Jeune (29 March 1989 – 4 January 2006) was a British

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

who raced in England and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and is best known for winning the prestigious

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

in 1994. He was a muscular chestnut stallion who sometimes raced in pacifiers. He had an aversion towards wet ground and was most effective on ground which was at least dead.

European career

Reasonably well-bred and bred for stamina, Jeune was by Kalaglow out of Youthful, by Green Dancer. He began his racing career in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, becoming a Group Two winner over a mile and a half, as well as running several good placings in English middle-distance races of the second rank. His owner, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, sent him to

at the end of his 4-year-old season, where he was trained by David Hayes.

Australian career

Jeune established himself as a top-class performer in Australia with his victory in the

Underwood Stakes The Underwood Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, run over 1800 metres under weight-for-age conditions, held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late September each year. Total prize money ...

(1800 metres) at Caulfield in the early part of the spring. Later that same preparation, he was runner-up in the Caulfield Stakes and the Mackinnon Stakes. In between time, he ran unplaced in the Cox Plate when hindered in the running. Jeune therefore entered the 1994 Melbourne Cup with solid middle-distance weight-for-age form. Nevertheless, he started at odds of 16/1 due to doubts about whether he would run the distance. He won by 2 lengths, while favoured Caulfield Cup winner Paris Lane, who had narrowly beaten him home in the Mackinnon three days earlier, was second. Jeune opened his autumn campaign by winning the much shorter group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes (1400 metres) against sprinters. He also won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000 metres) to finish that campaign. However, in between time, Jeune developed the tendency of running second in major races. One of these efforts a close second to champion sprinter Schillaci in the Futurity Stakes over 1400 metres. He also lost the Australian Cup at Flemington to the Western Australian mare Starstruck, and the Rawson Stakes and The BMW at Rosehill to front-runner Stony Bay. Jeune raced on as a 6-year-old, and despite an early-season victory over Mahogany in the Craiglee Stakes (1600 metres) at Flemington, he thereafter lost form, failing in several major races. In the end, Jeune's overall racing record in Australia and England stood at 10 wins and 17 placing from 42 starts, and nearly A$3million in prizemoney.

Stud record

Jeune began his stud career at Hayes' Lindsay Park property in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

before transferring to Collingrove Stud in Victoria in 2004. Chief among Jeune's successful offspring was the ill-fated 2003 Caulfield Cup winner Mummify and On A Jeune, who ran second in the

. He also sired Jeune Mark (so named because he closely resembled his sire), who won over $200,000 in prizes. Jeune Mark was made famous after saving his owner's life in the 2009

Black Saturday bushfires The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria. Saturday, 7 February 2009 was one of Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. The fires occurred ...

in Victoria. Despite his very good race record and ability to sire good progeny, Jeune was not the most commercial of stallions in Australia. The quality of mares he attracted in South Australia was only moderate and did not match those enjoyed by the more fashionable overseas shuttle stallions and speed-oriented locals, with whom he was competing. Nevertheless, over 5% of his runners won stakes races. On the morning of 4 January 2006, Jeune was found dead in his paddock at Collingrove Stud from an apparent heart failure.

References

{{Reflist
Jeune's pedigree and partial racing stats

Jeune Pedigree

European career

Australian career

Stud record

References

See also