 The First Classic Winner
Ragmar after he had won the French Derby from Polaris Flight and Le
Destin
[ At Stud ] [ Pictures ]
Ragmar - rags to riches
One example of Tropular's success came at Chantilly, France, on 2nd June
1996. On that date his son Ragmar repelled the determined challenges of Polaris Flight and
Le Destin to win France's premier race for three year old colts, the Prix du Jockey Club.
In doing so Ragmar became Tropular's first classic winner and the second winner of the
Prix du Jockey Club in three years for his owner Jean-Louis Bouchard and trainer Pascal
Bary, following Celtic Arms in 1994.
Many writers drew further parallels between Ragmar's victory and that of
Celtic Arms, not least the fact that both of them were by 'unfashionable' sires, and both
were bought by Bouchard after showing promise as two-year-olds. M. Bouchard and M. Bary
were also no strangers to the Sandor family and to the progeny of Tropular, having bought Guislaine from her breeders in 1991. She went on
to be placed in both fillies' classics at three years and certainly seems to have alerted
M. Bouchard and his bloodstock agent Gerard Larrieu to the potential of Tropular as a
sire. In fact M. Larrieu's father now stands the stallion at his Haras de Mauhourat in the
South-West of France.
Unfortunately Ragmar was able to race only once after the Prix du
Jockey-Club, in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud where he ran below par. It can only be
surmised that he suffered a permanent injury or problem in that race because at the end of
1996 his retirement to stud at the Sandors' Haras de Saint-Gatien, where he was bred and
his sire had originally stood, was announced. With the current fashion for the Northern Dancer and Raise A Native lines which Ragmar lacks unfortunately breeders did not send him many mares in his first season. He was then moved to the French National Stallion Station at Cluny, where he has been covering non-thoroughbred jump-bred mares. It seems that this is the normal fate for middle-distance winning stallions with non-fashionable bloodlines in Europe today, and Ragmar follows the likes of Hours After, Teenoso and Henbit who ended up as pure jumps sires even before they had had several unsuccessful crops to race on the flat.
| Age |
R |
W |
2 |
3 |
Comments |
| 2yo |
2 |
0 |
2(1) |
0 |
Second in Grand Criterium Gr. 1 |
| 3yo |
3 |
2(2) |
0 |
0 |
Also won Prix Greffuhle Gr. 2 |
| Total |
5 |
2(2) |
2(1) |
0 |
|
Numbers in brackets refer to stakes races
|
