'The Queen's Face Lit Up' With Mention of Recorder

Two things have shone through in all the tributes paid to the late Queen Elizabeth II by the racing and breeding community: her deep knowledge of the subject and how approachable she was when the French industry has taken immense pride in the fact that the Queen and her adviser John Warren chose to stand 2015 Acomb Stakes winner Recorder  at Montfort et Preaux, now part of Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe operation.

Recorder has two crops of racing age and his best performer to date is Finn Blichfeldt's listed-winning filly Hot Queen —also his maiden success on the track as a sire—while he has produced 26 individual winners from 105 runners, conceived at a fee of €6,000.

While it is still early days in his stallion career, the son of Galileo  has already given the Montfort et Preaux team of Mathieu Alex and Sylvain Vidal some unforgettable experiences, including one that Alex describes as "the equivalent of having a group 1 winner."

Alex said: "We were invited to meet the Queen during the royal meeting in June after his first season standing with us.

"We had the protocol explained to us and then went up at tea time to a large room with perhaps 30 people, including William Haggas, Sir Michael Stoute, and many of her other trainers, while the Queen was seated at a table.

"She stood up—everyone did—and then John Warren said: 'Mathieu, come with me.' "

Sitting in a quiet corner of the Arqana Sales complex, Alex's eyes widened as he describes a most improbable encounter.

Alex said: "The Queen left the room, followed by John Warren and then Sylvain and I.

"The four of us went off to a small side room. We had prepared a book with photos of the horse and also the farm, which we presented her with.

"I saw an interview on French television with someone who described a meeting with the Queen and he expressed exactly what I felt on this occasion.

"There was a lot of protocol and formality in the larger group. But the moment we were in that smaller room, and we mentioned the name of Recorder and gave her the book, her face lit up and it was like I was talking with my grandmother.

"Of course, she knew the horse's pedigree inside out and we spoke about his dam and his second dam. But there was a real simplicity to the conversation.

"She told us about his breaking and even how he was named. Very quickly I forgot I was speaking to the Queen, she was just a person who shared the same passion for horses."

One of the secrets to the Queen's success in talking to people from so many different walks of life may have been just how well-traveled she was over the 70 years of her reign.

Alex said: "We spoke about the horse and about Normandy and about the area where the farm is, and when Sylvain and I left the Royal Box we both had a feeling like we had just won a group 1. It was a magical moment."

Alex paid tribute to the work of David Somers at the Royal Studs, to Warren, and also the man who made the original suggestion.

Recalling how the deal was struck, Alex says: "John Warren talked with Richard Venn, who brought up Haras de Montfort et Preaux. After that, we spoke with John Warren. We loved the idea of bringing over a son of Galileo, and John knew us, having regularly sent horses to Le Havre, so I think he had a good feeling about us and it was decided that it would be a good idea to work together.

"In the months that followed, we went to see the horse. We knew that Recorder was a horse the Queen adored and I think the fact that he was homebred meant she savored him all the more. It's a wonderful story."

Sumbe purchased Haras de Montfort et Preaux in November 2019, with Alex staying on as a consultant, though recently he set out on his own account.

Recorder's future as a stallion will be guided by Bizakov's main lieutenant, Tony Fry.

Fry believes there is still better to come from Recorder, especially as trainers have begun to appreciate the progeny of a horse whose trainer, Haggas, considered a Guineas runner and a Derby prospect before injury intervened.

Fry added: "Recorder is a lovely horse to deal with, he's always been well received, and it's nice to be able to have a horse like him on the farm that offers an opportunity to people at that level (his fee in 2022 was €4,000).

"He has thrown nice, correct foals, whatever has been sent to him. As a physical horse, he's doing the right thing."