Monceaux on the Move

MONCEAUX ON THE MOVE 
By Kelsey Riley 
When the hammer fell on Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) for an Irish record of €6 million at Goffs November last year, it marked an historic moment for many involved, but perhaps none more so than Lucien Urano’s Ecurie des Monceaux, the co-breeder of the G1 Irish Oaks winner. 
Urano started breeding Thoroughbreds in 2003 with the goal of establishing a high quality broodmare band, and thus Chicquita’s success embodies everything he set out to achieve. Bred by Monceaux in partnership with Skymarc Farms, Chicquita boasts a pedigree of the highest class, being by Montjeu out of the stakes-winning Prudenzia (Ire), and was picked up by Badgers Bloodstock on behalf of Paul Makin for €600,000 from the Monceaux consignment at the Arqana August yearling sale in 2011. She became a Classic winner in her fourth start, a month after finishing second to Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) in the G1 Prix de Diane, and after the record transaction at Goffs she is on track to continue her legacy in the colors of the Coolmore partners. 
It’s not just Chicquita that defines Monceaux. Since 2012, the operation has bred three other Group 1 winners: St James’s Palace S. hero Most Improved (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) and Criterium International winner Ectot (GB) (Hurricane Run {Ire}) out of Tonnara (Ire) (Linamix {Fr})–a 100,000gns Tattersalls December purchase in 2007–in partnership with Skymarc, and recent G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Charm Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). Monceaux graduates have won eight group stakes in 2014, and Monceaux has been the leading vendor at Arqana August the last two years. 
Many breeders spend a lifetime trying to cultivate the types of horses Urano has bred in just 11 years, but it is not just a stroke of luck that Monceaux has produced four Group 1 winners in the last three years. Urano, a longtime successful breeder of harness horses, set out on his Thoroughbred ventures with a strict vision when he purchased Ecurie des Monceaux in 2003. 
“He had a big breeding and racing operation for trotters,” explained Monceaux manager Henri Bozo. “He has a farm about 30 kilometers away from Monceaux. Then he purchased Monceaux, but there were no horses [on the farm]. When he hired me we put together a business plan to develop a Thoroughbred operation, but there were no horses at that time.” 
Bozo said he realized shortly after meeting Urano that he was a man with a clear vision. 
“He contacted me–I had never met him–and when I went to meet him, I said, ‘no way I’m going to move and work for this man I don’t know, he’s only got trotters,’” Bozo reminisced. “But then I very quickly realized that he was a man with a very strong will to build up something big. That was a great challenge for me and I get on very well with him.” 
Set about 30 kilometers from Deauville, Monceaux was established in 1925 by American Ralph Beaver Strassburger, who bred many successful racehorses on the original 160 hectare (395 acre) plot. Monceaux stood empty for a few years before Urano scooped it up in 2003. Bozo noted that Urano always desired to trade at the very top of the game. They recognized that to do that, they’d have be commercial. 
“He wanted to build up a high-quality broodmare band,” Bozo explained. “That was the plan–to try to go to all the sales and get some pieces of the nice families, as much as we could, and to send those mares to the best stallions. To do so, we had to make it economically wise, so it was decided the progeny would go to the sales, and it would be a commercial farm.” 
Urano and Bozo quickly began populating the farm with yearling fillies purchased at auction. 
“We bought some yearlings and raced them, and we’ve been lucky with our purchases,” Bozo said. “We got some Group 1 winners and started breeding from them.” 
Amongst the first recruits was Royal Highness (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), a €130,000 purchase at the 2003 Baden-Baden sale. Royal Highness went on to win the GI Beverly D. S. and was a Group 2 winner and multiple Group 1-placed in France in the Monceaux Stable silks. Royal Highness’s second foal is this year’s G2 Prix Hocquart winner Free Port Lux (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who was picked up by trainer Freddy Head for €220,000 at Arqana August in 2012. In fact, Free Port Lux has been the least expensive of Royal Highness’s foals: Waratah Thoroughbreds went to €500,000 for her first foal, a colt by Galileo (Ire), in 2011, while John Ferguson paid the same sum for a Dubawi filly last year. 
As its first purchases began to blossom into successful broodmares, Monceaux continued to reinvest its proceeds into improving its breeding stock. 
“We started buying mares from America, England, Ireland, Germany and France,” Bozo explained. “The plan has always been to try to become a high-quality breeder with a good broodmare band. But we couldn’t afford to do so without selling some horses, so that’s why we sell the yearlings.” 
One could certainly be excused for believing that Urano could rest on his laurels, his task complete, having now bred a Classic winner and three additional Group 1 winners. But Bozo noted they are still shopping for the best bloodlines around.
“We buy five or six yearling fillies every year,” he said. “We’ll keep one or two yearlings every year if we have a filly that we want the family of, but we try to have a really clear position so that people know what we are doing, and they know we are selling everything.” 
Monceaux is currently home to almost 70 mares and, with the purchase of neighboring properties, has grown from 160 hectares to 290 hectares (about 716 acres). 
Bozo noted that they do not have a set number of broodmares in mind that they’d like to maintain, but instead focus on upgrading the quality every year. He noted that Monceaux purchased six young broodmares last year. One of those was the Galileo mare Sparkle Plenty (Ire), who was plucked out of the Paulyn Dispersal for €650,000 on the same evening of Chicquita’s historic sale. Monceaux also went to 600,000gns at Tattersalls December for the young stakes winner Demurely (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), in foal to Invincible Spirit (Ire). 
“We’re trying to upgrade our broodmare band every year,” Bozo said. “We try to be more and more selective every year.” 
Buyers looking to be selective at the Arqana August sale should certainly be satisfied by visiting the Ecurie des Monceaux consignment. Monceaux brings 29 yearlings to Deauville, many of which are standouts both on pedigree and physically. They include the progeny of leading sires Galileo, Monsun (Ger), Invincible Spirit, Sea the Stars (Ire), Shamardal and New Approach (Ire) and siblings to Classic winners and Grade/Group 1 winners in Europe and the U.S. (see Hip Happenings for more information). 
Bozo noted that he hopes to see Americans in particular shopping at Arqana. 
“We hope to have some American visitors,” he said. “It would be good to link a bit more between Europe and America. I think it would be in both of our interests to develop more exchanges between our continents.”