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ucation, his men at Cauvinière told Augus- tin-Normand that they could only give Le Havre the momentum he needed if they provided it themselves. Of the 93 mares he covered in his first crop, 41 had duly been acquired for the farm. That kind of investment is not for the faint-hearted. Quite apart from private sales – such as a Mark of Esteem mare named Puggy – Vidal's account at the 2009 December breeding stock sales weighed in at 850,000gns (Tattersalls) plus €1.67 million (Arqana). But Alex argues that leaving a rookie stallion's book to the market can be a false economy; that re- taining a stake in his stock enables you to control the quality of trainers. And that, in turn, is another reason why Le Havre's owners – in contrast to most French studs, but again in accordance with Coolmore practice – also support their clients at the yearling sales. If they can corral the stal- lion's stock into the hands of Jean-Claude Rouget, say, or Pia Brandt or Pascal Bary, then they know they are giving him every chance. Puggy was a case in point. Her 2011 filly was bought as a yearling by Rouget – Le Havre's trainer, of course – for Augus- tin-Normand and Antonio Caro for just €45,000. They named her Avenir Certain: the "future", they insisted, was "certain". M eanwhile young de Chambure, likewise, needed mares to support a new stallion: Wootton Bassett, who was due to start off at Etreham in 2012 at an initial fee of €6,000. At the Arqana De- cember Sale in 2011 he managed to ac- quire Darkova, an unraced 3-year-old by Maria's Mon, out of the Aga Khan's draft for just €16,000. "She was early in the sale, and I suppose people were maybe not too WOOTTON BASSETT 28

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