By Sue Finley
Shadwell Stud's Champion Sprinter Muhaarar (GB), who has stood the last two years at Haras des Faunes in the south of France, will now be owned by Shadwell and a consortium of French breeders and will be moved to Haras du Petit Tellier in Normandy, according to Eric Puerari. Puerari said that Muhaarar's stud fee would be announced at the end of the year.
The group of breeders is comprised of Jean-Pierre Dubois and several generations of his family, Haras des Capucines, Haras de Saint-Pair, and several others. Sheikha Hissa will retain half of the shares in the stallion, and the syndicate will be managed by Capucines Bloodstock, with Puerari at the helm.
A Shadwell homebred, Muhaarar was champion sprinter of 2015, when he won the G1 Commonwealth Cup, G1 July Cup, G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and G1 British Champions Sprint S. as a 3-year-old. He began his career at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud, beginning at a fee of £30,000. He was moved to Haras des Faunes after the death of Sheikh Hamdan in a two-year arrangement.
“He started at Shadwell, and the first two years, he was so popular it was impossible to get a season,” said Puerari. But after a relatively slow start at stud, and the death of Sheikh Hamdan, Shadwell accepted an offer from Faunes. The stallion has been very hot the past two years, and after breeding 54 mares at Faunes in 2022 at a €5,000 fee, he covered 124 in 2023 at a €7,500 fee.
“Last year, he had an exceptional year and when you look at his statistics, he's boxing way above his weight for a horse who stood this year for an advertised stud fee of €7,500,” said Puerari. “Last year, he had an amazing percentage of stakes winners per runners. His numbers are very good. He's been kind of a forgotten horse.”
In 2023, Muhaarar has been represented by Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire), the winner of the G1 French Guineas, who went on to be third in the G1 French Derby, and Cicero's Gift (GB) an undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' through his first three starts before missing in the G1 St. James's Palace S.
His recent top runners demonstrate his versatility. 'TDN Rising Star' Be Your Best (Ire) was second in the GI Del Mar Oaks at nine furlongs on the turf on Friday; Run To Freedom (GB) was second in the six-furlong G1 July Cup on July 15; three days earlier, 'TDN Rising Star' Israr (GB) won the G2 Princess of Wales's S. at twice that distance; and this spring at Santa Anita, Motorius won the GIII San Simon S. at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf.
“He does tend to produce horses who stay, which is strange for a sprinter, because he's by Oasis Dream (GB),” said Puerari, “but when you look at Oasis Dream's pedigree, there's a lot of staying blood. We think he really fits a niche that we don't have in France in the €10,000-€15,000 range. For example, this year when Mishriff got hurt, after Intello, Galiway, Goken, and few others, there's not much. Not many people are going to travel to England and Ireland to breed for €10,000. So I think he should be very popular.”
Muhaarar will travel from Bordeaux to Normandy this coming week, where he will be available for breeders' inspection.
“He gets good-looking stock and he is himself a very good-looking horse,” he said. “He's a very well balanced horse. He's mid-sized. Very dark bay, no white. He's very handsome horse, with a beautiful head.
“We'll decide on his stud fee later. We'll wait for the end of the year and put him at a fee where people won't try to negotiate, because he'll be good value.”
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