Make Believe

There was a time when France's studs housed some of the world's finest stallions, but then the mighty dollar stepped in. In a matter of years the likes of Riverman, Lyphard, Nureyev, Caro, Arctic Tern, Irish River and Green Dancer had all joined the exodus from France to the U.S.

Inevitably this succession of body blows came close to flooring the French breeding industry, but fortunately the last few years have seen some green shoots of recovery. This was highlighted two days ago when the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Pouliches, respectively, fell to Make Believe and Ervedya. These two are members of the first crops by Makfi and Siyouni, two residents of the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval. This stud is also scheduled to house the top miler Charm Spirit in 2016, after this son of Invincible Spirit finishes his debut season at Tweenhills Farm & Stud in England.

Makfi also spent his first four years as a stallion at Tweenhills, standing at a fee of £25,000, before being transferred to France. The fact that his fee in France is €17,500, currently equivalent to around £12,675, betrays the fact that Makfi's first-crop 2-year-olds hadn't covered themselves in glory. There had been only one stakes victory–and even that had come in the French Provinces as late as November.

I have often warned about the dangers of rushing to conclusions about young stallions, regularly citing the fact that Galileo also sired nothing better than a single listed winner from more than 40 first-crop 2-year-old runners in 2005. Yet that same first crop quickly set the record straight, with Nightime and Sixties Icon becoming Classic winners, while Red Rocks took the GI Breeders' Cup Turf.

Now Makfi has also begun to fulfil the high expectations originally held of him, with Group 1 winners both in Europe and New Zealand. In addition to Make Believe, who was so impressive in the Poulains, he was represented last week by Maimara, a respectable eighth in the Pouliches, and by the Queen's homebred colt Fabricate, who won a maiden in good enough style to suggest he could develop into a stakes performer.

In view of the ease of Make Believe's Classic victory (which surely owed something to the tactical expertise of his veteran rider Olivier Peslier), I am pleased that I came to Makfi's defence in the April issue of The Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder. Here's some of what I wrote:

“As Makfi had been the highest-priced new stallion of 2011, there were high expectations of his first 2-year-old runners. To be frank, their achievements were somewhat underwhelming, to the extent that his yearling average for his second crop stood at 30,388gns, compared to his first crop's 65,699gns. The median also fell by more than 50%.
“However, I would advise against a knee-jerk reaction. It is worth remembering that the 2-year-old Makfi was considered surplus to requirements by the Shadwell team, which sold him unraced for 26,000gns at the Autumn Sales. Although he went on to win his only juvenile start for his new connections, his victory came on very soft ground in a Class F newcomers' race at Fontainebleau in November…

“There are sound reasons for thinking that [his move to Bonneval] will play to Makfi's strengths. Although he won the G1 2,000 Guineas, his other wins were gained in France, and he accounted for Goldikova when he emulated the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois victories of his sire Dubawi and grandsire Dubai Millennium. In gaining his French successes Makfi showed his appreciation of soft ground–something he shares with many of Dubawi's other progeny. If Makfi's offspring inherit this penchant, France could be the ideal base for him, as soft ground is very common across the Channel. [The ground was officially good to soft at Longchamp on Sunday].

“The early signs are that Makfi is set to shine with his French-trained offspring. Nine of his 10 nominees in the French Classics are trained there, the one exception being Marco Botti's tough and useful filly Astrelle. There is plenty to like about Makfi's French collection, which is made up mainly by fillies. There are a couple of interesting colts, though, especially Prince Faisal's Make Believe. This colt, trained by Andre Fabre, put in two appearances late in the season and emerged victorious each time. Having taken a newcomers' race at Deauville in late October, Make Believe didn't have to extend himself to land a conditions event on heavy ground at Saint-Cloud in November. His dam Rosie's Posy produced the American Grade I winner Dubawi Heights to Makfi's sire, so there's cause for optimism here.

“The other Classically-engaged colt, Cornwallville, proved his toughness during a long 2-year old campaign which began in the Brocklesby Stakes in March and ended with a listed victory at Toulouse in November. Altogether he won four of his 14 starts, with one of his wins coming on heavy.” [Cornwallville also contested the Poulains,having won another listed race on his reappearance.]

Make Believe's dam Rosie's Posy was once knocked down to a cash buyer for as little as 2,200gns at Tattersalls' 2002 Autumn Sale, but a little over 10 years later Barronstown Stud had to go to 400,000gns to acquire this daughter of Suave Dancer. Barronstown recouped its outlay in one fell swoop, as the Oasis Dream colt that Rosie's Posy had been carrying sold to Shadwell for 400,000gns as a yearling. Now named Estikmaal, he is in training with Freddie Head in France. Rosie's Posy's next foal is a colt from the first crop by Frankel (GB).

