French participation at Royal Ascot will be thin on the ground this week, with Covid and Brexit taking a toll, but France has at least one strong chance heading to the Berkshire track for a Major G1, even though this one is owned by an American, the veteran owner-breeder George Strawbridge.
Strawbridge’s 3-year-old filly Suesa, who is unbeaten in four races, goes to Ascot for Friday’s £350,000 G1 Commonwealth Cup. She is currently a close second favourite with British bookmakers behind the Wesley Ward-trained Campanelle, winner of the G1 Prix Morny, and the G2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, last year.
Suesa, trained by Francois Rohaut at Pau in South-West France, booked her place for the six-furlong contest after two easy G3 victories in the last two months at Chantilly, where she raced on much softer ground.
The daughter of Night Of Thunder, who was bought for an undisclosed amount by Strawbridge last January from previous owner Georgiano Cabrera, has certainly proved an astute purchase. The filly was originally sold for €17,000 at the Goffs Ireland foal sale in November 2018.
Strawbridge is only very rarely a buyer of racehorses - he usually breeds his own - but the decision to purchase Suesa was influenced by exceptional circumstances. “I love the sire and it was the opportunity to buy a competitive filly,” he explained.
Rather than Friday’s race itself, the major concern about this week has been the logistics of getting to Ascot. “We have eventually got that sorted out,” said Rohaut. “Just like before, when [the stable’s] Signs Of Blessing was running at Ascot, Suesa will do the trip in two stages, initially going to Rodolphe Collet’s stable at Chantilly before travelling onto England.”
He added, “The biggest headache at the moment is whether Olivier Peslier, who has ridden Suesa in her last three races, will be able to ride the filly at Ascot. Things seem to be changing and hopefully the ten-day quarantine rule will be modified. If not, we have lined up another jockey in England.”
Peslier, who lives near Rohaut’s stables in South-West France, often rides Suesa in morning work. “Suesa has been giving me a good feel on the gallops and is stronger physically than in her last race, having put on 30 kilos,” the veteran rider said. “She has a good mentality, can run on any surface and is a very relaxed horse, either on the gallops, or at the racecourse.”
A love affair with horses
The filly has run all her races at Chantilly so far, but Peslier doesn’t think Ascot will be a problem. “Without a doubt, Suesa is a very good filly,” he said. “But it’s difficult to compare with the runners in the Commonwealth Cup as she hasn’t faced them before. Certainly Campanelle will be a tough opponent.”
Strawbridge himself won’t be at Ascot - because of quarantine issues.
The 83-year-old has had a love affair with horses that started 60 years ago. “My grandfather and father were involved in timber racing,” he said. “My father was a superb rider, so naturally I also became a steeplechase rider, then an owner. We raced steeplechase horses in Saratoga. While there, we attended the Saratoga yearling sales and bought a few fillies, which we raced and bred from. It’s how I got into the breeding game.”
Strawbridge bought land in Eastern Pennsylvania and set up his Augustin Stable operation there, eventually becoming a major figure in breeding. He has also had mares in Europe for many years, with two studs in England - Whatton Manor in Nottinghamshire and Copgrove Hall in North Yorkshire, where 6-time G1 winner Moonlight Cloud is boarded. She is currently at Ballyhinch Stud in Ireland, however, having just been mated with Lope De Vega.
Breeding racehorses is an expensive and risky business, and advice from those more experienced is invaluable for newcomers. Strawbridge said, “Marshall Jenney [who bred Danzig and G1 winner Mrs Penny) and Arthur Hancock [the owner of Claiborne Farm in Kentucky] were both major influences for me to acquire the knowledge and experience I needed to learn about this business.
“Breeding for stamina has always been compelling for me. Hence, Lucarno winning the St Leger in 2007 trained by John Gosden.”
Strawbridge had early top-level success with Waya, a mare he and Peter Brandt bought from Daniel Wildenstein in 1979, when she became America’s champion older female, and Treizieme winning the G1 Grand Criterium (now the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere) in France in 1983. Strawbridge had no hesitation in also diversifying his breeding and racing operations in Europe. “The biggest attraction is that European racing is drug-free,” he said.
For many years, he has called for a ban on race-day Lasix, and has campaigned on other drug issues in America. In Europe, André Fabré has indicated race-day usage of Lasix in the States is doping horses, which is banned in Europe. When Fabré has runners in the States, they race clean yet still win races there. Other European trainers have indicated they use race-day Lasix when having runners in the U.S. as they want to be able to compete on equal terms with the home-based runners.
I pointed out to Strawbridge that a French bloodstock agent told me a couple of years ago that he never bought a yearling with an American sire or dam pedigree because of possible drug use. Strawbridge’s response was, “The recent drug stories show the agent is correct.”
On the question of the U.S. Jockey Club planning to limit stallion visits to 140 a year, Strawbridge said he can see both sides of the argument. “I understand what the Jockey Club are trying to do, but I also understand why some farms are opposing the restriction as it affects their bottom line.”
Strawbridge’s success on both sides of the Atlantic over the years speaks for itself. His wins in North America have all been achieved without drugs. His first Breeders’ Cup victory was with Tikkanen, trained by Jonathan Pease at Chantilly, in the 1994 BC Turf.
More recently, Bricks And Mortar, a horse he sold as a yearling for $200,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September yearling sales to Klaravitch Stables and William H Lawrence, had career earnings of more than $7 million and was the 2019 Horse of the Year.
Strawbridge picked out four horses who had given him most satisfaction as an owner-breeder.
Lucarno (2007 St Leger), Moonlight Cloud; Forever Together (2008 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf), and Informed Decision (2009 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint). Forever Together and Informed Decision were trained by Jonathan Sheppard, who had a long and fruitful association with Strawbridge.
Last word on Strawbridge goes to Freddy Head, who trained his Moonlight Cloud and Call The Wind, winner of multiple Group races, plus the $3 million Longines Turf Handicap on the inaugural Saudi Cup day at Riyadh last year.
“He is a great sportsman and a man of the turf, who knows his horses well,” said Head. “It’s been a real pleasure to have the opportunity to train for him over the years.”