haras de montaigu
A new dawn James Thomas chats to Sybille Gibson at Haras de Montaigu about the farm’s exciting roster of young NH sires headed by its star stallion No Risk At All (the Flat guys get a mention, too)
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ARAS DE MONTAIGU has a rich history of standing influential stallions, with the likes of Nikos, Kendor and Martaline having plied their trade at the picturesque Normandy farm. There is now a new generation in situ, who are ensuring the operation has a bright future to go with its storied past. Three new recruits for 2022 has seen the roster reach six resident stallions, with the sextet headed by No Risk At All. The Montaigu team finds itself in an enviable position with the son of My Risk – he is already proven as one of the best jumps sires around but, at the age of 15 and with his debut crop only eight, his best days surely still lay ahead. No Risk At All was bred by Sylvia Wildenstein and trained by Jean-Paul Gallorini, for whom he won five races from 13 starts. His record includes Listed
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successes at two, three and four before he rounded out his racing days with back-toback Group 3 victories in the La Coupe and the Grand Prix De Vichy-Auvergne. Moreover, he is a half-brother to six black-type performers, including the late Nickname, the star-crossed sire of high-performing jumpers Cyrname, Frodon and Yala Enki. “Jean-Paul Gallorini contacted us after No Risk At All’s racing career as he was looking for a stud to retire his horse,” explains Sybille Gibson, the fifth generation of her family to take the reins at Montaigu. “Jean-Paul’s wife Alexandrine had been a trainee at our farm before she created her own breeding operation and Jean-Paul had a good relationship with [Montaigu owner] Gilles Forien. “Haras de Montaigu had proven in the past its good results with stallions such as Nikos, Kendor, Martaline, etc and we felt that with this fantastic pedigree – his dam
Newness produced six black-type horses like N’Avoue Jamais, Nom D’Une Pipe, Nickname, Nom De D’La – the horse would do well at the stud.” That inkling has been borne out many times over with No Risk At All’s burgeoning stud record headed by a whole host of Grade 1 talents, such as dual runaway Ryanair Chase hero Allaho, the Champion Hurdle scorer and runner-up Epatante and the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase victor Esprit Du Large. While he is advertised at a fee of €12,000, the “fully booked” sign went up on No Risk At All’s stable door long ago, which is unquestionably a privileged position for Montaigu to be in, albeit one that comes with its own pressures. “The horse was syndicated very quickly and important breeders came on board with high-quality mares,” says Gibson. “No Risk At All has been fully booked each year since year one and he is now a leading NH sire
