Mario Baratti

Like any vibrant metropolis, Haras d'Etreham is somewhere that embraces the diversity of its inhabitants. At one time the roster featured everything from a dual Group 1-winning sprinter in Hello Youmzain (Fr), now one of the most expensive Flat stallions in France, to the leading National Hunt sire Saint des Saints (Fr), who in October this year was pensioned from stud duties. "We just need as many options as possible," says Etreham's Nicolas de Chambure, speaking more generally about the evolving stallion scene domestically which, in his words, had a...

This year's Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Metropolitan (Fr) will begin his stallion career at Haras d'Etreham next season, the stud announced on Wednesday. He will stand for a fee of €15,000, with a small number of shares available in the son of Zarak (Fr). Bred by Stuart McPhee, Metropolitan was bought by Alessandro Marconi for €78,000 at the Arqana October Yearling Sale. He was trained for owners Peter Bradley and Scuderia Scolari by Mario Baratti, who saddled him to win three of his seven career starts. The Classic winner...

Mario Baratti trainee Misunderstood (Fr) (Hello Youmzain {Fr}-- Waldjagd {GB}, by Observatory) made all to shed maiden status on debut at Deauville in July and repeated the dose in Thursday's G3 Prix des Chenes at ParisLongchamp to become the first black-type winner for his freshman sire (by Kodiac {GB}). Breaking well from the outside stall to establish a clear buffer through the early fractions, the 13-10 favourite was shaken up with 350 metres remaining and maintained a high tempo in the closing stages to easily account for Nesthorn (GB) (Expert...

Scheduled 40 minutes after the fillies' Classic, Sunday's G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains offered a dramatic contrast with a heavy downpour greatly affecting the aesthetics at ParisLongchamp and to an extent the ground also. In the event, the race was off 40 minutes de retard due to the thunderstorm before Metropolitan (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}--Alianza {GB}, by Halling) provided another surprise result on the afternoon by overcoming higher-profile peers at 24-1. Unbeaten in two juvenile starts before finishing fifth in the course-and-distance G3 Prix de Fontainebleau last month, the Mario...

French challenger Angers (Fr) (Seabhac--Angel Of Harlem {Fr}, by Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), successful just once in six prior outings, was an almost unconsidered 12-1 chance for Monday's G2 38th Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen German 2000 Guineas and made a mockery of his odds with a power-packed display in the one-mile Cologne Classic. He becomes the second French-trained winner since the race's 1986 reincarnation, named in memory of Gestut Rottgen lynchpin Maria Mehl-Mulhens, and follows in the hoofprints of Alex Pantall's 2013 victor Peace At Last (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}). Angers backed up...