He’s used for steeplechase breeding, but he’s a particularly lovely type. His name is Kapgarde, and here’s his stallion information and photo. He should be very good for eventing albeit not cheap.
http://www.syndicatdeseleveurs.fr/VEN/etalons-fiche.asp?id=846
Same FF as Bonne Cause. 5-e is one of the very, very best for jumping horses. His most recent foals seem to be mostly AQPS, although he does have lots of Pur Sang (TB) foals.
I like the Garde Royale blood also --he seems to show up in many steeplechae bloodline and as a grandsire of steeplechasers.
Good find, Viney. With Mill Reef in there - although I have a feeling he was not so successful as a stud. Add a bit of Saddler’s Wells - I think a nice eventer!
Mill Reef was used by the Aga Khan and is a staple line in French Steeplechasing. You can hardly find a French jumps racer these days without Mill Reef at least once. 
Look at the build on that horse; the bone, the muscles, the back. Everything about him screams stamina and run all day.
BTW, the number one sire of chasers in France this year is the USA bred (by George Strawbridge) flea bit gray stallion, Turgeon by Caro. http://www.france-sire.com/stallions/usa1986_turgeon
You are probably right, Viney - don’t know where I came up with that - sometimes I get a bit confused. I talk with a friend who breeds eventers in UK and thought she said that.
Mill Reef dropped dead when he was relatively young–14 or 18. He also broke something while racing, and I think getting him to stud was a pretty big deal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_Reef.
This particular eventer had an advanced mare who she bred to Kauto Star, but it did not make it to birth. She has a few in her line she bred, and evented to UL, so I listen to her opinions.
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;5644361]
This particular eventer had an advanced mare who she bred to Kauto Star, but it did not make it to birth. [/QUOTE]
Please explain. Kauto Star is a gelding.
Garde Royale is the sire of the excellent National Hunt cross-country specialist Garde Champetre, who’s won a number of times at the Cheltenham Festival. That said, IIRC, Garde Champetre was a very high-priced youngster at the sales – JP McManus paid something in the high six-figures for him – so he’s not exactly made his money back.
Dirk Schrade rides a horse named King Artus, who is by King Milford xx, a TB standing in Germany. King Milford is by Milford, who is by Mill Reef. Nine stallions by Mill Reef have descendants who have produced eventers, many in Germany.
Ghareeb has Shirley Heights by Mill Reef as damsire, and so does Painters Row–although I’m not suggesting Painters Row who has proved himself to be pretty much a sport horse bust to date. Shirley Heights is also the sire of Golden Heights, a lovely TB who stand.stood for both racing and sport in the UK, but has not had get who’ve made to the 3* and above levels. However, he has/had an OTTB daughter in a top class sport horse breeding program–ie Future Sport Horses. And he’s got some 2*s and below who have done well–Euro Champs for YR, for example. Then there’s Dashing Blade (TB stallion in Germany) who is a sireline grandson of Shirley Heights and he’s got more than a few licensed stallion sons all over Europe. The Mill Reef descendants come from all over the world, but there are fewer in the English speaking countries, excluding Ghareeb. There is one New Zealand Thoroughbred descendant, but he’s eventing in Sweden. Personally, I believe that Mill Reef is still so potent in racing that his best just haven’t trickled down to sport yet.
He (Kauto Star), BTW, has Mill Reef tail male sire and dam, along with Relic twice. Nice representation for the old style US TB, I’d say.
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