First Runner Strikes for Almanzor at Chantilly
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Photo: COURTESY OF HARAS D'ETREHAM
Almanzor at Haras d'Etreham
Faro de San Juan made a winning debut in the Prix du Soleil de Bretagne over five and a half furlongs at Chantilly Racecourse April 26 to give Almanzor the perfect start to his highly anticipated stud career.
Bred by Lynch-Bages, the colt is trained by Francis-Henri Graffard for owner Peter Katelanis and is the first foal out of Fixette, a daughter of Kodiac who finished runner-up in a brace of French group 3 races.
Fixette was sold while carrying Faro de San Juan in utero at the 2018 Tattersalls December Sale, where Blandford Bloodstock signed the ticket at 375,000 guineas (US$500,969). Fixette has since produced a filly by No Nay Never , now a yearling, and visited the same sire again last year.
Faro de San Juan, one of 89 juveniles in his sire's debut crop, also went through the Tattersalls sales ring when signed for by Haras d'Etreham and SF Bloodstock at 160,000 guineas ($216,904) as a foal.
Almanzor was bred by Haras d'Etreham and bought by trainer Jean-Claude Rouget for €100,000 ($134,000) when offered at Arqana's Deauville August Yearling Sale in 2014. He was a listed winner at 2 but proved an altogether more talented 3-year-old as he rattled off a hat-trick of group 1 victories.
He saw off the likes of Zarak and Talismanic in the Prix du Jockey Club (G1) before twice denying the mighty Found, first in the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes (G1), with Minding in third and New Bay in fourth, and again in the QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1) at Ascot.
He also won the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano Haras du Saint Logis Saint Germain (G2) and the Prix de Guiche (G3) among eight career successes.
He returned to Haras d'Etreham to begin his stallion career alongside his own sire, Wootton Bassett , in 2018.
His first crop of yearlings earned some rave reviews at the sales, with the bunch averaging £92,180—among which were colts out of Waldjagd and Glittering Tax who fetched 250,000 guineas ($339,126) and €280,000 ($329,668) from Mike Ryan and Mick Kinane, respectively.
The yards of British trainers Clive Cox, William Haggas, Mark Johnston, Sir Mark Prescott, Kevin Ryan and Sir Michael Stoute all contain an Almanzor-sired 2-year-old. He is standing the current season at a fee of €30,000.