Constitution Hill and the varied racing career of his sire Blue Bresil
Our man recalls a trip to Auteuil and discusses the mainly French phenomenon of jumps sires who themselves raced over jumps.
Where it all began for star jumps sires
Twenty years ago, I made my first and only visit to Auteuil for the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
As it turned out, the 2002 edition of France’s most important chase was not particularly memorable, though maybe my impressions of the race were coloured by the fact that I backed the runner-up El Paso III... who was then awarded the race months later when the first past the past on the day, Double Car, was disqualified after testing for a prohibited substance.
But I’ve had constant reminders of that afternoon at Auteuil ever since thanks mainly to two other winners on the supporting card. The three-year-old hurdle went to Nickname, later to become a high-class two-mile chaser in Ireland with Martin Brassil, while another entire, Saint des Saints, won the Group 3 Prix de Longchamp for four-year-old hurdlers. In the 20 years since, Nickname and Saint des Saints have earned fame as two of the most successful French-based sires of jumpers this century.
Nickname became the sire of a couple of the best chasers that Paul Nicholls has trained, Cyrname and Frodon, while Saint des Saints’ lengthy list of successful cross-channel imports includes recent Betfair Chase winner Protektorat, dual Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Djakadam, Irish Grand National winner Burrows Saint and last season's Maghull Novices' Chase winner Gentleman de Mee.
Nor were Nickname and Saint des Saints the only successful future stallions on that card at Auteuil.
The Prix La Barka went to Laveron (on the way to winning the Grande Course de Haies the following month), he too destined for a stallion career which resulted in another winner of the Irish Grand National, Organisedconfusion. Tiger Groom, who also contested the Prix La Barka, was another entire who later joined the French stallion ranks, with the best of his winners in Britain being the smart Gary Moore-trained chaser Ar Mad, winner of the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase and third in a Tingle Creek.
They’re not the only notable examples of French jumping sires who themselves raced over jumps. Kapgarde, sire of top-class chasers A Plus Tard and Clan des Obeaux, and Robin des Champs, whose best jumpers include Vautour, Sir des Champs and Quevega, were also both winners at Auteuil, while even French-trained Derby runner-up Walk In The Park had one run over hurdles before embarking on a stallion career which has produced the likes of Douvan, Min and Jonbon.
The extensive and rewarding French jumps programme of races for three and four-year-olds gives plenty of opportunity for prospective jumps stallions of the future to prove their own aptitude over jumps first, thereby earning the chance to pass that ability on at stud. By contrast, you could probably go a lifetime of attending top jumps meetings in Britain without seeing as many jumps stallions of the future in action as I did on that single afternoon at Auteuil.
Legend stood out from the crowd
One recent notable exception in Britain of an entire who did race over jumps before going on to enjoy a very successful stallion career was Midnight Legend who was smart on the Flat for Luca Cumani but better still for David Nicholson over hurdles, ending his career with his best effort when third to Istabraq in the 1999 Aintree Hurdle. 2017 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Sizing John is the pick of Midnight Legend’s many good jumpers and it will be fascinating to follow the stud career of the late Midnight Legend’s son Midnights Legacy who has recently been retired for stallion duties – in keeping with the long-term plan suggested by his name - after his own successful career both on the Flat and over hurdles for Alan King, showing useful form in both disciplines.
The mainly French phenomenon of jumps sires with proven jumping ability of their own is under the spotlight again with the emergence of outstanding hurdler Constitution Hill.
He’s by Blue Bresil who had a varied dual-purpose racing career in France, to say the least, and had already made a name for himself as a sire on both sides of the Channel before Constitution Hill first burst onto the scene on Tingle Creek day last year.
In France, he’s the sire of the recently retired top-class hurdling mare L’Autonomie, winner of 17 of her 27 starts, all at Auteuil, including a 30-length victory in the 2021 Grande Course de Haies, and more than €1m in earnings. Blue Bresil’s top jumper in Britain before Constitution Hill came along was high-class staying chaser Royal Pagaille who won his second Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock in January. Blue Bresil now has a top-class chaser too in Ireland, where he stands nowadays, with Blue Lord making it six out of seven over fences for Willie Mullins when winning the Grade 1 Paddy's Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown.
Blue Bresil came from a Flat family himself, though his sire Smadoun will be best known in Britain for getting the high-class chasers Smad Place and Nacarat, both of them greys who often made the running. Blue Bresil often went from the front himself and while his three wins on the Flat (at up to 15 furlongs) were confined to minor events, he showed a smart level of form (Timeform rating 110) which was enough to get him placed several times in better company, including in a couple of Group 2 trials for the Prix du Jockey Club, the Prix Noailles and Prix Hocquart.
The ‘French Derby’ itself proved too competitive for Blue Bresil but that didn’t stop connections being even more ambitious with him later in the year when he took his chance in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Sent off the rank outsider at 154/1, Blue Bresil predictably struggled, unable to take up his usual prominent role and taking a fierce hold as a result before trailing home with just two behind him in a race won by Zarkava.
Just like watching Bresil...
The following spring, Blue Bresil’s career took a very different turn as he became a rare Arc runner to try his luck over hurdles. He didn’t manage to win in any of his five attempts at Auteuil but he was highly tried as all five races were Group contests attracting the best French four-year-old hurdlers.
On his hurdling debut in the Group 3 Prix Jacques d’Indy he came up against none other than Long Run, later to be a Gold Cup and dual King George winner for Constitution Hill’s trainer Nicky Henderson but at that time establishing his reputation as one of the top French juvenile hurdlers.
Despite his lack of hurdling experience, Blue Bresil ran Long Run to three quarters of a length albeit in receipt of plenty of weight. Blue Bresil also finished runner-up on his next two starts in the Prix de Pepinvast (ahead of Long Run this time in third) and Prix Amadou but fared less well on his last two runs over hurdles, finishing only fifth in the Group 1 Prix Alain du Breil. Even so, Blue Bresil earned a smart rating of 146 for his brief spell over hurdles.
Blue Bresil can probably take much of the credit for Constitution Hill’s ability because there was little clue in the Fighting Fifth winner’s female family that he was destined to reach the heights he has quickly attained.
He’s the only runner to date for his dam Queen of The Stage who was no more than fairly useful (rated 118), winning a mares’ maiden hurdle at Ludlow at odds of 25/1 on what proved to be her final start for Robin Dickin and then following up in a mares’ novice at Exeter on her first start for her new trainer Nick Williams.
While Queen of The Stage failed to win again, she did pick up some valuable black type when taking third in the Jane Seymour Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, a listed contest at Sandown. Queen of The Stage was the only runner out of her own dam Supreme du Casse who was just a modest performer in Ireland, gaining her only win for Denise Foster in a maiden hurdle at Punchestown.
You have to go back a bit in the pedigree to find a jumper of note, but Constitution Hill’s fourth dam, Deep Adventure, was an unraced half-sister to the 1973 Arkle winner Denys Adventure.
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