Mon Fils (1970–1979) was a British
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
and
sire
Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French.
The words "sire" a ...
, best known for winning the
classic 2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...
in 1973. As a two-year-old, Mon Fils won two of his seven races including the
Mill Reef Stakes
The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled ...
. In 1973 he won the 2000 Guineas on soft ground, but ran poorly when strongly fancied for
The Derby. His racing career was ended by injury in the autumn of 1973 and he was retired to stud, where he made no impact as a sire of winners. He was the first classic winner to be trained by
Richard Hannon Sr.
Background
Mon Fils was a big, tall brown horse with a small white
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
and a white
coronet on his left hind foot, bred by his owner Mrs Brenda Davis. He was sired by Sheshoon, an outstanding stayer who won the
Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud
The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is sc ...
and the
Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...
in 1960. As a breeding stallion his overall record was disappointing but he did sire the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner
Sassafras. Mon Fils' dam Now What also produced the
Prix Messidor
The Prix Messidor is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled t ...
winner Son of Silver and was a granddaughter of Nonats, a broodmare whose other descendants included the leading sprinter Silly Season and the
Irish 1,000 Guineas
The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...
winner Saoire.
The colt was sent into training with the twenty-seven-year-old
Richard Hannon Sr. at his stables at
East Everleigh
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
.
Racing career
1972: two-year-old season
Mon Fils was highly tried as a two-year-old in 1972, running seven times and winning twice. He won the Warminster Stakes at
Salisbury Racecourse
Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October.
History
Racing at t ...
and recorded his most important win of the year when taking the inaugural running of the
Mill Reef Stakes
The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled ...
over six
furlongs at
Newbury Racecourse by a head from
Tudenham
Tudenham (21 February 1970 – after 1991) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed his best form as a two-year-old in 1972 when he finished second in the Mill Reef Stakes before recording the only win ...
. He also finished second in the Chesham Stakes at
Royal Ascot
Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...
. In his final race of the season he was tried over one mile in the
Observer Gold Cup
The Vertem Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), ...
in which he finished unplaced behind Noble Decree. In the Free Handicap, a rating of the year's best two-year-olds, he was assigned a weight of 116
pounds, fourteen pounds behind the top-rated Noble Decree.
1973: three-year-old season
On his three-year-old debut, Mon Fils ran in the
Greenham Stakes at Newbury, in which he finished third to
Boldboy
Boldboy (1970 – September 1998) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He raced for eight seasons in the 1970s and was one of the most popular and successful racehorses of his era. As a two-year-old he showed ability, ...
(who as a
gelding
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...
, was not eligible for the
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
) and the
Dewhurst Stakes winner Lunchtime.
On 5 May, Mon Fils was one of eighteen colts to contest the 175th running of the 2000 Guineas over Newmarket's Rowley Mile course. On rain-softened ground he started a 50/1 outsider and was ridden by the forty-six-year-old veteran Frankie Durr.
Mon Fils led from the start and although briefly overtaken by
Noble Decree, he rallied inside the final furlong to regain the lead and win by a head.
Mon Fils was then moved up in distance to contest the
Derby Stakes
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey on ...
over one and a half miles at
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs.
The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...
. He was strongly fancied for the race,
but struggled to cope with the firm ground and the distance, finishing eighteenth of the twenty-five runners behind
Morston
Morston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of and had a population of 86 in 42 households at the 2001 census. The population remained less than 100 at the 2011 Census and was included in the civ ...
. After his defeat at Epsom, Mon Fils was sent to be trained in Ireland by
Vincent O'Brien. He developed tendon trouble and did not race again.
Assessment
In their book ''A Century of Champions'', based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Mon Fils an "inferior" winner of the 2000 Guineas.
Stud record
Mon Fils was retired to the Hamilton Stud at
Newmarket and was exported to France in 1975. He had little impact as breeding stallion in either location. His last recorded foals were born in 1978 and he was reported dead in 1979.
Pedigree
* Mon Fils was
inbred 2 × 3 to Precipitation, meaning that this stallion appears in both the second and third generations of his pedigree. He was also inbred 4 × 4 to Fair Trial.
References
{{2000 Guineas Winners
1970 racehorse births
1979 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 1-g
Godolphin Arabian sire line
2000 Guineas winners