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On Paper, On Course, Onesto Had Plenty in his Favour

Blood will out, so they say, and in the case of Onesto (Ire) this is certainly true. The most cursory glance at his pedigree gives you two of the most talked about and revered racehorses of the modern era – his sire Frankel (GB) and broodmare sire Sea The Stars (Ire). But it pretty much goes without saying when it comes to Frankel's offspring that there's an awful lot more going on as you take a closer look at his page.

Bred by American-based Adam Bowden of Diamond Creek Farm, Onesto could just as easily have appeared in the Juddmonte studbook. In fact, just one generation back his family does just that. His dam Onshore (GB) was sold to Bowden by Juddmonte as a three-year-old for 320,000gns.

“Her pedigree was the huge draw for me,” Bowden said in a TDN interview back in 2022. It is easy to see why. Onshore is a daughter of Kalima (GB) (Kahyasi {GB}), who is a full-sister to the celebrated Hasili (GB), dam of the stallions Dansili (GB), Champs Elysees (GB) and Cacique (GB) as well as the top racemares Banks Hill (GB), Intercontinental (GB) and Heat Haze (GB).

He added, “We had circled the mare and my agent Mike Akers went to see her and said, 'well if you're willing to spend what it takes to buy her, then I think she is the type of filly that we want.' And it worked out.”

Indeed it did. Onesto was stopping the clock even before his first race, with an eye-catching breeze in Ocala, Florida which sent agent Hubert Guy running almost as fast to ensure that he could assemble a syndicate to buy and race Onesto.

That team, which contributed to him being bought for $535,000, consisted of the former champion trotting trainer, driver and breeder Jean-Etienne Dubois, his father Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois, Ecurie Hunter Valley, Ecurie Billon, Onesto's trainer Fabrice Chappet and Guy himself. Crucially, too, Haras d'Etreham was involved from the start and now, after a Group 1-winning career, that is where Onesto finds himself as he embarks on his second career as a stallion.

Nicolas de Chambure of Haras d'Etreham recalls, “We got a funny phone call from Hubert Guy after he breezed, and he said that he saw something special from a horse that was not meant to do what he did that early in his career, and because of his breeding. And he said he had a lot of faith in the horse since he saw him breeze. So it was mainly him and Jean-Etienne Dubois at the time that put a syndicate together. And we participated because we agreed that we saw something a bit different, a bit special. And that's how it all started.”

Having returned to Europe to begin his training at Chappet's Chantilly yard, the chestnut colt made his winning debut over a mile at Chantilly that September.

“Onesto got a Rising Star from the TDN when he won first time out,” de Chambure says. “He arrived in Chantilly in June with Fabrice Chappet. Fabrice was taking his time with him. He didn't want to rush him into into fast work too early, but you know, the more he was doing with him, the more he was seeing things that the breeze-up suggested. And it was excitement and relief and a bit of a mix when he won so well in a very good maiden in Chantilly. And the way he did it, with that great turn of foot. The dream was really alive then.”

A below-par run when eighth in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau on his first start at three may have felt like a setback at the time, but Onesto soon put that behind him when winning another important Classic trial, the G2 Prix Greffulhe, on his next start three weeks later.

His wide draw in gate 14 did not help his chances in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, in which Onesto was fifth behind Vadeni (Fr) but he again bounced back, this time for his first start in the colours of his new part-owner Gerard Augustin-Normand in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris. Following that first success at the top level, Onesto returned to the land of his birth to run a fine second to Luxembourg (Ire) in the G1 Irish Champion S., with Vadeni just behind him that time.

“His career has been [a mixture of] great results and unlucky moments as well. He got some bad draws, sometimes it was the wrong ground,” says de Chambure in reference to the heavy conditions the horse encountered in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe of 2022. “But, you know, every time things went his way, he showed how good he was, with that turn of foot, and that he was a true Group 1 horse and Group 1 winner.

“The Grand Prix de Paris is becoming one of the main race days in France of the year because it's Bastille Day, so there is a big concert and a lot of people at the races and a great atmosphere. He beat a really good field that day.”

