Produced during the golden years of the breeding program of the legendary French breeder Marcel Boussac, Djebel proved himself an excellent racehorse in spite of the disruptions in European racing caused by World War II. He was a first-rate stallion of worldwide influence as well and, along with his sire Tourbillon, was the major force keeping the sire line of the Byerley Turk alive into the 21st century.
Race record
22 starts, 15 wins, 5 seconds, 2 thirds
1939:
1940:
1941:
1942:
Honors
As an individual
A bay horse standing 16.1 hands at full maturity, Djebel was elegant in make with an excellent shoulder but had the longish back and sickle hocks that often marked the progeny of Tourbillon. He had a fluid, efficient gait and an amiable disposition.
As a stallion
According to statistics kept by The Jockey Club, Djebel sired 84 winners (43.1%) and 46 stakes winners (23.6%) from 195 named foals. Djebel is an Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Per Peerage of Racehorses (1994, Ulbrich):
Per Thoroughbred Heritage (www.tbheritage.com):
Notable progeny
Apollonia (FR), Arbele (FR), Argur (FR), Clarion (FR), Cordova (FR), Coronation V (FR), Djebellica (FR), Djeddah (FR), Djelfa (FR), Djelal (FR), Djerba (FR), Emperor (FR), Galcador (FR), Hugh Lupus (FR), Janiari (FR), Marveil (FR), Montenica (FR), My Babu (FR)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bon Mot (FR), Cambremont (FR), Chaise (AUS), Djebel Traffic (FR), Javelot (FR), Locris (FR), Olden Times (USA), Tidra (FR), Torbella (FR)
Connections
Djebel was bred and owned by Marcel Boussac. He was trained by Albert Swann through age 4 and by Charles Semblatt at age 5. He entered stud in 1943 at Boussac's Haras Fresnay-le-Buffard and died there in 1958.
Pedigree notes
Djebel's pedigree is outcrossed within five generations. He is a full brother to Prix de Saint-Firmin winner Djask, a good sire in South Africa, and to stakes-placed Nokka, second dam of Brisbane Cup winner Campo and Group 2 winner Young England and third dam of Gran Premio Copa de Plata (ARG-G1) winner Charming Mary, VRC St. Leger winner Stop the Show, Australian Group 2 winner Princess d'Or, and English Group 3 winner Warningford. He is a half brother to two-time Prix d'Ispahan winner Hierocles (by Abjer), multiple French stakes winner Phidias (by Pharis II), and Prix de la Rochette winner Imperator (by Thor).
A daughter of 1917 English Triple Crown winner Gay Crusader, Djebel's dam Loika was produced from the Teddy mare Coeur a Coeur,.a half sister to Balancoire II (by Meddler), who became a foundation mare for the breeding operation of Harry Payne Whitney. The dam of 1926 Empire City Derby winner Blondin (by Broomstick) and 1928 Wood Memorial Stakes winner Distraction (by Chicle), Balancoire II is the ancestress of American Horses of the Year Equipoise and Seabiscuit. Coeur a Coeur is also a half sister to English stakes winners Night Rider II and Melody and American stakes winner Mediant, all by Meddler. The last-named mare is the dam of Medora II (by Rabelais), dam of 1922 Travers Stakes winner Little Chief (by Wrack), 1924 Champagne Stakes winner Beatrice (by Jim Gaffney), and four other stakes winners.
Coeur a Coeur and her siblings were produced from the Ayrshire mare Ballantrae, winner of the 1902 Cambridgeshire Stakes, one of England's most valuable and prestigious handicap races. Ballantrae, in turn, was produced from the Touchet mare Abeyance, a useful handicapper who was out of the Mornington mare Minnie Hauk.
Books and media
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: September 1, 2024
Race record
22 starts, 15 wins, 5 seconds, 2 thirds
1939:
- Won Middle Park Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
- 2nd Prix Morny (FR, 1200mT, Deauville)
- 2nd Prix d'Aumale (FR, Chantilly)
1940:
- Won Two Thousand Guineas (ENG, 8FT, Newmarket)
- Won Poule d' Essai (combined French One Thousand Guineas/Two Thousand Guineas) (FR, 1600mT, Auteuil)
- 3rd Prix de Chantilly (FR, 2600mT, Auteuil; run as a wartime substitute for the Prix du Jockey Club)
1941:
- Won Prix d'Harcourt (FR, 2400mT, Longchamp)
- Won Prix Boiard (FR, 2000mT, Longchamp)
- Won Prix d'Hedouville (FR, 2000mT, Longchamp)
- 2nd Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (FR, 2500mT, Longchamp)
- 2nd Prix de Chantilly (FR)
- 3rd Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (FR, 2400mT, Longchamp)
1942:
- Won Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (FR, 2400mT, Longchamp)
- Won Prix d'Harcourt (FR, 2400mT, Longchamp)
- Won Prix Boiard (FR, 2000mT, Longchamp)
- Won Prix des Sablons (FR, 2000mT, Longchamp)
- Won Prix d'Hedouville (FR, 2000mT, Longchamp)
- Won Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (FR, 2500mT, Longchamp)
- Won Prix de Chantilly (FR)
Honors
- French champion 2-year-old male (1939)
- French champion older male (1942)
As an individual
A bay horse standing 16.1 hands at full maturity, Djebel was elegant in make with an excellent shoulder but had the longish back and sickle hocks that often marked the progeny of Tourbillon. He had a fluid, efficient gait and an amiable disposition.
