Irish stallion Montjeu became the first son of the great Irish stallion Sadler's Wells to reach the 100 mark by number of stakes winners when his 3-year-old son Pour Moi won the Prix Greffulhe (Fr-II) May 7. A dozen years ago Montjeu won the Prix Greffulhe as a prep for the Emirates Airlines Prix du Jockey-Club (Fr-I, the French Derby), which he won.
Pour Moi, an Irish-bred, races for Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, and Sue Magnier, whose husband, John Magnier, is managing partner of Coolmore Stud in Ireland, which is where Montjeu stands.
Pour Moi was one of three stakes winners during a three-day period for Montjeu, an English, Irish, French, and European champion and a Cartier Award winner. On May 6, Montjeu’s champion son, St Nicholas Abbey, captured the Boodles Diamond Ormonde Stakes (Eng-III) for Smith, Tabor, and Sue Magnier. An Irish-bred, St Nicholas Abbey was champion 2-year-old male in England and Ireland in 2009.
On May 8 another of Montjeu’s 3-year-old colts, Recital, won the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Stakes (Ire-II) for Magnier, Smith, Tabor, and Eduard Mordukhovitch. French-bred Recital was a French group I winner last year, capturing the Criterium de Saint-Cloud.
Montjeu has a dozen stakes winners this year, including Irish-bred Joshua Tree, who won the Qatar International Invitation Cup (UAE-IT) in February.
Montjeu, who is out of the Top Ville mare Floripedes, has 224 stakes winners to go before he reaches Sadler’s Wells’ total of 324. Sadler’s Wells died April 26.