Remaining in training as a four-year-old, Onesto warmed up with a fourth-place finish over a mile in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and also took third, beaten just a length and three-quarters when making his second appearance in the Arc last season.

De Chambure continues, “In France you have to have that tactical speed to quicken and that's his main attribute, I think. His last 600 metres in the Arc were amazing and he was only beaten a head for second. His last 200 metres were the quickest of the race.”

Onesto's team of owners, a number of whom are also noted breeders, remains fully behind him at stud.

“It was good because there were some new owners in the game, so it was great for them. There were some older people that have been involved in racing all their life. So it was a good mix,” de Chambure adds. “All of the people that were involved in his career are staying involved for his stallion career. And you know, he's got such a good pedigree, he could really make it as a stallion, and the journey continues because the group is the same. We've opened the horse for syndication but they all stayed involved at a level in the horse.”

Haras d'Etreham's long history of standing stallions includes the recent extraordinary turnaround of Wootton Bassett (GB), from a one-time €4,000 sire to his eventual sale to Coolmore and his current place as the joint-second-most expensive stallion in Europe. It would be no easy feat to emulate that story but de Chambure feels confident that Onesto has enough qualities to at least pique breeders' interest at this crucial early stage.

“When you talk to breeders, you feel that the last few years, some good horses have done it coming from lighter pedigrees and it was more the racing and the [horse's] sire that were important,” he says. “Then a horse like Onesto retires, coming from one of the best Juddmonte families. And suddenly, breeders come to us and say they're so excited about this horse because he's so well bred. So it is very important to breeders, and it gives him credit. It gives him, I think, more chance than just another horse.”

Onesto's next test comes when the doors of the Haras d'Etreham stallion unit are thrown wide to welcome visitors during this weekend Route des Etalons. He's bound to be busy, but de Chambure is not worried about him coping with the extra attention.

He says, “He's travelled the world. He's been to Japan, he's been to America, he's been to the breeze-ups in Florida. So, you know, he's got a great mind and he has settled really well here.”

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Stradivarius And A’Ali Among Star Names On Show At TBA Stallion Parade

Exciting young sires A'Ali (Ire), Caturra (Ire) and Stradivarius (Ire) will feature among the galaxy of stars on show at the 2024 Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Flat Stallion Parade at Tattersalls in Newmarket on Thursday, February 1.

The parade is typically limited to first- and second-year stallions, but breeders will have a wider range of sires to view this year with the invitation being extended to those whose advertised fee sits at £15,000 or less. Breeders who purchase a nomination will also be entered into a free prize draw thanks to a new incentive launched by Tattersalls in support of the parade, giving them the chance to win one of five complimentary foal entries at the 2025 December Foal Sale.

To be entered into the prize draw, breeders need to sign a service contract for one of the stallions within 24 hours of the parade. All of the stallions can be viewed from 11 a.m. in the sales ring, as well as in the Left Yard and Terrace Yard after the parade hosted by racing broadcaster Gina Bryce and Shirley Anderson-Jolag of Tattersalls.

Along with A'Ali, Caturra and Stradivarius, the stallion show will also feature El Caballo (GB), Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), Midnight Sands, Mutasaabeq (GB), Soldier's Call (GB), Twilight Son (GB) and Ulysses (Ire).

Tattersalls associate director and TBA trustee, Matt Prior said, “We are delighted to be once again supporting the TBA Flat Stallion Parade and the revised format along with the new incentive scheme we are offering alongside the TBA will hopefully encourage breeders to come along and purchase a nomination.”

TBA chief executive, Claire Sheppard added, “It is important for us to continuously enhance what we do to support the British thoroughbred breeding industry, especially at this current time. The Flat Stallion parade is a key event which offers a great opportunity to promote an array of British-based stallions to breeders and to suit all mares and budgets. We are very grateful to all those studs bringing stallions along as well as Tattersalls for their ongoing support of the event.”

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Bullet-Proof Vests, Demand For 3-Y-O Bumpers And More At ITBA Seminar

The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association promised “lively debate” ahead of its eagerly-anticipated National Hunt seminar and it didn't disappoint with the introduction of three-year-old bumpers, altering the sales programme, the importance of a strong broodmare band and polarisation of the market some of the major topics discussed on the night.

