Pedigree Insights: Rajsaman & Brametot

What a difference a few years can make. In an article for the Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder in July 2013, I mentioned the imbalance between the breeding industry in France and its counterparts in Britain and Ireland. I pointed out that the French cupboard had been left comparatively bare when American studs regularly plundered France's best stallions during the 1970s and '80s. The cupboard stayed depleted when French-trained superstars, such as Peintre Celebre, Montjeu, Hurricane Run, Suave Dancer and Dalakhani, were all retired to Irish or English studs.

The situation became so bad that, by 2012, the highest-priced stallion in France (Elusive City) commanded a fee no higher than €15,000–a fee which would have seen him struggle to reach the top 20 in Ireland. Fortunately–as the politicians would say–some green shoots of revival were beginning to show, with one of the main causes for optimism being the involvement of Sheikh Joaan's Al Shaqab operation at Haras de Bouquetot, which now houses the highly popular Shalaa. I also mentioned the possibility that Intello would be based in France.

One stud I didn't mention, though, was Haras de la Cauviniere, but it is this burgeoning operation which has played a significant role in the rapid turnaround in the French industry's fortunes.

Operated by Sylvain and Elisabeth Vidal, La Cauviniere stood only one stallion in 2010. Although that horse–Le Havre–had won the 2009 G1 Prix du Jockey-Club, he was by a stallion who had been sold to India and his fee was set no higher than €5,000. A year later Le Havre was joined by Air Chief Marshal, a Group 3 Irish winner who had been runner-up in the G1 Phoenix S. as a juvenile. This son of Danehill Dancer started out at a fee of €3,000.

Then, in 2013, a third stallion was added in the form of the miler Rajsaman, who had become a dual Group 2 winner in the Prix du Muguet and Prix Daniel Wildenstein. Without a Group 1 win to his name, this son of Linamix was priced at only €4,000.

Of course, Le Havre now ranks as France's highest-priced stallion, with his fee having soared to €60,000 following his feat of siring a dual Classic-winning daughter in two of his first three crops.

Air Chief Marshal has also earned an increase in his fee, having hit the Group 1 target when his second-crop son Mont Ormel landed last year's G1 Grand Prix de Paris.

Now it's the turn of Rajsaman. His fee jumped to €8,000 for this season, after he ended 2016 as France's leading first-crop sire, with 12 winners from 50 starters. They included Brametot, winner of the Listed Grand Prix de Bordeaux, and Prinz Hlodowig, who finished a close second in the G3 Prix de Conde.

Rajsaman's profile received another boost two days ago, when Brametot booked his ticket to the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains with a fine last-to-first effort in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau. Remarkably, the Fontainebleau had also been won by Rajsaman in 2010, by Rajsaman's sire Linamix in 1990 and by Linamix's sire Mendez in 1984. Linamix went on to win the Poule d'Essai.

Brametot's finishing effort was reminiscent of the way Rajsaman often raced, such as when he cut down Rio De La Plata in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein and when he ran on to finish a fine third behind Goldikova and Cirrus des Aigles in the G1 Prix d'Ispahan. However, Rajsaman didn't have to be ridden with restraint. Carrying the Aga Khan's second colours and apparently acting as a pacemaker for the odds-on Siyouni, Rajsaman did his job so well in the Prix de Fontainebleau that he held on to win from Siyouni and Lope de Vega. Incidentally, Siyouni now ranks as France's second-highest-priced stallion, at €45,000, which is another sign of how far the French industry has flourished since 2012.

The Aga Khan's team decided that Rajsaman was surplus to requirements towards the end of his 3-year-old season and consequently he was offered at the 2010 Arc de Triomphe sale, where he was bought for €440,000 on behalf of Saeed Nasser Al Romaithi. Although Rajsaman proved to be an inspired buy, his career petered out at the age of five. Sent to Dubai, he failed to reproduce his best form in three starts in 2012.

A disappointing final season can often prove a serious handicap for a young stallion, but not for Rajsaman. The La Cauviniere team appears to excel at making their stallions available at the right price and Rajsaman was the busiest stallion in France in his first season in 2013, when he covered 184 mares. In doing so he continued a trend, as Air Chief Marshal and Le Havre had been the busiest stallions in France in 2012, when they respectively covered 156 and 155 mares. In 2014 Le Havre topped the table with 179 mares, while Rajsaman's 146 earned him third place. It was a similar story in 2015, when Rajsaman and Le Havre were the busiest stallions in France, with 219 and 199 mares respectively. In other words, Rajsaman and Le Havre both enjoy the numerical advantage which is so helpful to a modern-day stallion, and Rajsaman has 140 yearlings this year.

One mustn't underestimate the help that the La Cauviniere team has received from Gerard Augustin-Normand, who co-owns Le Havre's Classic winners Avenir Certain and La Cressonniere, as well as Rajsaman's son Brametot.

As the saying goes, one swallow does not a summer make, so Rajsaman still has work to do but the possibility exists that he could develop into a worthy substitute for his sire Linamix, who died last year at the age of 29, after being pensioned in 2007. Linamix was France's leading sire in 1998 and 2004 and was responsible for more than 40 group winners from a total of 871 foals, which works out to an impressive figure of nearly 5%.

Bearing in mind that Linamix left more than 20 group-winning sons, he theoretically had every chance of establishing a flourishing male line, but it hasn't happened and Rajsaman is only the fourth son to sire a group winner. The only one with more than one such winner is Slickly, who numbers the four-time Group 1 winner Meandre among his six group scorers. The Linamix stallions have arguably enjoyed more success as sires of jumpers, with the excellent Martaline leading the way.

Rajsaman was bred by the Aga Khan from Rose Quartz, who won over 1 5/8 miles for Sheikh Mohammed, and it is fair to expect Rajsaman to sire winners over a mile and a quarter or more. Brametot's pedigree suggests that he will stay well enough for the Prix du Jockey-Club, provided he continues to settle.

His first two dams, Morning Light and Mosella, are respectively daughters of the G1 Irish Derby winner Law Society and the G1 German Derby winner Surumu. Morning Light has the distinction of being a half-sister to Monsun, the outstanding German stallion who often proved an influence for stamina. Moonlight Melody, another Law Society mare from this family, became the dam of Molly Malone, winner of the G1 Prix du Cadran over two and a half miles.