It’s a fascinating spin-off to the Flat Season, with international sportspeople bringing their colors to the big race victories and, less than a month after former NBA star Tony Parker won the honor. France’s 1,000 Guineas with Mangoustine (Fr) (Angel of Darkness {Ire }), Atlético Madrid and France international striker Antoine Griezmann have secured victory in the German equivalent with Txope (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}).
Coached by Philippe Decouz, Txope, the nickname Griezmann gave to his wife, delivered a convincing win for the World Cup-winning footballer at Dusseldorf racecourse on Sunday.
Txope was knocked down by agent Laurent Benoit, who revealed that Griezmann was delighted with the win, and shared how the seeds for Sunday’s success were sown in 2012.
Benoit said, “I needed to try to write a long story short because I bought Txope’s dam, Power Of The Moon (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) as a pony back in 2012, so I that’s where the story begins. We purchased the mare on behalf of Gerry Ryan, owner of the Melbourne Cup Americain winner, and Puissance de Lune (Ire) (Shamardal), a very fine horse in Australia.
“He asked me to buy him a car to race back in 2012 and I was looking for something sharp and something quality. I bought Power Of The Moon. I’d love to buy a shark with Linamix (Fr) as my broodstock and am also happy to have bought her in the Norelands. “
He added, “Gerry had had fun with Power Of The Moon during her racing career but decided to sell her when it was over. She went to the stables and I actually bought her own twice after that, so I bought this mare three times! I bought her more recently on behalf of Thierry Gillier who is a famous fashion mogul, and thought she would be a perfect fit. Siyouni (FR) with an Exclamation Mark. She went four years in a row to Siyouni and they kept the first two fillings”.
Txope was the first outside of Power Of The Moon to be put up for public auction, and Benoit, who at the time had just started scouting stock for Griezmann, thought she would make the perfect fit for the client. his new and went to €310,000 to secure the deal at Arqana in 2020.
“It was around that time that I started working for Antoine, through racehorse trainer Philippe Decouz, and we were looking for something sharp,” he says. Honestly, she’s very easy to pick up for them because she’s a very good looking chubby person.
“She is a bit on the small side but that comes from the female gland. Stayed by Siyouni, we think it’s a very safe bet and so far so good. She won him 1000 German Guineas in good style and it was a great result. ”
Griezmann is part of France’s squad against Croatia on Monday night and, according to Benoit, has yet to find time to celebrate Txope’s success due to a packed schedule.
He said, “Antoine has been busy and will play tonight [Monday] for France so he didn’t have much time to celebrate the victory but he did watch the race live. He is very happy and it is a passion that he shares with his father, Alain.
“It’s great for the game to have people like Antoine in, especially when they’ve had some huge hits. I mean, we can’t hope for more than that.”
Regarding future plans, Benoit added, “Antoine already has a few mares and would be happy to keep a few good ones for crossbreeding. He has 12 horses in training and is hoping to have some interesting 2-year-olds coming to him.
“Txope has a full brother who is going to shop in August. Power Of The Moon also has a sick pony Hello Youmzain (Fr) at its feet and a pony to the Palace Pier (GB). And, not only that, just to make the link, Puissance de Lune translates to Power Of The Moon, so it’s a good story to tell. ”
