Anquetil 10/01/09

ANQUETIL RINGS BEL ON DEBUT
Cranbourne trainer, Robbie Griffiths, certainly appears to have the ‘key’ to Bel Esprit.
An avid supporter of Victoria’s Champion Sire since the first of his progeny appeared at yearling sales, Robbie has about half a dozen Bel Esprits on his books and has delivered two to the winners’ circle of late.
Cascabel, a 3YO he purchased at the Sydney Classic in 2007, has shown plenty of dash in four ‘money’ runs for the stable, while on Saturday last – at Pakenham – Robbie unearthed another promising type in Anquetil which he also snapped up at the Sydney Classic.
Racing the now 3YO with his wife, Shiranee, we’ve been reliably informed that there are still shares available in the colt who swamped them on debut over the 1000m at Paky.
How long for is questionable given the authority of Anquetil’s win!
Just in case you’re wondering where the name comes from, Anquetil is named after the famous cyclist, Jacques Anquetil, the first person to win the Tour de France five times.
Evidently something of a character (goes with the territory), Jacques tended to polarise cycling groupies throughout Europe and, even though he thumped his great rival, Raymond Poulidor, more often than not, fans tended to split into two groups in much the same fashion as Ford and Holden.
According to cycling journalist, Pierre Chany, who was close to Anquetil: “The Tour de France has the major fault of dividing the country, right down to the smallest hamlet, even families, into two rival camps. I know a man who grabbed his wife and held her on the grill of a heated stove, seated and with her skirts held up, for favouring Jacques Anquetil when he preferred Raymond Poulidor. The following year, the woman became a Poulidor-iste. But it was too late. The husband had switched his allegiance to Gimondi. The last I heard they were digging in their heels and the neighbours were complaining.”
Well, the punters won’t be complaining if they back up on Anquetil – the Bel Esprit version – at his next start.

Anquetil 10/01/09
Cheap Bels
If anybody had taken the time to follow the stories on this site, they would have read that Bel Said, who won her 1st two races, was bought at the Scone Mixed sales in 2007 for $700. andLa bella Roo was bought privately off one of Colin Little's clients for $2000, won her 1st two races and finished in a place at Moonee valley at her last start.
Now , another couple of unusual cheap buys cropped up in the last three days and these came out of Major Sales.
Esprit de Gain, who was the cheapest Bel Esprit horse sold out of the 1st crop, won at Penola last Thursday. He was sold at the Adelaide Magic Million Sales in March 2006 for $3000.
Robbie Griffiths bought a Bel Esprit, Anquetil, out of the 2nd crop for $3000 at the Ingles Febuary Sales in Sydney 2007. He won on Saturday at Pakenham, he was very well backed and won like it. He was the cheapest Bel Esprit sold out of the 2nd crop at Major Sales.
Other cheap Bel winners are
Belcentra, $50,000, a Stakes race and $219,000
Esprit de Roses, $28,000, has won five races and $99,700.
Esprit Lad, $16,000, won 5 races and $40,000and already out of the 2nd crop
Bel Shoes, $20,000, won two races and $26,000
Belcino, $35,000, won three races and $22,000
Casabel, $18,000, won one race, one 2nd at Caulfield and $34,000.