A majority share in French 2000 Guineas hero Metropolitan (Fr)'s stallion rights has been purchased by Haras d'Etreham, the stud announced on Wednesday. The 3-year-old will stand alongside Almanzor (Fr), City Light (Fr), Hello Youmzain (Fr), Onesto (Ire), Persian King (Ire), and Victor Ludorum upon retirement.
Bred by Stuart McPhee and raced by Peter Bradley and Scuderia Scolari, the son of Zarak (Fr) was unbeaten in a pair of juvenile starts, and won the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains second up in May. Third in the G1 St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Mario Baratti trainee is gearing up for a start in Sunday's G1 Prix du Jacques le Marois. He was a €78,000 Arqana October yearling purchase by Alessandro Marconi from Clairefontaine.
Haras d'Etreham's Nicolas de Chambure said, “We are delighted to be associated with the future stallion career of this horse with a very interesting profile and to ensure his retirement in France. In addition to his flawless conformation, Metropolitan is a son of Zarak who is extremely successful at stud. His outcross pedigree represents another major asset for the French stallion ranks and a real opportunity for breeders to widen their choice of crosses. In only five outings, he has already demonstrated his precocity, speed and quality at the highest level and he undoubtedly still has plenty of margin for improvement.
“We would like to express our thanks to his owners, Peter Bradley and Hrand and Monique Aladjian, as well as his trainer Mario Baratti, and Alesandro Marconi for opening the doors to his future stallion career and we look forward to Metropolitan's next races, starting with the Jacques Le Marois on Sunday.”
The fourth foal out of Alianza (GB) (Halling), Metropolitan is from the same family as G3 Norfolk Stakes winner and G1 Prix Morny second Warm Heart (Diesis {GB}), and fellow black-type scorers Miquel Cervantes (Danzig) and Royal Tigress (Storm Cat).
“Metropolitan is a dream come true,” said Peter Bradley. “I cannot thank Hrand and Monique enough for letting my team be a part of this journey. To win a French Classic and then to know that Metropolitan's stud career will continue at the finest stallion station in France is nothing short of magnifique.”
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