Talvard: `The Goal Isn't to Bring Stars to the Sale; It's to Bring Winners'

Two years ago, Pierre Talvard's Haras du Cadran sold a yearling colt by Wootton Bassett out of the Le Havre mare Chuppy at the Arqana August yearling sale. Purchased by Coolmore for €400,000, Constitution River is now a two-time Group 1 winner, having won the Prix du Jockey Club and defeated older horses in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes. Next Wednesday, he takes on Ombudsman in the highly anticipated Group 1 Juddmonte International at York. This year, Talvard is back at the sale with his half-sister, by Kodiac. She sells Monday as lot 287.

“There is a lot of stamina in the family,” said Talvard. “I had gone to Wootton Bassett (for Chuppy), who brings a lot of speed and precocity. After that, we went to Mehmas—a lot of speed as well. And Kodiac brings plenty of speed too, and we went back to him to get a slightly smaller horse, because the mare is very big.”

The Mehmas-Chuppy two-year-old, Sensational Filly, is in training in Ireland with Paddy Twomey. “I think her trainer is very happy,” said Talvard. “She should be making her debut soon.”

Talvard said that the yearling filly's progression on the farm has been smooth and steady.

“She is a very sweet filly; we never had any trouble with her this winter. She came along easily. She was born very late—on May 21st—and I think she looks quite mature. Physically, what's striking is that she has the exact same head as her brother. That said, she is a slightly lighter filly, a bit more leggy than her brother. But she shows a lot of quality. We do a very light prep—that's why we keep them in work all winter—and I believe that when horses arrive in June in great condition, there isn't much left to do.”

Talvard is known as a fiercely hardworking, straight-talking horseman, who built his Haras du Cadran from the ground up, turning it from a 16-hectare farm into an exceptional nursery of over 400 hectares in a prime location in the heart of the Orne. And though he brings his produce to market, he rejects the idea that the sale is the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal, he says, is the racetrack.

“The goal isn't to bring stars to the sale; the goal is to bring winners,” he said. “What we strive for all year round is racing; Haras du Cadran is focused on racing. The sales are an essential step, but racing comes first.”

The strength of the sale in Saratoga last week has brought optimism to the sales ground at Arqana, and Talvard said that the traffic at the sales barn had been consistently busy.

“Personally, I think it will be strong for the top tier, because everyone is looking for top-quality colts and fillies. For the mid-market, it's going to be a bit more complicated. But for the top end, I'm quite confident, and that's why I regularly buy mares, hoping they turn out to be high-end.”

Chuppy definitely now falls into that category, but Talvard said she is treated just like all of the mares on the farm.

“All the horses mean a lot to me,” he said. “Chuppy is a very sweet mare, but I don't treat her any differently than the others. When I was younger, I had a good mare; we wrapped her in cotton wool and made mistakes. Once you take them off the same routine and diet as the others… We don't fuss over her more because we don't look at her as a star—we look at her as a mare for whom nothing should go wrong.”

As for his ideal buyer, Talvard turns the conversation back to the racetrack.

“She's a filly born late. She is tall, has great scope, a very good eye, great quality of bone and coat, walks very well, has good locomotion… everything is in place to make a very good filly. I'd say if she could go to a top trainer, that would suit me well and make me very happy.”