As a stallion
According to statistics kept by The Jockey Club, Djebel sired 84 winners (43.1%) and 46 stakes winners (23.6%) from 195 named foals. Djebel is an Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- 5th on the combined English/Irish general sire list in 1948 and 1949; 6th in 1950; 9th in 1949.
- Led the French general sire list in 1947-1949 and 1956; 5th in 1955; 6th in 1950; 9th in 1953; 10th in 1951.
- 5th on the French broodmare sire list in 1961 and 1962; 6th in 1960; 7th in 1965; 8th in 1964.
Per Peerage of Racehorses (1994, Ulbrich):
- Led the French general sire list in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1956.
Per Thoroughbred Heritage (www.tbheritage.com):
- Led the French general sire list in 1949.
Notable progeny
Apollonia (FR), Arbele (FR), Argur (FR), Clarion (FR), Cordova (FR), Coronation V (FR), Djebellica (FR), Djeddah (FR), Djelfa (FR), Djelal (FR), Djerba (FR), Emperor (FR), Galcador (FR), Hugh Lupus (FR), Janiari (FR), Marveil (FR), Montenica (FR), My Babu (FR)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bon Mot (FR), Cambremont (FR), Chaise (AUS), Djebel Traffic (FR), Javelot (FR), Locris (FR), Olden Times (USA), Tidra (FR), Torbella (FR)
Connections
Djebel was bred and owned by Marcel Boussac. He was trained by Albert Swann through age 4 and by Charles Semblatt at age 5. He entered stud in 1943 at Boussac's Haras Fresnay-le-Buffard and died there in 1958.
Pedigree notes
Djebel's pedigree is outcrossed within five generations. He is a full brother to Prix de Saint-Firmin winner Djask, a good sire in South Africa, and to stakes-placed Nokka, second dam of Brisbane Cup winner Campo and Group 2 winner Young England and third dam of Gran Premio Copa de Plata (ARG-G1) winner Charming Mary, VRC St. Leger winner Stop the Show, Australian Group 2 winner Princess d'Or, and English Group 3 winner Warningford. He is a half brother to two-time Prix d'Ispahan winner Hierocles (by Abjer), multiple French stakes winner Phidias (by Pharis II), and Prix de la Rochette winner Imperator (by Thor).
A daughter of 1917 English Triple Crown winner Gay Crusader, Djebel's dam Loika was produced from the Teddy mare Coeur a Coeur,.a half sister to Balancoire II (by Meddler), who became a foundation mare for the breeding operation of Harry Payne Whitney. The dam of 1926 Empire City Derby winner Blondin (by Broomstick) and 1928 Wood Memorial Stakes winner Distraction (by Chicle), Balancoire II is the ancestress of American Horses of the Year Equipoise and Seabiscuit. Coeur a Coeur is also a half sister to English stakes winners Night Rider II and Melody and American stakes winner Mediant, all by Meddler. The last-named mare is the dam of Medora II (by Rabelais), dam of 1922 Travers Stakes winner Little Chief (by Wrack), 1924 Champagne Stakes winner Beatrice (by Jim Gaffney), and four other stakes winners.
Coeur a Coeur and her siblings were produced from the Ayrshire mare Ballantrae, winner of the 1902 Cambridgeshire Stakes, one of England's most valuable and prestigious handicap races. Ballantrae, in turn, was produced from the Touchet mare Abeyance, a useful handicapper who was out of the Mornington mare Minnie Hauk.
Books and media
- Djebel is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, The Australian Bloodhorse Review), a massive reference work written by Jennifer Churchill, Andrew Reichard and Byron Rogers.
- Djebel is profiled in Chapter 61 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released by Eclipse Press in 2006).
- Diebel means “a mountain or hill” in Arabic.
- Although Marcel Boussac planned the mating that conceived Djebel, he was lucky to retain the horse as he sent Loika, then carrying the champion as an unborn foal, to the 1938 Newmarket December sale. His decision to do so was reasonable, given that the mare had managed to produce just one foal, a minor winner, in five years. Fortunately for Boussac, the mare failed to reach her reserve and eventually produced four stakes winners for him, beginning with Djebel.
- At the time Djebel entered stud, he and his sire Tourbillon were both considered “half-breds” by the standards of the Jersey Act, rendering them ineligible for inclusion in England's General Stud Book. Their great success in siring runners capable of capturing major events in England was a major factor in the decision to rescind the Jersey Act in 1949 and throw the General Stud Book open to animals whose pedigrees showed some eight or nine crosses of pure blood, whose lineage was traceable for at least a century, and whose immediate families showed performance supporting a claim to pure blood. This reversal effectively ended the ban on most American lines and on French lines incorporating American strains (as the pedigrees of Tourbillon and Djebel did).
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: September 1, 2024