The event took place on Wednesday at The Lord Bagenal Inn, County Carlow, just a stone's throw away from where Willie Mullins, one of the greatest National Hunt trainer of all time, is based.

The panel featured Anthony Bromley, Walter Connors, Bertrand le Metayer, Peter Molony, Charles O'Neill and Richard Pugh with Lorna Fowler the master of ceremonies.

ITBA chief Cathy Grassick described herself as delighted by the huge turnout, and said, “I was delighted. Not just the number of people, but the calibre of attendees as well, and it made for healthy and important debate. If you want to make change or debate the future of our industry, it's important that the people who make the decisions are in the room, and they were. It's great that there will be some things that will be followed up on.”

Grassick added, “One of the key messages I took from the evening is that the panel were keen to point out all of the things we do right in this country and, while, yes, there are some things we could change, we need to make sure that we are not throwing the baby out with the bath water. There's an awful lot of good things happening and a lot that we can be proud of. That doesn't mean that we can't do some things better.”

Despite the weight of some of the issues up for debate, the evening got off to a light-hearted start with French bloodstock agent le Metayer revealing that, when Molony called him to see if he would be interested in sitting on the panel, he also asked for his jacket size. Why so?

“It was for a bullet-proof vest,” he joked, while alluding to the current reign the French thoroughbred is enjoying over its Irish counterpart.

A scene from The Lord Bagenal on Wednesday | ITM

Le Metayer's sense of humour was once again on show when, paying the Irish breeders a back-handed compliment given their penchant for fashion compared to the French breeders, he said, “Historically in France, and obviously it's a big country, but, the guy from down the road in Burgundy is not going to drive six hours to get his mare covered by Saint Des Saints.

“The reality is that [the success of the French breeding model], I wouldn't call it any brilliance or horsemanship, it's sheer luck. Overall, I think Irish people are better horse people than the French but you guys have got less common sense than us! You are thinking commercially and we are thinking of going 10 minutes down the road [to the local stallion master].”

The depth of the French broodmare band, and the sheer robustness of the mares that breeders in France can call upon, was also highlighted as a major advantage to the industry over there.

Meanwhile, Molony made the point that too much emphasis was being placed on the stallion in Ireland these days and, in borrowing a line from the excellent Jamie Railton podcast with Roger O'Callaghan, where the Tally-Ho Stud man urged breeders to look themselves in the mirror, the Rathmore Stud boss did the same.

Molony went on to give examples where broodmares with proven credentials have been sold relatively cheaply in recent times and identified an opportunity for National Hunt breeders to replenish their broodmare band in the current climate.

Pugh addressed the issue of polarisation in the National Hunt market, which has been so heavily dominated by the progeny of Walk In The Park and Blue Bresil in recent times, by doing what he does best; wheeling out some cold, hard facts.

He said, “We all know the story of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival where 28 races were won by 27 different stallions. But for the purpose of this evening, I looked back over the past 12 months of Grade 1 winners in Ireland. There have been 30 individual winners of Grade 1 races in Ireland in the past 12 months and 20 of them were French while nine were Irish and one was British.

“That's what we're up against. Also, no Irish horse won two. Another thing that was interesting was that there were 23 different sires represented by those 30 Grade 1 winners so, for all of the polarisation, actually, when you get out there into those Grade 1 races, it's spread out a lot more.”

Pugh added, “I have huge sympathy for the Irish breeders because they are going where they think the market is. It's got to be commercial. I sympathise with the Irish breeder who sits down and says, 'this is the covering I would like because it would suit the mare, but that is the covering I feel that I have to choose to get paid.' If that is the case, it's disappointing.”

It was Pugh who summarised that the Irish thoroughbred is, on average, “a year behind” its counterpart in France and the panel agreed that the introduction of three-year-old bumpers or even two-year-old store sales could be an avenue worth exploring in an effort to meet the societal demands.

