RATHER than stick their heads in the sand, it appears that more and more Irish breeders and stallion masters are choosing to embrace the best of the French National Hunt breeding systems. One who has done so is Paul Cashman at Glenview Stud, part of the Rathbarry group.

Last year he acquired the exciting French jumps stallion Jeu St Eloi for the 2024 covering season, and after his second season there the sire has shown how popular he is with some 350 mares covered already. His large selection of foals on offer at Tattersalls Ireland this week resulted in 40 selling for almost €940,000, including the best filly on offer who realised €85,000.

On the weekend before the sale started, his name was prominent on the racing front, thanks to the Paul Nicholls-trained Blueking D’Oroux capturing, on his second start over the larger obstacles, the Grade 2 Rising Stars Novices’ Chase at Wincanton. The six-year-old has five wins over hurdles. He won and placed in the Grade 2 Ascot Hurdle, and also won Sandown Park’s Grade 2 Select Hurdle.

Outstanding

A 14-year-old son of the outstanding Saint Des Saints (Cadoudal), Jeu St Eloi has done well with his French-conceived crops, and his outstanding winner to date has been the French Grade 3 hurdle winner Kargese, who then joined Willie Mullins. That five-year-old mare chalked up her first Grade 1 win in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown, added the Champion Juvenile Hurdle at Punchestown, and this year was successful in the Grade 3 County Hurdle in Cheltenham.

A year earlier, Kargese was second in the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle at Prestbury Park, occupied the same position in the Grade 1 Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree, before ending her season with a third-place finish behind State Man and Golden Ace in the Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Hurdle.

Eleven blacktype winners already is a great start, and other Grade 2 winners for Jeu St Eloi are Krokodile Dundee in Italy, while closer to home we have the Henry de Bromhead-trained Nara. She won a listed hurdle race at Auteuil before coming to Ireland.

Imposing

Standing 16.3 hands, the imposing Jeu St Eloi, who was placed on four of his six starts over jumps, is a half-brother to dual Grade 1 winning chaser Oculi (Denham Red), and to the dams of blacktype winners over jumps. They include Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 Prix La Haye Jousselin Chase third Argentique (Saint Des Saints).

From the immediate family of leading French sire Balko (Pistolet Bleu), sire of 150-plus rated runners Balko Des Flos, Vision Des Flos, Fago, Gitane Du Berlais and Le Patron, Jeu St Eloi offers Irish breeders a fantastic outcross, as well as a chance to access the exceptional sire line of champion French sire Saint Des Saints and the hugely influential Cadoudal (Green Dancer).

Now, we just have to get everyone, including auctioneers, to pronounce the stallion’s name correctly. I am included in that list. The pronunciation is ‘zhuh sant el-wah’, or will he be familiarly known as JSE?

Blueking D’Oroux

Finally, what of the family of Blueking D’Oroux himself? He has won some £250,000 since joining Paul Nicholls, and it was little surprise when Tom Malone and Nicholls, in the days when they operated at the sales as a team, gave €155,000 at last year’s Goffs Arkle Sale for the gelding’s then three-year-old half-brother, the unraced Blackswan D’Oroux (Tunis). He is the fourth produce of Belle Du Bresil, and she is by yet another Glenview/Rathbarry sire, Blue Bresil (Smadoun).

Belle Du Bresil had one foal prior to Blueking D’Oroux. He is Path D’Oroux (Coastal Path), a point-to-point winner for Michael Goff after being bought in a private sale for £12,000 in Doncaster, and he resold to Gavin Cromwell after that for £105,000 at Cheltenham.

Since joining Cromwell, Path D’Oroux has won four times – a bumper, two hurdle races and a chase – and has put in some very fine placed efforts, including at Fairyhouse, Aintree and the Cheltenham Festival. Two days after Blueking D’Oroux’s latest win, Path D’Oroux travelled to Carlisle for his seasonal reappearance where he picked up more than £6,000 for finishing third in a graduation chase.

Belle Du Bresil

Next to race for Belle Du Bresil will be her two-year-old son, Blueberry D’Oroux (Nirvana Du Berlais). Belle Du Bresil is the first foal for Eolia (Lando). She has four offspring, and her only other runner has shown nothing in six starts in England. Blueking D’Oroux’s third dam was a useful racemare, the listed-placed Eubea (Anabaa). Her record as a broodmare leaves a lot to desire. All but one of her eight foals raced, and she had a single winner.

Back in the fourth remove of the family and two smart runners pop up, one more familiar than the other. Petite Parisienne (Montmartre) twice won at Grade 1 level for Willie Mullins, the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown, followed by the Champion 4YO Hurdle at Punchestown. Just a week ago, the five-year-old gelding Woodchuck (Birchwood) won another Group 2 in Italy, his second at that level.