Clearly something quite striking must have happened to Rosie's Posy's family in the years between her appearances at Tattersalls. The answer lay primarily–as mentioned above–with her daughter Dubawi Heights. Having established her potential as a useful English 2-year-old, Dubawi Heights was transformed into a Grade I winner over nine and 10 furlongs on turf in America following her sale for 75,000gns at the end of her juvenile campaign. With Dubawi as her sire, Dubawi Heights is closely related to Make Believe. She also provided her buyers with a very handsome profit, as she was sold for $1.6 million at Fasig-Tipton in the year of her Grade I successes. Her destination was Japan, where she produced a Deep Impact filly in 2013.

The mystery, really, is why Rosie's Posy was sold so cheaply as a 3-year-old back in 2002. She had contested a couple of listed races after winning on her 2-year-old debut and she had the respectable Timeform rating of 86.

The only explanation I can think of is that she paid the price of being a daughter of Suave Dancer. Although this grandson of Nijinsky had been a magnificent winner of the Prix du Jockey-Club and the Arc, he had become unpopular as a stallion by the time he was being killed by lightning at the age of 10 in Australia at the end of 1998. He had his moments, though, being responsible for the top-class Group 1 winners Compton Admiral, Volvoreta and Execute. Another of his daughters produced Tuscan Evening, who did so well after her transfer from Ireland to the U.S.

There was certainly no fault to be found with Rosie's Posy's dam, My Branch. Capable of producing a good turn of foot, this daughter of the top miler Distant Relative possessed sufficient talent to finish second in the G1 Cheveley Park S., fourth in the 1,000 Guineas and third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

It was unfortunate for Rosie's Posy's vendor that her sale came a few weeks before her 2-year-old half-sister Tante Rose (by Barathea) ran out an impressive winner of a 17-runner maiden race at Newmarket. Tante Rose quickly became a group winner, taking the Fred Darling S. on her reappearance at three and she was sold at the end of the year for 350,000gns. Rather surprisingly her new owner, Bjorn Nielsen, kept her in training and his boldness was rewarded with three six-furlong victories from three starts, including one in the G1 Sprint at Haydock Park. Perhaps Tante Rose's failure to stay a mile has contributed to Andre Fabre's belief that it would be best to keep Make Believe at a mile for the time being.

Tante Rose had come on the market as part of the complete dispersal of Wafic Said's Addison Racing, which also included her listed-winning half-sister Bay Tree. This daughter of Daylami made 450,000gns. Their dam My Branch had sold for 420,000gns a year earlier, carrying a filly by Grand Lodge.

My Branch owed her high price mainly to her own achievements. Although her dam Pay The Bank and second dam Zebra Grass had both won at two, neither had bred anything of note until My Branch came along (Pay The Bank has since been represented by Crelestial Halo, a son of Galileo which developed into a high-class hurdler after showing very useful form on the flat).

However, My Branch's third dam Ash Lawn was extremely well-related. In addition to being a sister to the smart Selhurst, Ash Lawn was a half-sister to the 2,000 Guineas and Derby winner Royal Palace and to Glass Slipper, dam of the Classic winners Fairy Footsteps and Light Cavalry, so Make Believe's Classic success is the latest in a long line for this former Jim Joel family.

Sunday, Longchamp, France
POULE D'ESSAI DES POULAINS – PRIX LE PARISIEN-G1, €550,000, LCP, 5-10, 3yo, c, 8fT, 1:36.85, gd/sf.
1–#@sMAKE BELIEVE (GB), 128, c, 3, by Makfi (GB)
     1st Dam: Rosie's Posy (Ire), by Suave Dancer
     2nd Dam: My Branch (GB), by Distant Relative (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Pay the Bank (GB), by High Top (Ire)
(180,000gns wlng '12 TATDEC). O-Prince A A Faisal;
B-Aston Mullins Stud; T-Andre Fabre; J-Olivier Peslier.
€314,720. Lifetime Record: 4 starts, 3 wins, 1 place,
€360,220. *1/2 to Dubawi Heights (GB) (Dubawi
{Ire}), MGISW-US & GSP-Eng, $947,382. **3rd
stakes winner (second group winner) for second-
season sire (by Dubawi {Ire}). Werk Nick Rating: B.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the Racing Post result or the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.