L'Enjoleur (CAN)
April 23, 1972 – January 26, 2000
Buckpasser (USA) x Fanfreluche (CAN), by Northern Dancer (CAN)
Family 4-g
April 23, 1972 – January 26, 2000
Buckpasser (USA) x Fanfreluche (CAN), by Northern Dancer (CAN)
Family 4-g
The first of three Canadian champions produced by 1970 Canadian Horse of the Year Fanfreluche, L'Enjoleur went his dam one better by earning two consecutive titles as Canada's Horse of the Year. Unfortunately, he failed to sustain a good start at stud and ended his days as a regional sire in Ohio.
Race record
30 starts, 15 wins, 4 seconds 2 thirds, US$546,079 (includes Canadian earnings)
1974:
1975:
Honors
Assessments
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for juveniles of 1974, 4 pounds above second-rated Silverbatim.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American-raced juveniles of 1974, 2 pounds below champion Foolish Pleasure.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for 3-year-old males of 1975, 7 pounds above second-place Brilliant Sandy and Big Destiny.
Rated at 121 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American-raced 3-year-old males of 1975, 5 pounds below co-highweights Wajima (the official divisional champion) and Foolish Pleasure.
As an individual
A handsome bay horse, L'Enjoleur combined the muscular build and balance typical of the Northern Dancer tribe with the elegance and scope of Buckpasser.
As a stallion
The Jockey Club credits L'Enjoleur with 380 winners (61.9%) and 32 stakes winners (5.2%) from 614 named foals, while The Blood-Horse credits L'Enjoleur with 35 stakes winners.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
Notable progeny
Avowal (CAN), Par Excellance (CAN)
Notable progeny of daughters
Champagne (NZ), Down the Aisle (USA), Grand Canyon (USA), Jurado (USA), One From Heaven (CAN), St Reims (NZ)
Connections
L'Enjoleur was bred and owned by Jean-Louis Lévesque, a prominent racing man from Quebec, who sold a half-interest in the colt to Roy Kennedy in 1974. Later that year, L'Enjoleur was syndicated at a valuation of US$1.28 million. He was trained by Joseph “Yonnie” Starr. He entered stud in 1976 in Florida at Kennedy's Gateway Farm, later moved to Crescent Farm in Kentucky, and moved to Ohio in 1993. He died in January 2000 at Highland Meadows Farm near Petersburg, Ohio.
Pedigree notes
L'Enjoleur is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half-brother to three-time Canadian champion La Voyageuse (by Tentam; dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Time Bandit and stakes winner Innovative, both by Time for a Change), 1978 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Medaille d'Or (by Secretariat), and 1981 Breeders' Futurity (USA-G2) winner D'Accord (by Secretariat). He is also a half brother to multiple stakes winner Grand Luxe (by Sir Ivor), dam of stakes winner Smackover Creek (by Mr. Prospector) and 2005 Argentine champion sire Lode (by Mr. Prospector), second dam of seven stakes winners including multiple Australian Group 1 winner and champion sire Flying Spur, and third dam of Australian Group 1 winner and champion sire Encosta de Lago. In addition, L'Enjoleur is a half brother to the important producers L'On Vite (by Secretariat), L'Extravagante (by Le Fabuleux), Slew and Easy (by Slew o' Gold), and La Pepite (by Mr. Prospector).
The dam of L'Enjoleur, Fanfreluche, is a full sister to stakes winner Barachois and to Night Shift, a successful sire in Europe. She is also a half sister to stakes winner Coco La Terreur (by Northern Dancer's sire Nearctic) and to stakes-placed Somfas (by What a Pleasure), dam of three Group stakes winners in Europe. Fanfreluche's dam Ciboulette (by Chop Chop) is a stakes winner and a half sister to 1966 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Cool Reception (by Nearctic) and stakes winner Breezy Answer (by Bull Page; dam of Arctic Blizzard, a top Canadian juvenile of 1967).
Fun facts
Last updated: September 2, 2024
Race record
30 starts, 15 wins, 4 seconds 2 thirds, US$546,079 (includes Canadian earnings)
1974:
- Won Laurel Futurity (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Laurel; equaled track record 1:42-3/5)
- Won Coronation Futurity (CAN, 9FD, Woodbine)
- Won Cup and Saucer Stakes (CAN, 9FT, Woodbine)
- Won Summer Stakes (CAN, 8FT, Fort Erie)
- Won Ontario Foaled Stakes (CAN, 8f+70yD, Woodbine)
- Won Winnipeg Futurity (CAN, 6FD, Assiniboia Downs)
- Won Clarendon Stakes (CAN, 6FD, Woodbine)
- 2nd Colin Stakes (CAN, Woodbine)
1975:
- Won Queen's Plate (CAN, 10FD, Woodbine)
- Won Quebec Derby (CAN, 9FD, Woodbine)
- Won Carling O'Keefe Invitational Handicap (CAN, 12FD, Woodbine)
- Won Prince of Wales Stakes (CAN, 11FT, Fort Erie)
- Won Manitoba Derby (CAN, 9FD, Assiniboia Downs)
- Won Colonel R. S. McLaughlin Handicap (CAN, 9.5FD, Woodbine)
- Won Harry Jeffrey Handicap (CAN, Assiniboia Downs)
- 3rd Breeders' Stakes (CAN, 12FT, Woodbine)
- 3rd Woodstock Stakes (CAN, 6.5FD, Fort Erie)
Honors
- Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2007)
- Canadian Horse of the Year (1974)
- Sovereign Award, Canadian Horse of the Year (1975)
- Canadian champion 2-year-old male (1974)
- Sovereign Award, Canadian champion 3-year-old male (1975)
Assessments
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for juveniles of 1974, 4 pounds above second-rated Silverbatim.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American-raced juveniles of 1974, 2 pounds below champion Foolish Pleasure.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for 3-year-old males of 1975, 7 pounds above second-place Brilliant Sandy and Big Destiny.
