Messire des Obeaux is retired leaving so many magical memories

July 3

Messire des Obeaux, who, despite being plagued by injury, has won six races for Alan since he joined the Barbury team at the start of 2016, has been retired after finishing down the field at Cartmel on Sunday.

Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s French recruit amassed more than £140,000 in prize money, and Alan freely admitted that he and everyone in the yard will miss Messire des Obeaux, who even at the age of 11 still had plenty of enthusiasm for racing.

Alan said:”Messire des Obeaux was a gorgeous horse and an absolute star for us. He was a high-class horse at two and a half miles, but he always travelled too well to stay further and we had to mind him after all his injuries.

“He worked so well in pre-training last autumn that we gave him another season racing, and he showed all his old fire to win at Warwick in February.

“I was watching from Newbury that day and it made lovely viewing. Jumping the second last, I thought he was running a mighty race and second place would have delighted me, but he stayed on so strongly that he got up close home. It was really special after all he’d been through, and he showed that the engine was still there. He did us proud and deserves to enjoy his retirement.”

Messire des Obeaux won his first three races in his novice season, including the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle at Newbury, and he went on to take the bronze medal against the best novices around at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals.

However, Messire des Obeaux missed the next three years through leg injuries. He returned to win his first two races over fences at Wincanton in 2021, including the prestigious Dipper Chase, only to be back on the injury list by the end of that year, missing the whole of 2022.

Daryl Jacob, his regular rider, was always a huge fan of Messire des Obeaux and enjoyed so many exhilarating moments in the saddle on the veteran. He said:”Alan is a genius and he and his team deserve enormous credit for the way they resurrected him. He used to wing his faces and was a pleasure to ride.”