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Remember Ben with a gift to Thoroughbred aftercare Subscribe for FREE to the Daily PDF or the News Alerts Home » Archive » Shared News » Family Labour Of Love At Haras Du Mesnil Antonia & Henri Devin with 30-year-old Turgeon | Emma Berry Over the previous six January trips to France for La Route des Etalons the one stud I'd always longed to see but never made it far enough south to visit is the historic Haras du Mesnil the perfect opportunity arose to plough a lone furrow towards Le Mans to spend a morning with Henri and Antonia Devin at the 2,500-acre property which has been in his family “only since 1850” it wasn't a completely solo venture as I was accompanied by Darley's Newmarket-based Head of Nominations as well as Keeneland's European Representative Ed Prosser each playing a key role as navigator/co-driver (Dawn) and back-seat comedian (Ed) La Route des Etalons not only provides a vital function for breeders in providing access to around 80 stallions in one weekend but it also acts as a living history lesson of France's many beautiful stud farms one single stud throughout the tenure of Henri Devin's grandparents Jean and Elisabeth Couturié was split between their two daughters into what are now the Devins' private stud and the neighbouring Haras de Maulepaire The stallion yard at Mesnil has been in operation since 1908 and has housed some notable names not least Madame Couturié's outstanding homebred Right Royal (Fr) (Owen Tudor {GB}) the winner of the 1961 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey-Club among his six Group 1 victories Right Royal's grandam Barberybush was gifted to the family by leading American owner-breeder Joseph Widener who kept mares at Mesnil during the first half of the 20th Century Englishman Peter Spiller is the only outside mare owner among the closed herd at Mesnil but plenty of day-visitors will start to appear later this month as the covering season gets underway The Devins lost long-time resident Kaldounevees (Fr) (Kaldoun {Fr}) last year at the age of 24 and for a time he was represented on the roster by his son Ange Gabriel (Fr) who is now retired but remains at the farm His daughters also in residence include Just As Good (Fr) a full-sister to the late Terre A Terre (Fr) both of whom were born at the farm (the latter bred and raced in partnership with Veronica Ashbrooke) notched a remarkable five Group 1 victories between them and took their owner-breeders to Dubai Once you have a good horse it keeps you going We took our four children with us everywhere Now we have to do it again,” says Antonia Devin The next big thing may be not be too far away Physiocrate (Fr) claimed the runner-up spot in the G1 Longines Prix de Diane just six weeks after making a winning debut on soft ground at Chantilly She too is a terrific advertisement for the land around Haras du Mesnil being a second-crop daughter of resident stallion Doctor Dino (Fr) (Muhtathir) out of the Kaldounevees mare Affaire de Moeurs (Fr) Her trainer is also a product of sixth-generation Mesnil breeding as he is the Devins' Chantilly-based son And if the trainer doesn't already have the filly's game plan finalised for this season And with Physiocrate's starts to date at Chantilly resulting in two wins and a Group 1 second the fact that France's biggest race has been moved there from Longchamp this year is grist to Henri's mill Physiocrate is not the only filly keeping the Devin family dreams alive as she has been joined in Chantilly by Terre A Terre's 2-year-old sister “She's the last produce of Kaldounevees and Henri-Francois thinks very highly of her,” says Antonia a native of Co Kildare who grew up at her family's Ardoon Stud and whose father Frank Feeney raced the 1968 G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Mistigo (Ire) “We were pleased but quite nervous for him He started with five horses of ours and now he has 38 in training but he has kept us to five “He's also passionate about breeding have already invested to put horses with him He has the whole family behind him.” The back-to-back G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Doctor Dino typifies the breeding programme honed by the Devins over the years which has enabled them to breed top-class winners on the flat and over jumps Not only is Physiocrate a high-profile representative on the level but he has the promising young hurdlers Sceau Royal (Fr) and Ardina (Fr) ensuring that his name is becoming known in National Hunt breeding circles the Comtesse de Tarragon sent her Turgeon mare Alliance Royale (Fr) the short distance to visit Doctor Dino with the result being the unbeaten bumper winner La Bague Au Roi (Fr) whose last of three wins was in listed mares' race at Huntingdon We're not very commercial,” says Henri Devin “Doctor Dino covered 108 mares last year the premiums are so fantastic that if you breed to race you can go to sires who aren't so commercial but you can still make a profit between the owners' premiums and breeders' premiums.” “When we first got married we always wanted to have our own stallions and we've carried on like that but it's worked out for us and has been good fun.” One stallion who can almost certainly be considered a member of the family having been at Mesnil throughout his lengthy career is the redoubtable G1 Irish St Leger winner Turgeon who is now 30 and is about to embark on his 23rd stud season “He came straight to us from Jonathan