european stallions
Breeders eying the international market The French bloodstock boom sees improved quality, but numbers remain static, writes Jocelyn de Moubray
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LTHOUGH THE quality of horses by French-based sires is higher than ever before, the numbers of French registered foals has remained more or less stable. This is even despite the fact that around 12 sires have covered more than 100 mares in each of the last three seasons, and at ever higher fees. Siyouni, Le Havre, Wootton Bassett and Almanzor will lead the way again in 2020 standing at €100,000, €50,000, €40,000 and €35,000 and are all certain to cover at least 100 mares. At the beginning of the last decade this level of investment in French stallion fees, and income for the stallion shareholders, was unthinkable after three decades during which the stallion business in France was quite unable to compete with thAT in Britain and Ireland. The balance of trade has been transformed and yet the number of foals born annually has remained around 5,500 for more than ten years. The boom in the French stallion business has been at the top of the
Siyouni all the rage
In France, Haras de Bonneval’s Siyouni is likely to be at the height of fashion at the 2022 yearling sales – even more so than now. The son of Pivotal’s biggest crop will be three-year-olds in 2020, but he has two large crops of three-year-olds to follow produced at a fee of €40,000 in 2017 and €75,000 in 2018. Siyouni produced his first champion three-year-old colt Sottsass from his first €20,000 crop, and his first €30,000 crop included 37 individual two-year-old winners in Europe, putting him behind only Kodiac and Dandy Man. There seems every reason to expect his results to continue to improve. Siyouni’s progeny act on all types of going as well as on the All-Weather and, although 33 per cent of his three-year-old wins are over less than a mile, with the right mares he gets horses who stay middle-distances. Not surprisingly his progeny are in demand and race all over the world and his most expensive yearlings of 2019 will go into training in Britain, Ireland, the US as well as in France.
market and enjoyed mainly by those producing for the international market or aiming to compete at the highest level. In Germany the story has been different. Since the death of Monsun in 2012 the country has not produced another international stallion – despite Soldier Hollow’s qualities he is still best known as a jumping sire in Britain and Ireland. The number of foals born in Germany has dropped by 37 per cent since the beginning of the century to the current mark of only 850. Several of the country’s leading breeders invested in Maxios, one of Monsun’s best sons, only to be disappointed after he had covered around 100 of the country’s best mares in each of his first four years at stud. Germany’s breeders have continued to specialise in producing sound, middle-distance horses and over the coming decade it is possible that the country’s decline will be reversed by the demand for this type of thoroughbred from Australia and Japan.
Dabirsim has the numbers
Dabirsim has covered a lot of mares since moving to the Haras de Grandcamp in 2016, but whereas during his first two seasons in France he covered at €9,000, in 2018 he covered 185 international mares at €30,000. The son of Hat Trick’s first French-bred crop of two-year-olds has not restored the standing he had at the end of 2017, but it did produce a respectable 18 two-year-old winners, including the top prospect Celestin, a Fabrice Chappet-trained colt who won his last two starts by over 4l and 6l, including a Listed race. In 2022, Dabirsim will have a lot of well bred three-year-olds running for him. His progeny tend to be milers and to act on good ground or better and they have an outstanding record on All-Weather tracks.
Young sires well patronised
Sottsass
The next four French sires by the number of mares covered in 2018 have all yet to have runners. Haras de Bouquetot’s Shalaa has his first this year while Recorder, Almanzor and
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