Lavandin’s dam, Lavande won three races and produced the top class sprinter Le Lavandou, but was later barren for four successive years.
Wertheimer had decided to have the mare put down, but was persuaded by Verso’s owner, the Comte de Chambure to have her covered by his stallion in 1949.
On his three-year-old debut, Lavandin was sent to Longchamp in April for the Prix de Boulogne over 1900m and recorded his first win.
[4] The fact that the first two horses were trained in France, following on from the victory of Phil Drake in the previous year, led some commentators to state that British racing had “hit rock bottom.”[5] On his final start, Lavandin was injured when running unplaced behind Vattel in the Grand Prix de Paris.
[6] In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Lavandin a “poor” Derby winner.