Pease on retirement from racing,” says Antonia of the George Strawbridge-bred son of Caro (GB) His son Shannon Rock (Fr) has been second four times in the 'Grand Steeple' so we're hoping that 2016 will be his year.” Henri adds “He must be the oldest stallion still covering Every season I say it will be his last but he still looks really well and he comes out to cover his mares like a 5-year-old.” The Devins profess an equal love for flat and jump racing “We just enjoy competition anywhere – as long as we are in front,” says Henri We only ever spoke about horses at lunchtime and at dinner with my grandmother.” Madame Couturié may have been well regarded in the racing and breeding world for producing high-class racehorses but her legacy also extends to a nurturing role among some of the industry's leading participants Among her 'pupils' at Haras du Mesnil were Henry Cecil Henry Cecil's time there is immortalized by his etching of a horse and jockey in cement at the Chausée stableyard within the Maulepaire grounds “My grandmother was so passionate about the whole business and she loved to have young people around her It really stimulated her and she was so stimulating herself as she discussed everything with them She'd ask them lots of questions in the evening when they came in from work She learned from her pupils as much as they learned from her.” “He worked as the stud groom for a while and then my mother built stables and a track on the property for him to start training,” recalls Henri Dominic Sepulchre now trains from part of the property while a three-mile natural sand track through the farm's dense woods is used to pre-train the homebreds before they go off to their trainers which include Jean-Paul Gallorini and young rising star of the French jumping ranks Completing the stallion line-up at Mesnil is Saonois (Fr) (Chichicastenango {Fr}) who is mischievously introduced by Henri Devin to Darley's Head of Nominations with the words is not dissimilar in looks to Darley's star and as the hero of the 2012 G1 Prix du Jockey-Club with his first yearlings set to appear in French sales rings later this year he will benefit from being mated with members of the Devins' broodmare band and it would be surprising indeed if those homebreds don't help him on his way to wider patronage Madame Couturié stated in her touching tribute to Right Royal who is buried under a willow tree at the stud where he was born and died “I can't help but think that with horses it is the same as with mankind it is the qualities of the heart that count the most.” Luck and sound judgement play their part in any breeding operation but it's plain that the labour of love is also behind many successful generations of Thoroughbreds at Haras du Mesnil Not a subscriber? 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Les avantages et les conditions de cet abonnement, qui vous permettra par ailleurs de soutenir La Tribune de l’Art, sont décrits sur la page d’abonnement Si vous êtes déjà abonné, connectez-vous Rémy Mirleau’s boucherie typifies local France a formerly Communist-run town south-west of Paris Mr Mirleau’s butcher’s shop is known for another quality: as the only non-halal one has provocatively called “territorial apartheid” Yet the town also reveals the complex links between segregation an assertive secular state and the rise of jihadism This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Apartheid Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents George Simion will face Nicusor Dan, a mainstream candidate, in a run-off There are five luxuries it can no longer feasibly afford Friedrich Merz’s career is one of unforced errors and puzzling missteps. But he is serious about Europe Both Donald Trump and Ukraine’s diplomats will consider it a success Powered by Bury Free Press, Suffolk Free Press, Newmarket Journal & Haverhill Echo Powered by Bury Free Press, Suffolk Free Press, Newmarket Journal and Haverhill Echo Home   Newmarket   News   Article Plans are well under way for celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of Newmarket’s twinning links with the French towns of Maisons-Laffitte and Le Mesnil-le- Roi It is the country’s longest continuous association of its kind and Newmarket will be hosting a three-day visit by representatives from the two towns Newmarket Town Council will be hosting a visit from representatives of the two towns starting on May 17 with a reception at the memorial hall where refreshments will include fish and chips There will also be a film about the Newmarket area and its racing and breeding industry The following day there will be a tour of the Jockey Club and an afternoon at the races followed on May 19 by a visit to Cambridge The three-day visit will end with a further reception at the Heath Court Hotel Councillors have also agreed to set aside £2,000 towards sponsorship of a visit by 44 students from Newmarket Academy to Maisons-Laffitte in September who had been to France where she met the mayors of both twinned towns told councillors how much the students were looking forward to the trip and can’t wait to go on the trip,” she said Newmarket’s twinning links were forged back in 1954 and initiated by Barry Lynham then a British resident in Maisons-Laffitte Two years later the Association Les Amis de Newmarket was set up in France to promote the twinning Mr Lynham was president of the Friends of Newmarket from its inception until 1979 when he stepped down and became its honorary president