WE are well used to the success of French-bred horses on the shores of Ireland and Britain, but winners trained in France are far rarer, especially under National Hunt rules.

A comprehensive victory for the David Cottin-trained five-year-old Jet Blue (Martaline), on his first start for the trainer, in the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham certainly laid down a marker, and the gelding carried the familiar colours of Professor Caroline Tisdall. She has enjoyed many successes, primarily when racing horses in partnership, and she has had many in the cares of another David, a certain Mr Pipe.

Jet Blue won two of his first three starts on the flat over a mile and a half for trainer Alain Couetil, and this year he added a third after his move to Hugo Merienne. In October, he won for the first time over hurdles, but after he was beaten on his next start, he moved to Cottin, and has now made the perfect start with him. That move coincided with a change of ownership when Jet Blue sold at Arqana’s Autumn Sale for €220,000.

This was the third time that Jet Blue sold at public auction. Bred by Neustrian Associates and Haras de Montaigu, he realised €60,000 as a yearling, again at Arqana’s Autumn Sale. Three years later, at the same venue and sale, he was a bargain €30,000, but this was after his form seemed to deteriorate. He has certainly turned that corner now. Two of Jet Blue’s French wins were in graded races for AQPS-breds.

Jet Blue is a son of the Saint Des Saints (Cadoudal) mare Blue Beryl, and she raced four times at four and placed on all occasions. Two of her first three foals are winners, and both have now been successful in blacktype races, each of them gaining their best wins outside France. Jet Blue’s own-sister Honey Sexy (Martaline) won four times over jumps in France, and she landed a pair of Grade 3 chase wins, at Pisa and in Milan.

Kelly Grace

The recent Arqana Autumn Sale at which Jet Blue was sold, his four-year-old half-sister Kelly Grace (Doctor Dino) was bought by Richard Venn Bloodstock for €40,000. Twice-raced at three, with no impact, she was covered this year by Masked Marvel (Montjeu), and sold in foal to the sire of Teahupoo, Kalif Du Berlais and Maskada. One sale that did not materialise at the auction held in November was that of their yearling half-sister by Kapgarde (Garde Royale).

Blue Beryl’s failure to win was never going to hinder her chance at stud, given that she was a half-sister to a horse who became a great favourite of the French racing public in the first decade of the new millennium. Questarabad (Astarabad) did win a couple of times at three on the level, but it was his exploits over hurdles that were to being him to public prominence. He won 15 times over jumps, earning connections more than €1.5 million.

At the highest level of jump racing in France he won and placed second in the Grade 1 Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil, won the Prix Renaud du Vivier 4yo Hurdle, and two editions of the Grand Prix d’Automne Hurdle. Indeed, he won many times at graded level, and many of these involved taking the honours twice. Incredibly, on the only two occasions he was not in the first three in his 26 lifetime starts he was fourth!

Crystal Beach

Nearly a decade after the exploits of Questarabad, his half-brother Crystal Beach (Network) gave their dam, the four-time winner Hatilade (Royal Charter), her fourth winner as a producer, and her second to win a blacktype contest. Crystal Beach was twice successful in listed hurdle races, but did better over fences, triumphing in the Grade 2 Prix Murat Chase at Auteuil.

A familiar name crops up under Jet Blue’s fourth dam. She is the grandam of Lacoudal (Cadoudal). He won on the flat and over jumps in France from seven starts before joining Philip Hobbs. Over the next seven years he raced 42 times more, winning eight.

A listed hurdle winner, he proved to be a much more talented chaser, his greatest moment coming when he won the Grade 3 Betfred Gold Cup at Sandown. He rounded off his career in some style when, almost ready to turn 12, he beat Garde Champetre by a neck, with Sizing Australia in third, and claimed the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham in November 2010.

Wyenot shows clean pair of heels

ON just her ninth start, eight of them over hurdles, Wyenot gained the fifth, and most important, win of her career when she was an unchallenged winner of the Listed Doncaster Mares’ Hurdle at the weekend.

Victory meant that she pushed her winnings past the £48,000 mark, and finally paid off her purchase price as a store at the 2022 Goffs UK Spring Sale, when Ed Bailey combined with trainer Henry Bailey to secure her for £31,000.

She was certainly worthy of making such an amount, as her three winning siblings included Everlastingpromise (Arcadia) and Nada To Prada (Kayf Tara). The former won a Grade 2 chase at Killarney, while Nada To Prada was placed at Grade 2 level over hurdles and won a listed race.

Now Wyenot is a third blacktype winner among four successful produce of Ambrosia’s Promise (Minster Son), and she won a point-to-point at the age of six in the colours of the late Geoff Hubbard, trained by Ferdy Murphy. After that she moved to Adrian Maguire and dead-heated in a maiden hurdle at Limerick on her second outing from his yard. She managed a couple of other placings before heading to stud.

Another Promise

Amelia’s Promise is a half-sister to Another Promise (Presenting). In 2007, at the Punchestown Festival, he stayed on well to win the feature Grade 1 Swordlestown Cup Novice Chase. He was owned by Geoff Hubbard and trained by Ferdy Murphy, both now deceased, and in the saddle was Graham Lee. That rider partnered the gelding to five of his six victories.

Jimmy Mangan trained Another Promise’s full-sister Perfect Promise (Presenting), and while she was far inferior to her sibling, she did win twice over fences and earned a valuable piece of blacktype when third to Vroum Vroum Mag, beaten nearly 11 lengths, in a Grade 2 mares’ novice chase at Limerick. This was not Mangan’s only connection with the family.

A distant relative to Perfect Promise, buried back in the fourth generation, is Conna Castle (Germany), and his big moment in the sun came when he beat the favourite Biz Zeb in a four-runner Grade 1 Powers Gold Cup, getting up in the dying stages to land the spoils.