France

MG1SW Hello Youmzain (Fr) (Kodiac {GB}-Spasha {GB}, by Shamardal) has been retired and will take up stud duties at Haras d'Etreham in France. Etreham and Cambridge Stud purchased the bay for stallion duty last October, and he will shuttle to Brendan and Jo Lindsay's New Zealand property to fulfill Southern Hemisphere obligations in due course. Etreham and Cambridge joined forces to stand Hello Youmzain's new barnmate Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in 2018. A fee for the Rabbah Bloodstock-bred will be announced later and his book will be capped at...

Planteur (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}--Plante Rare {Ire}, by Giant's Causeway) will stand at Chapel Stud in Worcestershire as a National Hunt stallion in 2021. The former Marco Botti-trained bay will stand on behalf of owner/breeder Simon Davies with the deal brokered by Richard Venn Bloodstock. The 2011 G1 Prix Ganay victor who was also runner-up in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris and two editions of the G1 Prix d'Isapahan previously stood in France at Haras de Bouquetot (2014-2018) and Haras du Grand Courgeon...

MGSW Duke of Hazzard (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who G3 Bonhams Thoroughbred S. and G2 Celebration Mile S. at Goodwood last August, will now be pointed at the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois. Unplaced in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot upon resuming on June 16, the 4-year-old improved to third in the G2 Summer Mile S. there on July 11 and went one better in the July 28 G2 Lennox S. last out for trainers Paul and Oliver Cole. "I think the plan will be to...

Borders may be closed around the world but the resourcefulness of the bloodstock industry has meant that horse sales have continued to be staged, even if not all the horses catalogued can actually be present in the ring. When Spinning Memories (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}) lines up for the G3 Prix du Palais Royal on Thursday it will be the start of quite an international week for the mare, though she will only travel between her stable in Chantilly and the racecourse at Clairefontaine. Five days later, the 5-year-old sprinter will...

French sales company Osarus stages the first sale of the delayed breeze-up season on Wednesday and, in a first for European sales, the auction will be conducted entirely online from 1.30pm local time. There have been 20 withdrawals from the original catalogue of 79 juveniles but a further ten 2-year-olds have been added to the sale as supplementary lots. These include a colt by Sea The Moon (lot 14b) out of the winning Cape Blanco (Ire) mare Casablanca (Ire) offered by Larissa Kneip's Haras de Saint Arnoult, which is also...

The last week of June remains the most likely date for the combined Goffs UK/Arqana combined breeze-up sale. After the Irish Government's lockdown roadmap was released on Friday and with the UK's position to become clearer on Thursday, all European breeze-up sales will be discussed with Tattersalls. The three sales companies are working to harmonise the breeze-up sales calendar and are preparing for more than one outcome as provisional plans pertaining to the resumption of racing in the UK, Ireland are under discussion, with France to begin on May 11....

One thing that the French trainers seem to have in common at present is their opinion that racing will not resume in mid-April. Claude Beniada spoke to Pascal Bary and he was adamant that the wait for racing action will be a lot longer than that. CB: How have the recent measures affected your daily schedule? PB: "They haven't really. We can continue to train the horses and in that regard not much has changed. The staff is there, no one is missing, the tracks are very well maintained and...

At 8 p.m. Saturday evening, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced stricter social distancing measures due to the coronavirus, and that all places non-essential to French living including restaurants, cafes, cinemas and clubs, will be closed beginning at midnight on Saturday, Jour de Galop reported. At this time, French racecourses, which are currently racing without spectators for the foreseeable future, will remain open. France Galop's President Edouard de Rothschild and Managing Director Olivier Delloye both confirmed late Saturday evening to the JDG that racing will continue in "closed camera" mode,...

MGSW & MG1SP City Light (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who is standing his first season at stud in 2020, has his first mares scanned in foal, Haras d'Etreham announced on Wednesday. The bay, who ran second in the G1 Prix de la Foret, stands for €7,000. Among the in foal mares is Havaianas (Elusive Quality), a half-sister to Grade II winner & MGISP Qurbaan (Speightstown). Other mares in the 2018 G1 Diamond Jubilee bridesmaid's book are: MGSW All is Vanity (Fr) (Gold Away {Ire}), Benzolina (Ire) (Second Empire {Ire}), the dam...

Three meetings at in France next week are to take place behind closed doors in a response to the coronavirus outbreak. At Compiegne, Monday's jumps card and the Wednesday fixture on the Flat will have no paying customers, with the order coming from the mayor of Compiegne and the president of the Compiegne Racing Society. It is a similar story at Chantilly, where Tuesday's programme will not be open to the public. Racing professionals will be admitted as normal. The move is the first of its kind for the sport...

The 2019 General Assembly of Au-Dela des Pistes, the equine charity that works for the promotion and retaining of Thoroughbred horses in France, was held at the Salon Katko at Chantilly's training centre last Friday, Au-Dela des Pistes announced on Tuesday. Fourteen of the 24 retraining establishments  referenced by the charity were in attendance at the assembly, which included a visit to Fabrice Chappet's stable and watching morning training on the Lions training track. The representatives were also able to speak with trainers, breeders, agents, vets and other racing industry...

Heightened awareness of animal welfare causes and the plight of retired racehorses over the past 30 years has dramatically changed the landscape in Thoroughbred aftercare and it continues to evolve as more racing jurisdictions recognize the need for institutional aftercare funding. Organizations forming now to provide safe and meaningful retirement for Thoroughbreds have the benefit of an enlightened racing and breeding industry. In the past, the road to establishing necessary partnerships with racing and breeding organizations was often a dead-end. Now, the path is much more direct. For Au-Delà des...