Rowe On Monday - A French connection, a move for McCullagh and a $2.1 million jump out

In this week’s column, Tim Rowe looks at the global legacy of the Dubois family, highlights a change of scenery for Colum McCullagh and tracks the first public appearance of a Magic Millions sale-topper.  

Dubois Senior still going strong at 84 as next generation set to join training ranks

Whether it’s breeding or training, the Dubois family have a gift when it comes to horses and that holds true both with thoroughbreds or standardbreds.

The generational Dubois family has been able to make their mark in both hemispheres, with Jean Dubois carving out a successful, albeit rather brief, career in the Australian thoroughbred industry.

Dubois’ legendary father Jean-Pierre is an iconic figure of French thoroughbred racing and trotting who remains in the sulky driving winners at the age of 84.

During the opening session of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale in seaside Deauville on Saturday, Dubois Senior scored another big win, selling his Group 1 Prix de Diane winner Sparkling Plenty, a three-year-old daughter of Kingman, for €5 million (A$8.26 million). 

It’s the second time he’s struck sales ring gold in six months with his prized filly.

In June, after a dramatic Goffs London Sale transaction, Dubois sold a 50 per cent share in the Patrice Cottier-trained filly for 5 million pounds to Al Shaqab Racing.

Second time around, this time at Arqana, Sparking Plenty was bought by a syndicate headed by Coolmore’s MV Magnier. It is unclear if Al Shaqab has retained its share in Sparkling Plenty who is destined for the United States and a first season mating with Justify.

“Sparkling Plenty is from a huge family that my grandfather had, well, he still has actually,” Jean-Pierre’s Australia-based grandson Pierre told The Straight. 

“She's from the same family as Stacelita who was a superstar in France and she became a Group 1-producing broodmare in Japan."

France’s champion three-year-old filly in 2009 and America’s champion turf mare in 2011, Stacelita is the dam of three stakes winners including the aforementioned Soul Stirring, a daughter of Frankel who won the Yushin Himba and Juvenile Fillies, both at Grade 1 level.

Pierre Dubois, 26, is the son of Group 2-winning trainer Jean who prepared Siyouni pair Aylmerton and See You Soon during his seven-year career running a stable from the New South Wales Southern Highlands until his retirement in May 2023.

Jean Dubois had 50 winners with a small string of horses in work, headed by 2018 Todman Stakes-winning colt Aylmerton and, two years later, stakes-placed juvenile filly See You Soon.

Pierre, who has worked for leading trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott as well as at Lindsay Park’s Euroa base, was an assistant to his father when See You Soon won a Kirkham Plate as well as placing in a Golden Gift, a Group 2 Reisling Stakes and a Percy Sykes. 

Now an extremely valuable broodmare, See You Soon is already the dam of this season’s Group 1 Flight Stakes-placed three-year-old Snow In May, a daughter of The Autumn Sun who is trained by John O’Shea and Tom Charlton.

The half-sister to this season’s Dubois-bred Listed Gothic Stakes winner Lofty Arch, was exported to Europe in May last year she is due to foal to Lope De Vega in the New Year. 

The mare’s second foal, a sister to Snow In May, was bought by trainer Peter Moody for $200,000 at this year’s Inglis Easter sale.

While Jean Dubois, who was at Arqana to witness Sparkling Plenty go through the ring, is in semi-retirement, Pierre is set to pack up and return to France early in the New Year to launch his own training career and continue his family’s remarkable racing legacy.

“I had a few offers for me to train in France for a few owners, so I'm going to have a go at it,” Pierre revealed.

“You never know, I might be back in Australia in 10 years’ time … but for now I plan to set up near Paris.”

Where exactly Pierre plans to open his stable hasn’t been determined but it could be at Chantilly or at Maisons-Lafitte, a racecourse located in Paris’ western suburbs.

He hopes to have between 10 and 20 horses in work by the time the new French racing season starts in March.

As for his grandfather’s feat at Arqana, and more generally, Pierre marvels at what Jean-Pierre has achieved.

“He's a legend and it's great to see him do that. He's proud as well to be able to achieve such a high level (with Sparkling Plenty),” Pierre says.

“And he’s still training and driving (at the trots). He actually drove a few winners over the (European) summer.”

With Pierre’s rich racing pedigree, he’ll be favoured to make a success of his training venture.

McCullagh joins Trilogy

Irishman Colum McCullagh, a long-time trusted assistant to trainers Peter and Paul Snowden at Randwick, has joined the Trilogy Racing and Blue Gum Farm empire as its racing and bloodstock manager.

Trilogy and Blue Gum Farm, the renowned Victorian stud, are owned by Jason and Mel Stenning and Sean and Cathy Dingwall with the quartet making a major splash in the Australian thoroughbred marketplace over the past three years.

Trilogy has amassed a huge racing and breeding portfolio, including aligning itself with the successful Newgate-China Horse Club colts partnership, as well as racing numerous well-bred fillies.

They also bought the Euroa-based Blue Gum Farm from Philip and Patti Campbell last year.

The recruitment of McCullagh coincides with Trilogy’s move into the syndication space.

“Jason and Melanie and Sean and Cathy have the ambition to continue to grow as leaders in their field and I’m eager to contribute to that vision while working alongside such an experienced, talented and passionate team,” said McCullagh who also worked for another Group 1-winning trainer in Matthew Smith prior to joining the Snowdens.

The diversity and depth of Trilogy’s racing division has been on full display in New Zealand in recent weeks, with $1.3 million Snitzel colt Return To Conquer living up to the hype at Pukekohe last month by winning the Listed Challenge Stakes and Savabeel filly Macaluso who broke her maiden first-up at Trentham at the weekend.

Trained by Andrew Forsman, the three-year-old was a $600,000 purchase by agents Bevan Smith and Andrew Williams from the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale.

Already stakes-placed at two, the JML Bloodstock-bred Macaluso is from the same family as Group 2 winner Members Joy, the dam of Pure Elation and second dam of Listed winner Hip Hip Hurrah.

Avantaggia on track for autumn campaign

Still in New Zealand, Avantaggia - the maiden foal of Te Akau’s champion mare Avantage by Coolmore shuttler Wootton Bassett - had her first jump out at Matamata last Friday.

The Magic Millions sales topper from earlier this year at $2.1 million, the Te Akau-trained Avantaggia remains in work after her lowkey hit out with another jump out pencilled in for December 19.

All going well, Avantaggia is then likely to barrier trial at Matamata on January 14.

“She’s a filly that has kept on improving from her first preparation and has a terrific brain,” Te Akau racing manager Reece Trumper said.

“All the track work riders say how good a brain she’s got and she’s a very quick learner. She’s a lovely filly, very easy going, and I like the way she does everything without any fuss. 

“She has a great constitution, eats like her mother, and there are strong comparisons between the two.

“There is a lot of talk about the progeny of Wootton Bassett in Australia, and he’s been given the best opportunities by Coolmore to make it as a sire in both hemispheres. 

“She was one of four in the jump out. Opie (Bosson) rode her and he was thrilled with what she did. He’s very happy with the way she’s going and he’s ridden her right the way through.”

Avantage has a yearling filly by I Am Invincible who is being offered at next month’s Magic Millions sale by Coolmore.

Wootton Bassett is the sire of the promising West Of Swindon, a juvenile colt who was runner-up in the Golden Gift on debut, as well as the unraced Chris Waller-trained Wodeton.

Both colts are high up in early betting for the Golden Slipper. 

Wootton Bassett’s first Australian crop averaged $392,000 at Australia’s yearling sales earlier this year.