Furioso xx

1939 – 1967 Bay 166 cm

In 1946, a National Stud Commission was formed in France to buy foreign stallions to increase the French gene pool. According to Jean Delannoy, in his definitive article on Furioso in Annuaire de l’Étalon Sport Français, 1992, the talents of the team were well matched “The Commission was composed of the general inspectors Mr Richard and Mr Vincent and the Stud Farm officer and founder of UNIC Mr Maurice O’Neill. Richard’s speciality was the conformation and gaits of a good horse, Vincent was an expert on Thoroughbreds, and O’Neill, with Irish horses being popular, was in a particularly strong position for a search in England.”

They were shown Furioso. Admittedly his career did not greatly impress; he was now seven, and had raced 21 times and only came close to winning three times. Still “his dignity, harmonious length and general conformation were enough to seduce. Mr O’Neill, who had never ridden such a well balanced horse, forgave him his slightly knock kneed forelegs, his somewhat tight hock and his long legged conformation. He was purchased for 800 pounds from Mr Blunt.”

The recently appointed director of the Haras de Pin, the Viscount of Poncins claimed him for his breeding area. He “had been won over by this big brown bay, thick limbed, who walked like a lord with a magnificent pace, very energetic and showing a great deal of amplitude, his tail swinging at each step. His trot and gallop were good but not exceptional. He had never jumped either fence or bar in England, and, to the great surprise of onlookers, was never to jump in France. Although very energetic and full of life, he was docile in his stall and of good temperament.”

Still Furioso was exceedingly well bred. His sire Precipitation had a fine career winning seven races ranging from the 4000 metre Ascot Gold Cup to the King Edward Stakes of 2400 metres. As a stallion he was a success, eleven times amongst the 20 best sires of winners in England, and once in France. He was seven times in the top 20 sires of mares in England.

Furioso’s sire, Precipitation

Furioso’s dam, Maureen was by Son in Law, another good racehorse, and a very good sire: 18 times amongst the 20 best sires of winners in England, 16 times in the top 20 dam sires in England and eight times in France. The grand-mother, St Prisca was by Friar’s Marcus, ten times in the top 20 sires of winners in England, fourteen times in the brood mares top twenty and once in France.

Arriving in France, Furioso stood at Adrien Besnoin’s farm in Urou, near Argentan.

He was moderately popular in his first season, and went even better in his second season covering 46 mares. In 1949, the breeders were waiting to see what Furioso would produce, and in 1950 he covered  a mere 15 mares, then just 11 in 1951. In 1952, his first foals were five years old, and suddenly he was in great demand – from 1954 until his death in 1967, lots were drawn for his services. To prolong his breeding life, Mr de Poncins progressively reduced the book from 35 in 1956 to 30 in 1957-59, then to less than twenty.
In all, Furioso covers 566 mares for 303 foals – a fertility rate of over 50% which at the time was pretty good.

By 1954, Furioso was topping the list of sires of winners in France thanks to jumpers like Virtuoso and  Dolly II. He held the position up  until 1961 – by then he was 22 years old. He was third behind Foudroyant II and Nithard in 1962, and second behind Foudroyant II in 1963 but was number one again in 1964 and held the spot until 1969, when he had been dead two years. He was a prolific sire of Olympic horses, including the gold medallist at Tokyo, Lutteur B and Pomone B who carried d’Oriola to victory at the World Championship in Buenos Airies in 1956, when she was only seven years old.

Lutteur B – a showjumping star

M. Delannoy sums up their qualities: “These horses, full of personality, were sometimes difficult, particularly the mares, but were wonderful as soon as they felt confident. Slightly soft, they did not enjoy pain, they were very respectful and would sometimes misbehave or even stop if not ridden in a firm and friendly manner. Some good riders complained of them being amoral but they were not belligerent. Galloping with great balance, swinging on each big rounded stride (rather like the gallop of Narcos, grandson to Ma Pomme) they hardly ever needed to be corrected, although the did not mind it (except for a few hot blooded mares). The jump was often rounded, the horse locked onto the trajectory.”

Mexico – a breeding gem

As a sire of sires, Furioso was perhaps not so successful. Certainly his son, Mexico, out the exceptional mare, Dame de Ranville was regarded as a gem.  Mexico was a good sire of international eventers, and his son, Le Mexico (out of Pêche Melba who has two crosses of Foudroyant II) was instrumental in the development of the modern Dutch Warmblood. Dame de Ranville also produced Mexico’s full-brother, Furioso II who played such an vital rôle in German breeding. The blood of Furioso has had a new lease of life recently through the success of his great grandson, Kannan, a Dutch import…

Perhaps Furioso’s crucial influence has been as a mare sire: Ma Pomme, the full sister to Pomone B, produced a string of national and international jumpers, and importantly, when bred to the Ibrahim son, Quastor,  the stallion Fair Play III, the sire of Narcos II. Furioso’s daughter, Tanagra (out of Délicieuse by Jus de Pomme) produced an extraordinary number of competitors, stallions and broodmares, the most important of which was Jalisco B. Artichaut, the dam sire of Nabab de Rêve, is out of a Furioso mare, as is Qredo de Paulstra who founded something of a dressage dynasty in Oldenburg through his son, Quattro B, the grand sire of the popular Quarterback.