer's tally of Group 1 winners was doubled on Boxing Day when Campionessa (NZ) landed the Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic at Pukekohe Park. Two hours later the aforementioned Lion's Roar won the G3 Schweppes Summer Cup in Sydney. Both horses are now six and are members of Contributer's first crop.
In Europe at this time of year, the major action is of course all about the jumps and while it was 'King George Day' at Kempton Park, there was a three-way tie for the top race of the afternoon, with lovable underdog Hewick (Ire) landing the feature contest but receiving strong competition for top billing from the return of the best hurdler in training, Constitution Hill (GB), and French raider Il Est Francais (Fr), who won the G1 Kauto Star Novices' Chase.
It is no faint praise for the man who has won 13 King George Chases, Paul Nicholls, to compare Il Est Francais to his mighty former stable star, Kauto Star, whose name is now attached to the race formerly known as the Feltham Novices' Chase. A scintillating prospect, the five-year-old Il Est Francais is from the first crop of Karaktar, an Aga Khan Studs-bred dual Group 3 winner on the Flat. On his retirement, he found his way to Haras de Cercy, where he was always likely to be given an excellent chance to succeed on the roster at one of the best National Hunt stallion studs in France. As a side note, the final race won by Karaktar was the 2015 G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange. Behind him that day in third was the indefatigable Not So Sleepy (GB), who is now 11 and won the G1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle earlier this month.
As one might expect, Karaktar has a decent pedigree behind him and is from a family which includes the group-winning stayers Kasthari (Ire) and Kargali (Ire), as well as the G2 May Hill S. winner Karasta (Ire) who is now the dam of Listed-winning hurdler Karasenir (Ire). And with the weight of Cercy and its strong clientele of National Hunt breeders, he is making a noteworthy start to his stud career. Il Est Francais, who was already a Grade 1 winner in France, heads a list which includes his fellow French graded winners Incollable (Fr), Janeiro Verde (Fr) and Ile O Vent (Fr).
Ten minutes before the victory of Il Est Francais in England, Karaktar was also represented by Kala Conti (Fr), who won the G2 Mercedes-Benz South Dublin Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown. Karafon (Fr), who is by the same sire, was less than six lengths behind him in fifth.
Both wins will have brought not just reflected glory to the Aga Khan Studs but also plenty of enjoyment to the team there as Fanny Cyprés, who works in nominations and client relations at Haras de Bonneval, is the daughter of Jacques and André Cyprés who are both heavily involved in the co-operative behind Haras de Cercy, while Amanda Zetterholm, who co-trains Il Est Francais with Noel George, also worked for a number of years for the Aga Khan Studs in France.
Moreover, the victory of Il Est Francais was the first winner in his homeland in seven seasons for jockey James Reveley. The grandson and son respectively of trainers Mary and Keith Reveley, James left England in 2016 to pursue a career in France, initially working for champion trainer Guillaume Macaire. It was clearly a sensible decision as he is the reigning French champion jump jockey, a title he has won on three occasions, and is currently second in the table for 2023 behind fellow Brit Felix de Giles.
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