Francis Graffard

DEAUVILLE, France-Six months after doing the Hokey Cokey at the Goffs London Sale, Prix de Diane winner Sparkling Plenty (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) found another new owner when Coolmore and Michel Zerolo of Oceanic Bloodstock went to €5 million to secure the top-notcher on behalf of "a new partnership" on the opening day of the December Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana.  Few will forget the drama that unfolded with Sparkling Plenty earlier this summer. Scarcely has there ever been a greater form update, with the Patrice Cottier-trained filly winning the Diane...

When Vertical Blue (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac she led home a one-two for her trainer Francis Graffard as she pipped the Aga Khan Studs' Zarigana (GB) (Siyouni {Ire}) on the line.  The runner-up, who went into the race unbeaten, including a victory in the G3 Prix d'Aumale, had started odds-on favourite with Vertical Blue as one of the outsiders of the field, but the latter's success came as no surprise to Graffard, who had held her in high regard from the outset.  "She's a big...

It's not easy to write a column while watching the Olympics, especially as Britain attempts to out-battle France for eventing gold at the Palace of Versailles, but here goes. It was France which had the upper hand at Ascot on Saturday or, correctly speaking, Francis-Henri Graffard, whose return from Chantilly to the Berkshire track with the rampaging Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) should have been eye-popping enough to ensure that his runners are never again sent off at such generous odds in Britain. We can now savour the prospect of once...

One of the quickest juveniles out of the blocks in Europe this season has been The Fixer (Ire), who is trained in Chantilly by Francis Graffard and is now en route for Royal Ascot. Whether or not the young son of No Nay Never appears there in the same colours in which he won Sunday's Listed Prix La Flèche remains to be seen, however, as he will first go under the hammer at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of the royal meeting. The Fixer is out of the...

G1 Melbourne Cup heroine Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) will run in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot on Oct. 15, trainer Francis-Henri Graffard revealed on Tuesday. She will be part of a two-pronged attack in that race for the trainer on QIPCO British Champions Day alongside G1 Prix Vermeille winner Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). Unplaced in the G1 Prix Jean Romanet to start her European campaign, the 11-time Group 1 winne ran third in the G2 Prix Foy, and was most...

Australian super mare Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) will miss Tuesday's G1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville and will be aimed instead at the G1 Prix Jean Romanet over 2,000 metres later in the month. In a statement on Twitter on Friday morning, her trainer Francis Graffard said, "Following her last bit of serious work yesterday we have decided not to declare Verry Elleegant for the G1 Prix Rothschild on Tuesday, 2 August. She is telling us that she needs a bit more time and, having discussed it with her owners,...

With Britain en fete in the midst of the Platinum Jubilee festivities, the Oaks and Derby fell slap-bang in the middle of a four-day bank holiday and, despite the absence of Her Majesty the Queen at Epsom, the meeting still offered much cause for celebration. Sir Michael Stoute is never one to blow his own horn, though he is often heard humming on Newmarket Heath while watching his horses work. And as one of British racing's senior trainers, on the royal roster to boot, he was a most fitting winning...

DEAUVILLE, France--Deliverance came a day early for Katie McGivern at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale as lot 64, a Sioux Nation filly and lot 66, a filly by Siyouni (Fr), finished in the top five fastest times overall in the session. It was McGivern's fillies, the only two that she brought to one of the premier breeze-up sales in Europe, who emerged from the cavalry of 130 juveniles as being up there with the fastest on show. McGivern stuck her neck out in going to €68,000 for the Siyouni filly out...

G1 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) will join Francis Graffard in France with a view towards targeting the major races in Europe this season, the connections of the Australian ace have announced. An 11-time Group 1 winner, Verry Elleegant has netted her connections over £8 million and was described by Chris Waller, the man who managed her glittering career in Australia, as an "honour" to be associated with. The statement from the ownership group was released on Thursday, and it read, "Being part of a champion racehorse...

It wouldn't be Craven week without a brisk wind blasting across Newmarket Heath, but for those of you considering spending afternoons paddock-side perusing the physical merits of some of this year's Classic contenders, the encouraging news is that the temperature is rising in East Anglia this week, along with the quality of action on the turf. France and Ireland are ahead of Britain on the Classic trials front, and there is plenty to reflect upon in that regard, but a brief look ahead to the Newmarket and Newbury trials this...

G1 Champion S. winner Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), whose trainer Cedric Rossi was indicted by French police last week for equine doping and fraud, will join trainer Francis Graffard. Sealiway is among 200 horses on their way to new yards after Rossi and family members Charley and Frederic Rossi and Jessica Marcialis, as well as a stable manager and veterinarian, were forbidden by police to participate in racing or be on the grounds of a racetrack or training centre during the indictment, which could last as long as a year....

Chantilly on Sunday is the place to be, with the customary high fashion and regalia accompanying a fascinating card featuring the G1 Prix de Diane Longines. As usual, Andre Fabre is the first port of call and it seems at present that his unbeaten Burgarita (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) could be the one to start favourite in a wide-open edition, having impressed with two performances at ParisLongchamp. In the first, Ecurie Ama Zingteam's relative of the 2001 Diane heroine Aquarelliste (Fr) (Danehill) beat the re-opposing Khalidiya (Fr) (Oasis Dream...