Laudanum xx,
Born 1967, died 1997, 162 cm

      Vieux Manoir
    Mourne Ballynash
  Boran   Clairon
    Bethora Lady Penn
Laudanum      
      Norseman
    Montaval   Ballynash
  Montabella   Alizier
    Cecropia Fallaha

 

The Thoroughbred stallion, Laudanum was the first international jumping star for the young Pierre Durand - winning Grand Prix, Puissance and Nations Cups and more than 100,000 french francs in prizemoney. He was described at the time as both careful and courageous. Laudanum is the only French Thoroughbred stallion to have jumped at the international level. He is the sire of showjumping performers such as Jonggor’s Ajonc (Yves Houtackers), Raspail Bose (ridden internationally by Roger-Yves Bost), Aferco (Alexandra Ledermann), BB Nithard (Niklaus Schurtenberger) and Chergar Mail (Philippe Rozier). Licensed sons include Raspail Bose, Oberon du Moulin, Valbaussy and Nissan Duc de Moyon Z. Currently the well known Mexican jumping stud, La Silla, is very excited about their young Laudanum son, Chapultepec La Silla.
Laudanum was the first stallion purchased by French breeder, Bernard le Courtois, who syndicated him at the end of 1984. At that stage, Laudanum’s oldest progeny were five and he was far from popular with the breeders - standing near Bordeaux, he had only bred nine mares!
Le Courtois moved him to Normandy at the Haras de al Gisloterie, before moving to his own stud at Brullemail. In an article in the 1996 edition of the Annuaire de l’Étalon Sport Français (for information about this annual survey in French and English, contact River Éditions - www.monneron.com ), Bernard le Courtois explains what attracted him to the stallion: "Laudanum’s pedigree has two assets - first of all his sire Boran had produced several good Thoroughbred jumpers before being used to cross-breed towards the end of his career. He was himself a son of the very remarkable Mourne, a foundation sire in his own right of sport horses, although he himself was never cross-bred but only bred to Thoroughbred mares. (Sire of Alcatraza (N. Pessoa), Croquette (G. de Balanda), Alistro, Shel Tox… ) The second asset in Laudanum’s pedigree is his 3 x 3 inbreeding with the famous broodmare Ballynash (by Nasrullah, one of the best sons of Nearco with Royal Charger). Ballynash is none other than the dam of Mourne (by Vieux Manoir) as well as that of Montaval (by Norseman), Laudanum’s two grandsires! Laudanum has been an exemplary success as a stud. The first generation of his offspring, born in 1979, only numbered 13, but amongst which we find the two Grand Prix horses, Nashville 111, and Neurine. In 1980, with only five foals born, there are again two Grand Prix winners, Obéron du Moulin and Odanum (now in Brazil) both of which were still winning in 1995…. Laudanum’s offspring are brave, careful not to touch the jump, with excellent temperaments, qualities which make them admirable national level amateur horses, and with regularly some of Grand Prix level."

Above - Nasrullah

Boran’s grandson, Noren became 1982 ‘Horse of the Year’ in USA, thanks to his excellent results with Katie Monohan Prudent. Noren was the sire of Ailligate Fontaine, winner in 1999 of the French Championship, ridden by Eric Navet and currently one of France’s very top jumping sires.
Despite his death in 1997, Laudanum was in 2002, the leading sire of showjumpers in the United States, with six of his progeny competing in 2001 for winnings of $228,259 - mostly won by the stallion, Oh Star (pictured below - photo, Charles Mann), ridden by USA Games Team reserve team member, Todd Minkus. The Belgian bred, Oh Star (out of a mare by Ramiro) finished second behind Margie Goldstein Eagle’s Hidden Creek’s Perin on the money rankings on the 2001 US Grand Prix jumper circuit. Oh Star’s wins include the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, the $100,000 USET Championship, the $50,000 Rio Vista Grand Prix, the $25,000 Bentley Motorcars Grand Prix and the $175,000 Cargill Grand Prix. Other good performers in the USA include the Selle Français stallion, Elu de la Hardière ridden by Candice King whose successes included the Elizabeth II Cup at Hickstead and Eric Lamaze’s Ezior Danum, a consistent performer on the US and Canadian circuits.
On the latest WBFSH standings, Laudanum ranks 71st in the standings from 1992-2001, with 21 international performers in that period. With such gifted stallion sons, his legacy will continue to grow.

In the 2003 edition of Annuaire Monneron, is a must-have given Bernard le Courtois considerable satisfaction to write in his review of La Grande Semaine de l'Elevage à Fontainebleau (the final of the classic cycle):
"Laudanum, one of the leading stallions of the last decade and one of the rare and last Thoroughbreds of French selection, is up to now father to 21 international winners. This little chestnut chappy with his touch of white was ridiculed by a few loudmouths when I bought him in 1994. Now that he has become a top stallion and his name in a pedigree is a proof of quality and bravura he is proving that his early detractors (some of whom have short memories and have now become admirers) were wrong."