Everybody wants things quicker, it was gleaned. And to deal with the demands, or in some cases dwindling patience, three-year-old bumpers and earlier store sales were put forward as ways in which the process of blooding a National Hunt racehorse could be fast-tracked, thus, providing answers to those paying the bills that bit sooner. Grassick confirmed that both ideas could be explored following the event.

She said, “There has been a lot of study and a lot of historical evidence for slow and steady exercise across the whole range of development in the thoroughbred–so foals, yearlings, two-year-olds etc. Introducing horses to light exercise from a young age, the physiological benefits are proven to increase bone density, muscle memory, balance etc. That's what the studies are showing. When you look at some of the horses who were broken as Flat yearlings, the likes of Istabraq and Hurricane Fly who have come across and become great Champion Hurdlers and stood the test of time, it obviously wasn't any detriment to them to have begun their careers earlier than most.”

One of the more surprising developments of the evening was the criticism levelled at ITM by a number of people in the audience. It resulted in a passionate riposte from O'Neill, who defended the organisation, as did Bromley, who described ITM as “the envy” of everyone in Britain which resulted in a round of applause.

It was at this point where le Metayer shared that the foundations set out by ITM, in terms of attracting buyers and promoting the Irish thoroughbred on an international scale, was copied in France. Shortly afterwards, Pugh urged breeders to examine the product and not to point fingers at the people, ie ITM, whose job it is to market the product.

One thing that everyone in the room could agree on is that the cost of producing these foals has sky-rocketed in line with inflation. Such a point was explained in no uncertain terms by Connors. The introduction and development of the mares' programme in Britain and Ireland is another thing that had the majority of those in the room singing from the same hymn sheet. The success of that relatively recent development is also reflected in the numbers.

Grassick explained, “It's staggering the success of the ITBA National Hunt Fillies Bonus Scheme. When you look at the figures between 2022 and 2017 for example, the turnover on fillies at the Tattersalls Derby Sale has more than doubled, even though they are offering roughly the same number of fillies.

“In that time, the turnover has gone from €1.8m to €3.6m for 70 to 75-odd fillies sold. It has resulted in massive increases in the demand for fillies at the sales and proves that the scheme does work and providing a race programme with such opportunities works as well.”

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Breeding Right In Cracksman Tops Tattersalls Online

A breeding right in Group 1 sire Cracksman (GB) (lot 92) topped the Tattersalls Online January Sale at 50,000gns to Dan Astbury post sale.

The Darley-based sire enjoyed a strong year with his progeny in 2023 anchored by undefeated Classic winner and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Ace Impact (Ire), who now stands at Haras de Beaumont.

Astbury said, “I am delighted to have purchased the breeding right in the exciting Cracksman on behalf of a client who is building up a very nice band of broodmares. The year the stallion has had speaks for itself, being responsible for superstar Ace Impact who is himself now a very exciting recruit to the stallion ranks. My client is delighted and fingers crossed it works out well for him down the line.”

Ulysses (GB) 3-year-old Trojan Storm (GB) (lot 2) sold from Ralph Beckett's Kimpton Down Stables to AA Bloodstock for 35,000gns. The chestnut horse-in-training ran second on debut at Wolverhampton last week and boasts a strong pedigree, as his Pivotal (GB) dam, Mystic Storm (GB), is a full-sister to listed winner Solar Magic (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and a half to the G1 1000 Guineas/G1 Coronation S. runner-up Starscope (GB) (Selkirk). The latter is the dam of Cartier Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

Rounding out the top three lots was Houghton Bloodstock's Renzia (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) (lot 85) in foal to Cracksman, who changed hands for 25,000gns to One Agency. The 6-year-old mare, a relative of tough American handicapper and GI Gulfstream Park H. and GI Sword Dancer H. hero and Japanese sire Cetewayo (His Majesty) is out of a full-sister to GI Beverly D. S. winner Dynaforce (Dynaformer). Renzia is also a half-sister to a trio of black-type horses, among them dual Grade I-placed Stormy Len (Harlan's Holiday).

Overall, 43 lots sold for a gross of 275,300gns. The average was 6,402gns and the median settled at 3,000gns.

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