2012 Horses #2: Carrot Club No.87

A bit later than promised, here's the first of the profiles on the new yearlings added to my portfolio of racehorses, taking the total to 30 if we include Mayano Time ('Jaguar') and Tempai ('Tenn-chan'), for these are still very active in competition with my family, even if they don't race any more. I reckon if you gave Jaguar the chance, he'd be up for the challenge, though...

Courtesy Carrot Club

Anyway, the first Carrot Club horse we'll look at is a colt sired by Montjeu, which naturally has a huge appeal for me as a Brit. The Irish-registered Montjeu won 11 races, including the Prix du Jockey Club (the French Derby), the Irish Derby, the L'Arc de Triomphe, and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, making him a legend.

Montjeu was sired by Sadler's Wells, a horse I love dearly, bringing together the best combination of Nearco, Hail To Reason, Native Dancer, Hyperion and Mahmoud blood in the business. His dam was a French horse called Floripedes, who picked up a 2-1-2 record from five starts, largely thanks to the DNA of the Aga Khan's Top Ville, and Charlottesville from the same stable - both winners of the Prix du Jockey Club.

The dam for the newcomer is Reve D'Iman, and although the race record of this Sir Gaylord cross (standing at 1-1-1 from 13 starts) is hardly anything to write home about, she does have a well-earned reputation for producing good foals. Looking at her pedigree, it's hardly surprising, as we have Highest Honor - a strong French stallion - as her sire, adding Kalamoun blood as well as Nasrullah and Princequillo crosses into the equation, with Blushing Groom (by Red God), Green Dancer (by Nijinsky) and Sir Gaylord on the dam side.

As soon as a name has been decided, I shall let you know. In the meantime, one thing I can tell you is that the stable he'll be based at is the Yasutoshi Ikee Stable at Ritto TC, which is where Orfevre is trained. I have high hopes for this one!