Hipodromos y caballos - Racetracks and horses BloodStockReview2013 | Page 16

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THE TRE VE STORY

long if they’re not doing well, you have to
try to bring in fresh blood.
“I’m not saying we’ll be as successful
as he has been, but we’ll try to do the best
we can.”
Treve, conceived in 2009 – the year
Head senior bowed out – certainly
provided the most fitting of tributes for a
man who, alongside his family, won the
Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit
in 1998, commemorating a lifetime of
success as an owner/breeder/trainer.
It was in their first year flying solo that
Head-Maarek and Freddy sent Trevise, the
dam of Treve who was trained by Freddy
to beat none other than Six Perfections
when winning her first start, to the stud’s
own Mr Sidney to produce Trophee.
“Trophee was second in a very nice
race, taking on winners and
Group-placed horses,” says Head-Maarek.
“I did something I don’t normally do, but
I wanted to know her capacity so I went
from a fifth place in a [mile] maiden first
time out to a conditions race. The distance
was a little shorter [7f ] and I think she’ll
be better over shorter. Thierry Jarnet didn’t
give her a hard race that day; if he had,
maybe she could have won.”
It is hardly surprising Head-Maarek
should be keen to test the potential of a
sibling to the world’s joint highest-rated
runner (Europe’s darling sharing honours
with her antipodean counterpart, Black
Caviar), but she admits she took things a
lot slower with the great horse herself.
“I thought a lot of Treve when she
was two but I didn’t race her until that
September because she wasn’t finished,”
says Head-Maarek. “She was still growing
and didn’t look right in her coat, so I took
my time with her.
“When she raced at Longchamp first
time out I said, ‘Papa, we have something
nice for next year’, and we entered her
in all the main races – except the Arc
because that is later – but she was in the
Saint-Alary, Poule d’Essai des Pouliches,
all the good races. However, at the
beginning of the year she was still not
coming right, she was still very backward,
so I decided to bypass the French Guineas
and Saint-Alary, but it didn’t matter
because I thought she was a good filly.”

Alec Head (centre right), breeder of Treve, is congratulated after the filly’s Arc victory by Louis Romanet

Then, like in every good fairytale,
disaster struck.
“One day my blacksmith put a nail in
her foot, which stopped her racing,” says
Head-Maarek, whose perpetually upbeat
attitude mixes with a hint of stoicism
when she adds: “But these things happen,
it was nobody’s fault – and maybe it was
a good thing because I had to wait, so she
became very fresh compared to horses
who had already had a lot of racing.”
The tale of Treve’s supplementary
entry into the Arc – a leap of faith that
paid off in spectacular fashion – is
well documented, as is the next chapter,
which will see her aimed at the Prix
Ganay before a trip to Royal Ascot for the
Prince of Wales’s Stakes en route to the
defence of her Arc title.
But for her siblings, the future is still

Sheikh ‘is very good
for French racing’
‘‘Sheikh Joaan is very good for French racing and he’s a
charming man. He’s very easy to deal with and it was
very good of him to let me continue training Treve
– he could have easily sent her to another yard,’’ says
Head-Maarek of Treve’s new owner.
‘‘He let me do exactly what I wanted with her, the
only thing he imposed on me was Frankie [Dettori],
and that was normal because he had a retainer – and
with Frankie it’s no problem!
‘‘I hope Sheikh Joaan will send me some yearlings,
he’s bought a few nice ones. I’d be very pleased if he’d
send me some.
‘‘The stud will have some competition from
Haras de Bouquetot [Sheikh Joaan’s new stud, home
of Style Vendome and Planteur], but that’s good, it
makes us move – and it’s not just from there we’ll have
competition!’’

more of an open book – never more so
than in the case of her unborn brother or
sister.
“Trevise has a yearling filly by Fuisse
who’s coming into training next week,
then she was empty, and now she’s in foal
to Motivator,” says Head-Maarek.
Treve has been a better advert for
Motivator than anyone could have
possibly hoped, yet the Head family were
aware of his potential long before their
star filly set foot on the turf.
“We always loved Motivator,” says
Head-Maarek. “Papa bought shares in
him when he went to stud. We used
him every year and every year we had
something nice.
“When we knew things were going
only so-so for the stallion, we called John
Warren and asked if we could bring him
back to Quesnay. He covered 135 mares
and he’s full for next year, even though we
raised the price.”
After this y