Nurlan Bizakov has grand ambitions for his newly purchased French stud

Nurlan Bizakov has just applied the finishing touches to Hesmonds Stud in East Sussex, which he bought from Peter Goulandris in 2010, by installing state of the art pre-training facilities. As a new decade dawns, he is sinking his teeth into a fresh project, having struck a deal with Sylvain Vidal to purchase the successful Haras de Montfort et Preaux in Normandy from him.

Plans now call for the British and French arms of Bizakov's breeding empire to integrate with one another and to grow the business at Montfort et Preaux, which was formerly known as Haras de la Cauviniere and found fame as the home of rags to riches sire Le Havre, with the longer-term aims of buying more land and acquiring another stallion.

Bizakov and Hesmonds Stud manager Tony Fry attended the breeding-stock sales on either side of the Channel last month with Vidal, who remains on board as consultant, and Montfort et Preaux manager Mathieu Alex. The entente cordiale were on the search for new stock and to meet the French stud's existing clients.

“I first visited Montfort et Preaux a few years ago when I bought a share in Le Havre, and met Sylvain and Mathieu then,” says Bizakov, a Kazakhstan-born businessman who weighs his words carefully and utters them softly.

“I was impressed by them and the excellent job they'd done with Le Havre, so when I heard the farm might be on the market I approached Sylvain and things happened quite quickly after that.

“Hopefully this will be a big adventure for all of us; the farm is excellent but one of the most important things for me is the people who run it and so I'm glad Mathieu and Sylvain are staying on board. We'll embark on this trip together.”

Bizakov, who is dutifully taking French lessons, says the plan in the next year or so is simply to maintain business as usual at Montfort et Preaux – “but they will have to take some of my mares,” he adds while nodding at Vidal with a self-deprecating smile.

“We'll try to improve the facilities and maybe buy extra land in France in time, but the main thing is to keep things as they are: to look after the clients and continue to build the stallions, who I'm delighted are both staying,” he continues.

“We'll be on the lookout for more stallions too. Since we agreed everything in the summer we worked hard on it and got very close to securing one but just missed out. Even without him though, I'm delighted we have an established stallion in Le Havre and a young name in Recorder, who could be the next big thing.”

Le Havre, a Prix du Jockey Club winner who is syndicated with 50 per cent belonging to his racing owner Gerard Augustin-Normand, started his stallion career at a fee of €5,000 but thanks to strong support from his connections rose to become a leading light of the French ranks with 33 stakes winners to his name, including the dual Classic heroines Avenir Certain and La Cressonniere.

Le Havre: rags to riches stallion has 33 stakes winners to his nameCredit: Montfort et Preaux

Recorder, an exceptionally good-looking Acomb Stakes winner by Galileo, is stood on behalf of his owner and breeder the Queen and has his first yearlings go to the sales this year.

“Looking back just ten years ago, you wouldn't have found all these top established stallions in France like Le Havre, Siyouni and Wootton Bassett; they were really struggling,” says Bizakov. “You'd never have believed so many British and Irish mares would travel to Normandy to be covered by French stallions.”

Of course, a more rational reward programme for owners and breeders underwritten by the premiums system has lured many people to France, especially when British prize-money levels are so poor, and Bizakov says that it indeed played its part in his decision to expand into Normandy.

“French premiums are a big advantage,” he affirms. “All my foals from this year onward will be eligible for them; they're important as prize-money in France is so much better than in Britain, and maybe the racing below Group 1 level is that bit less competitive at the moment.”

For all that, Bizakov stresses he is not turning his back on Britain. Indeed, he must rank as one of the country's most enthusiastic and dedicated blue-chip owners, following his charges even to some of the less glamorous tracks to cheer them home.

He has also just employed the services of champion trainer John Gosden and says winning a Group 1 race with a homebred in Britain remains the dream, with only the Arc ranking higher in his ambitions. Perhaps Francis-Henri Graffard, another new addition to his roster of trainers for 2020, can achieve that for him.

The sale of Montfort et Preaux brings to an end a life-changing decade for Vidal, who in 2010 launched Le Havre with ex-wife Elisabeth at Cauviniere in the face of a depressed bloodstock market.

In the intervening years either they or Augustin-Normand bred Avenir Certain and La Cressonniere as well as Le Havre's Grade 1-winning son Suedois, while Sylvain signed for numerous stars by other sires at the sales, many of whom were subsequently sold on to wealthy new owners, such as Brametot, Ectot and Hermival.

“Le Havre made the farm and in fact he has helped make France,” says Vidal. “That one horse has changed the lives of so many people.

“We were lucky that he's such a good sire and improves his stock. We worked very hard but you have to have that little bit of luck; there is something magical with horses. I say thank you every day for Le Havre.”

Vidal reports Le Havre in excellent form, having turned 14 on the first day of 2020 - “he's a very calm horse and easy to manage” - and that his best years lie ahead of him.

“He's covered better and better mares each year, and as there's a bigger and stronger team behind him now I think he'll do even better in future,” he says.

The Monfort et Preaux team of Mathieu Alex (left) and Sylvain VidalCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

Vidal thinks that he has detected a similar “magic” in the new custodian of his stud.

“My plan was always to sell the farm one day and I'm so happy Nurlan is buying it,” he says. “He has something magic about him, and I trust my instincts.

“I met Tony two years ago and we have a good relationship, and on top of that you can see that he and Nurlan love their horses. If you want to win big races you have to love horses. I truly believe that's important.”

As well as remaining with the stud as consultant, Vidal has clients of his own; not least Augustin-Normand, whose stock he will continue to manage.

Listening to the tale of Le Havre has inspired Bizakov with a solution to the team's problem of finding a new stallion for Montfort et Preaux. “We'll just have to breed and race one ourselves,” he says with a glint in his eye.

Even though he has not managed that yet, his by-now familiar pale blue and yellow silks have been carried to Group race success by several homebred fillies in recent years, including Altyn Orda, Nausha and Tomyris.

Asked if he is satisfied with his progress as an owner-breeder in the past decade, he says: “I don't think I would be content whatever I achieved, I'd still be ambitious.

"But I'm very happy with where I am at the moment; I've got a good team around me, Tony has been with me from day one, and it's been a big job turning around Hesmonds. We've made a huge difference. If it was a hotel it would definitely be five-star now.

“I would like to do the same with the new French farm. We've got good land, Sylvain and Mathieu have already bred plenty of Group 1 winners there, and I hope together we can get a good few more.”

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