Henri Devin: Haras du Mesnil's stallion master, breeder and owner dies at the age of 71

Tributes have been paid to Henri Devin, the breeder of a litany of stars on the Flat and over jumps as the joint principal of Haras du Mesnil alongside his wife Antonia, who has died at the age of 71.  

One of France's most important stallion masters, breeders and owners, Devin was a man of singular determination to follow his own instincts. 

Devin succeeded his grandparents, Jean and Elisabeth Couturie, in running one half of the family estate; the inheritor of a great legacy but with big shoes to fill at the head of the farm which had bred and later stood Right Royal. 

Slightly removed from the thoroughbred heartland of Normandy in the Sarthe region of northern France, the Devins went on to plough a distinctive and individual path as breeders, frequently relying on their own stallions and racing most of the horses they raised. 

In doing so they have produced champions in both codes including Terre A Terre, Ange Gabriel and Nonza on the Flat, and Cheltenham heroes Politologue and A Plus Tard, as well as standing major stallions such as Turgeon, Kaldounevees and Doctor Dino. 

The family's distinctive white silks with a black diamond and cap became synonymous with horses that had a toughness to match their talent, perhaps best exemplified by Shannon Rock, who won the Prix La Haye Jousselin for trainer Jean-Paul Gallorini and was second in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris in four consecutive years. 

Before Henri and Antonia Devin took over the running of Mesnil there had been no great tradition of producing jumping stock but, with a resolutely uncommercial outlook, they set about breeding the horses that pleased them, and many of the families they have developed as leading producers of jumpers started on the Flat. 

While daughter Sophie now manages Ardoon Stud - the farm founded by her maternal grandfather, Frank Feeney - their son Henri-Francois has become one of the leading Flat trainers in Chantilly, and provided his parents with some memorable moments, notably with Physiocrate's runner-up effort in the Prix de Diane and Nonza's triumph in the Prix Jean Romanet, a first Group 1 success for both trainer and jockey, Alexis Badel. 

Henri and Antonia Devin lead in Nonza after winning the Prix Jean-RomanetCredit: Patrick McCann

Both were 100 per cent products of Mesnil, being by in-house stallions Zanzibari and Doctor Dino, who has become France's most successful and coveted jumps sire. 

Henri Devin was awarded the prestigious Order of Agricultural Merit and was a leading voice in promoting the interests of French breeders both at home and abroad. 

In a statement the French Breeders' Federation paid glowing tribute: "Pedigrees, model, matings, foaling, covering, racing, culture and agriculture; these were his daily occupations, hand-in-hand with his wife Antonia. Inherited from his grandparents, the Haras du Mesnil was his domain, one to which he was extremely attached. 

"On this land were bred some remarkable horses. His successes as an owner-breeder were numerous, on the Flat and over jumps, thanks to hard work, patience and inspiration.

"He knew how to build the career of a stallion, and how to transmit his passion for racing and breeding. French breeding has lost a great professional and horseman, while the federation has lost a loyal friend."

Henri Devin's funeral mass will take place at Saint-Germain parish church in Savigne-Leveque at 9.30 on Friday, May 9.