Fanfreluche (horse)
| Fanfreluche | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Northern Dancer |
| Grandsire | Nearctic |
| Dam | Ciboulette |
| Damsire | Chop Chop |
| Sex | Filly |
| Foaled | 1967 |
| Country | Canada |
| Colour | Dark Bay/Brown |
| Breeder | J. Louis Lévesque |
| Owner | J. Louis Lévesque |
| Trainer | Yonnie Starr |
| Record | 21-11-6-2 |
| Earnings | $238,688 |
| Major wins | |
|
Princess Elizabeth Stakes (1969) Natalma Stakes (1969) Manitoba Derby (1970) Alabama Stakes (1970) Benson & Hedges Invitational Handicap (1970) Quebec Derby (1970) | |
| Awards | |
|
TRA United States Champion 3-Year-Old Filly (1970) Canadian Horse of the Year (1970) Sovereign Award for Outstanding Broodmare (1978) | |
| Honours | |
|
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1981) Fanfreluche Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack | |
| Last updated on February 9, 2010 | |
Fanfreluche (April 9, 1967 – 1999) was a Canadian-bred Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. She was named by her French Canadian owner Jean-Louis Levesque[1] for the title character of a popular children's television show on the French-language division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Successfully raced in Canada as a two-year-old, at age three Fanfreluche's performances in both Canada and the United States earned her the Sovereign Award for Canadian Horse of the Year.[1] Fanfreluche was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 1970 by the Thoroughbred Racing Association. Office Queen won the rival Daily Racing Form poll[2] in the last year that champions were voted on separately.
At the end of her three-year-old racing season, Fanfreluche was sold as a broodmare prospect to prominent American horseman Bertram R. Firestone for a then world-record price of $1.3 million. Bred to notable stallion Buckpasser, in 1972 she produced the two-time Canadian Horse of the Year L'Enjoleur.[1]
The Kidnapping
In June 1977, while in foal to Secretariat, Fanfreluche was abducted from Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky.[3] In December, five months after her disappearance, the FBI located her 158 miles south near the small town of Tompkinsville, not far from the Tennessee border. Fanfreluche was being kept by a family who said they had found her wandering along the country road.[3] Returned safely to Claiborne Farm, in the spring of 1978 Fanfreluche gave birth to her foal, a colt given the French language name "Sain Et Sauf", which in English translates as Safe And Sound.
A few years later, in February 1983, the Irish racehorse Shergar was also the victim of a kidnapping but unlike Fanfreluche, Shergar was never found.
Fanfreluche died in July 1999 of old age and was buried at Big Sink Farm in Midway, Kentucky.
References
- 1 2 3 DelNagro, Mike (August 1, 1977). "The Million-dollar Horse Heist". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Forty Marcy tabbed". Ocala Star-Banner. November 29, 1970. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
- 1 2 Reed, William F. (December 19, 1977). "The Toast of Tompkinsville: Old Brandy, the stray mare found out on Kentucky Rt. 53, charmed a steamfitter's family, which never suspected she was Fanfreluche, the $500,000 champion". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 5, 2013.