His brother bred 2024 G1 winner Dubai Honour and his father two Arc winners for the de Moussac family. Henri Bozo is the finest example of the ‘bloodstocracy’, the bloodstock elite that has emerged with the rise of commercial breeding over recent years, while the traditional owner-breeders have started to decline.
Data analysts will tell you Ecurie des Monceaux is, among big consignors, the one with the highest percentage of Stakes winners per yearlings sold and, every year, at least 25% of the Arqana August Sale turnover is made by Monceaux- bred and -consigned yearlings.
It all began with funds which were substantial but far from unlimited. The Monceaux foundation mares had to be exceptionally well-bought. Winner of one modest race, Platonic was bought for 100,000gns. “We clearly had less funding in those days,” says Bozo, “so we focused on conformation, movement and dam lines.”
Platonic is ancestress of six G1 horses, and counting, led by Irish Oaks winner Chicquita, and Classic-placed fillies Philomene by Dubawi and Night Of Thunder’s Vespertilio. The €1m Night Of Thunder filly Monceaux sold at Arqana this summer, her sire’s first seven- figure sale, is her great-grand- daughter.
The second Monceaux blue hen, Starlet’s Sister, was sourced for a lot less. Go for a drink in Chantilly and you’ll likely meet numerous riders who will all tell you she was useless. Bozo, however, took the advice of her trainer Alain de Royer-Dupré who said she had more quality than her poor race record revealed. Four of her offspring are G1 horses, led of course by the Arc winner Sottsass.
By an irony of history, a maiden mare in 2024 with the profile of Platonic or Starlet’s Sister would probably not be good enough to join the Monceaux herd. Monceaux is a commercial stud focused on Classic types: only two of the 31 G1 victories of Monceaux have been over a shorter trip than a mile. The likes of Paddington, Sistercharlie, Charm Spirit and of course Sottsass, all won at least three G1s. They all have visible stamina influences in their pedigree. “It’s part of our success,” says Bozo. “The racing programme offers lots of opportunities for horses who can compete at Classic distances. I am comfortable breeding middle-distance horses, even if you have to bring in speed at some stage.”
Owned in partnership, Monceaux’s Ramatuelle, winner of the G1 Prix de la Forêt, is just the sort of mare who can promise even greater success in the future. She was sourced as a yearling for even less than Platonic 18 years before, and for almost half the average price of her sales session at Arqana.
“I always keep in mind sometimes you have to try your chance with something that is not obvious,” says the ever-youthful Bozo. “I don’t believe in genius when it’s about breeding. I believe in horsemanship, dedication and consistency in your work. André Fabre once told me, you have to set a guideline and stick to it. I don’t want more mares but mares with an even better profile. Selective breeding is not about revolutions, it’s chasing details and constant effort.”
Bozo’s pursuit of extreme quality inevitably led him to Dubawi. All the Platonic family really works with Dubawi, and he’s the sire of other Monceaux stars, G1 Ancient Wisdom and the classy Arabian Crown, bred by his client Guy Heald.
“I have the feeling that Dubawi brings a broad chest, some speed and rusticity to more delicate Classic families. Night Of Thunder seems to do that very well, too.” Since 2020, Monceaux has consigned 31 Darley-sired yearlings: 24 of them have made at least €200,000.
Bozo is not short of projects and ambitions: “I believe in providing yearlings with fresh land, never grazed by horses and we keep on buying some. A decade ago, I was thinking about having a satellite breeding operation in America, but now it’s more probably going to be horses in training; we’ve had great success over there in the past. And I recently travelled to Japan for the first time and was nothing but impressed. I am thinking about sending a couple of mares to get covered there...”