Rated at 121 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American-raced 3-year-old males of 1975, 5 pounds below co-highweights Wajima (the official divisional champion) and Foolish Pleasure.
As an individual
A handsome bay horse, L'Enjoleur combined the muscular build and balance typical of the Northern Dancer tribe with the elegance and scope of Buckpasser.
As a stallion
The Jockey Club credits L'Enjoleur with 380 winners (61.9%) and 32 stakes winners (5.2%) from 614 named foals, while The Blood-Horse credits L'Enjoleur with 35 stakes winners.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
- Led the American freshman sire list in 1979
- Led the Ohio state sire list five times
Notable progeny
Avowal (CAN), Par Excellance (CAN)
Notable progeny of daughters
Champagne (NZ), Down the Aisle (USA), Grand Canyon (USA), Jurado (USA), One From Heaven (CAN), St Reims (NZ)
Connections
L'Enjoleur was bred and owned by Jean-Louis Lévesque, a prominent racing man from Quebec, who sold a half-interest in the colt to Roy Kennedy in 1974. Later that year, L'Enjoleur was syndicated at a valuation of US$1.28 million. He was trained by Joseph “Yonnie” Starr. He entered stud in 1976 in Florida at Kennedy's Gateway Farm, later moved to Crescent Farm in Kentucky, and moved to Ohio in 1993. He died in January 2000 at Highland Meadows Farm near Petersburg, Ohio.
Pedigree notes
L'Enjoleur is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half-brother to three-time Canadian champion La Voyageuse (by Tentam; dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Time Bandit and stakes winner Innovative, both by Time for a Change), 1978 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Medaille d'Or (by Secretariat), and 1981 Breeders' Futurity (USA-G2) winner D'Accord (by Secretariat). He is also a half brother to multiple stakes winner Grand Luxe (by Sir Ivor), dam of stakes winner Smackover Creek (by Mr. Prospector) and 2005 Argentine champion sire Lode (by Mr. Prospector), second dam of seven stakes winners including multiple Australian Group 1 winner and champion sire Flying Spur, and third dam of Australian Group 1 winner and champion sire Encosta de Lago. In addition, L'Enjoleur is a half brother to the important producers L'On Vite (by Secretariat), L'Extravagante (by Le Fabuleux), Slew and Easy (by Slew o' Gold), and La Pepite (by Mr. Prospector).
The dam of L'Enjoleur, Fanfreluche, is a full sister to stakes winner Barachois and to Night Shift, a successful sire in Europe. She is also a half sister to stakes winner Coco La Terreur (by Northern Dancer's sire Nearctic) and to stakes-placed Somfas (by What a Pleasure), dam of three Group stakes winners in Europe. Fanfreluche's dam Ciboulette (by Chop Chop) is a stakes winner and a half sister to 1966 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Cool Reception (by Nearctic) and stakes winner Breezy Answer (by Bull Page; dam of Arctic Blizzard, a top Canadian juvenile of 1967).
Fun facts
- “L'Enjoleur” means “the flatterer” in French.
- L'Enjoleur was the first horse to win the Sovereign Award (instituted in 1975) as Canadian Horse of the Year, and was the first horse to be officially recognized twice as Canadian Horse of the Year.
- In 1974, L'Enjoleur was a unanimous choice as both Canadian champion 2-year-old male and Canadian Horse of the Year. He was equally dominant in Sovereign Award voting in 1975 and was a unanimous selection as both Canadian champion 3-year-old male and Canadian Horse of the Year.
- L'Enjoleur was the third horse bred and owned by Jean-Louis Lévesque to take honors as Canadian Horse of the Year; the others were his dam Fanfreluche (1970) and the fine filly La Prevoyante (1972), who like L'Enjoleur was sired by Buckpasser.
- L'Enjoleur was a slow-starting horse each year that he raced and was much better from mid-summer on than he was in the spring and early summer.
- L'Enjoleur was one of a record-tying four Queen's Plate winners ridden by the great Canadian jockey Desmond "Sandy" Hawley. The others were Almoner (1970), Kennedy Road (1971), and Regal Embrace (1978).
Last updated: September 2, 2024