Oh Star - starring in the States

 

Bernard Le Courtois amplifies the story of Laudanum on his website:

"LAUDANUM was my first stallion. I organised the first syndication of a sport horse stallion for him in 1984, after an incredible sporting career in CSI & CSIO with Pierre Durand in the French team. Until the age of 10 years old Laudanum didn't attract a lot of interest from breeders, he was even used to check the mares coming on heat for the stallion Sans Souci!"
"The year that I bought him, he had left Normandy for the Aquitane region where he had only bred with a few mares. So I placed him in La Manche near St Lô, where I was sure he would find the mares who suited him.That same year, his first 4 and 5year old products were starting to get noticed at the Fontainbleau Young Horse Finals such as the 4 year old Oberon du Moulin, Odanum (bought by Nelson Pesoa) and Nashville (9th in the 5 year old Championships) - all future international winners."
"From the moment that he arrived into my hands and entrusted to the care of Patrice Boureau, Laudanum bred every year between 40 & 60 mares. After 5 years, he became the Sporthorse stallion, the most expensive on the market. Every year his products confirmed his success and still he continues to do so today even though he left us in 1996, figuring amongst the best French Stallions…"
"This ravishing little burnt chestnut Thoroughbred with the blond mane who showed in CSO a lot of impulsion, courage and propulsion, had some remarkable offspring. Concerning the broodmares that he covered, Laudanum improved their production enormously giving them whatever their level in competition needed, this impulse, courage and respect for the obstacles. Dozens of Laudanum’s have been good winners in B1 & A1 with riders (often women) both amateurs & professionals. We have been able to observe that from 1990 when breeders started to send mares of Geman origins to Laudanum (by Ramiro, Almé, Gotthard …), the quality of his products found another level and the stars Chergar Mail (CSIO), O'Star (6th World Cup Final 2000) were born."
"A Stallion needs to come across the mares just right for him. If Laudanum had bred in Zangersheide or in the Holstein, he would have become the best Stallion in the world!"
Origins
His father BORAN, good winner in flat racing, produced a lot of winners in racing but what interests us are the Thoroughbred products who showed aptitude in CSO, of course there was Laudanum, but also Jackassu (CSI), Botaniste, and a dozen other good Thoroughbred winners in CSO. But this aptitude for jumping came originally from his grand father Mourne, who had a huge influence on the French Sport horse, especially in the lines used at Brullemail, because Noren (father of' Alligator Fontaine) was also the grandson of Mourne!
Mourne was a very famous race horse, breeding in France and England, producing winners in CSIO such as Alcatraz (N. Pessoa) & Croquette (G. de Balanda), as well as Alistro or Shell Tox. Some Thoroughbred stallions, sons of MOURNE, had some excellent products in CSO such as Sire or Garde Coeur.
His dam Montabella, was a daughter of Montaval (son of Norseman in whose family line we find a lot of aptitude at jumping). Montaval is out of Ballynash who was also the dam of Mourne. So Laudanum was line-bred to his great grandmother Ballynash (Nasrullah). There lies the secret to his success at jumping.
His Grand dam Cecropia was also the grandmother of Rescousse (1st Prix de Diane, 2nd Arc de Triomphe).
LAUDANUM raced 6 times as a 3yr old in flat and hurdles without any success.
He started in CSO at 5yrs old and then he was given to a young rider Pierre Durand with whom he won in CSI & CSIO He won 4 international victories in 2 years including the Pau Grand Prix in 1975, 2nd Gijon Grand Prix , 2nd Nations Cup at Oltzyn, 1st Puissance at Poitiers and 1st in one of the final rounds at the French Championships at which he competed several times. He was chosen to go to the Olympic Games at Montréal. He was the only Thoroughbred stallion based in France to have won in CSI."

For further information check out the wonderful website of Bernard Le Courtois at www.brullemail.com

In an interview in 2004, Bernard Le Courtois responded to the queston, what are the qualities that Laudanum brings to a pedigree?
“For me the line of Mourne is one of the best to produce showjumpers – I have Mourne twice often in the pedigrees of my foals. Alligater is the grand-child of Mourne, and Laudanum too, I have a lot of foals line bred to Mourne, and Almé. Laudanum himself was a very good jumper. He won in Puissance, in Grand Prix, in Speed classes, he was good for everything. He could have gone to the Olympics but the rider was too young. I read an article where Pierre Durand wrote ‘if I have Laudanum and Jappeloup at the same time, it would be very difficult to pick which horse to ride at a Games. The mind of Laudanum was exceptional. He was very strong on his back. For me he needs mares with a lot of power – to cross Laudanum with a Hanoverian or Holsteiner mare, is fantastic. If Laudanum could breed in Holstein twenty years ago, he would have been the best stallion in the world. For me, I used Laudanum with a couple of German mares, and each time the product was fantastic – like Oh Star, Chargar Mail – the cross with Ramiro, or Ramiro / Almé, Gotthard, was very interesting. In France Laudanum produced many horses that were winners in Amateur Grand Prix – 1.40, 1.50, with young girls, the horses were very easy to ride, very careful and very competitive. I think that is the best quality of Laudanum."
"I think you will find all the sons and daughters of Laudanum, bring the same qualities with them."

Laudanum was represented at the Athens Olympic Games by the stallion, First de Launay (below).

In the survey of the world's top 75 jumping sires that appears in the French publication, Monneron 2007-2008, compiled by Bernard le Courtois (visit www.brullemail.com), Laudanum ranks 43rd with 7 CSI winners. He is also represented by his son, Oberon du Moulin (out of a Invincible mare) is 65th with 7 CSI winners.