Siyouni

On December 3, 1995, the G1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle was won by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Thats My Man (Ire). It is unconfirmed, but those may well have been the words uttered by John Magnier when he decided to appoint O'Brien to uphold the good reputation of his surname at Ballydoyle. This he has done with aplomb. From that December day at Fairyhouse until Sunday at the Curragh, A P O'Brien has been the name printed alongside 400 Group or Grade 1 winners. From his roots in National Hunt, he...

DEAUVILLE, France--Close to €38 million had already been spent on juveniles at the four breeze-up sales in Europe to have preceded Arqana, and that figure has now risen to around €59 million following a bullish day of trading in Deauville. Featuring the season's only seven-figure breezer and with a much larger catalogue than usual, it was no surprise to see turnover increase, though a near-50% upturn was perhaps even better than anticipated, with the 140 sold bringing in a total of €21,110,500 to ring the new record bell. Other indicators...

One of the most passionate horsemen in France, Pierre Talvard began breeding over four decades ago from a caravan on a handful of acres. Today, his Haras du Cadran stretches over 400 hectares on the rolling Orne hills in Normandy, with 117 mares stationed on the farm. Over the last decade Cadran has been a regular name in the leading breeder lists in France, with graduates including French Derby winner and sire The Grey Gatsby (Fr), and Group 1 winners Gentoo (Fr) (Loup Solitaire {USA}), Qemah (Ire) (Danehill Dancer (Ire}),...

The Aga Khan Studs has one of Europe's leading Classic prospects for this season in the unbeaten Group 1 winner Tahiyra (Ire), whose sire Siyouni (Fr), unsurprisingly, has a stellar lists of mares booked to visit him in 2023. These include Tahiyra's half-sister Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal), who was also trained by Dermot Weld and won three Group 1 races among her nine career victories, as well as finishing runner-up in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.  An equally starry name features on the list as the brilliant, unbeaten Zarkava (Fr)...

Is it just me or should France be known as the bloodstock land of opportunity? This is the country that saw Wootton Bassett (GB) and Walk In The Park (Ire) pull themselves up by the bootstraps after entering the stud book at relatively modest sums. There are few serious racing nations that provide as much of a chance for a stallion to flourish than France does. Take Kauto Star (Fr), the greatest staying chaser of the modern era, as an example. He hailed from the largely unheralded Village Star (Fr)...

As we approach the opening of the 2023 breeding sheds, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. The China Horse Club's Christie DeBernardis, Matt Houldsworth and Michael Smith clued us in on which sires they have chosen for some of their top American and European mares. ALBEROBELLO (m, 8, Bernardini—Carson Jen, by Carson City), booked to Justify Alberobello hails from a very deep family that is constantly improving. Her full-sister's daughter Key to...

Having provided the winners of this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Prix de Diane, Prix Jacques le Marois, Grand Prix de Paris and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Frankel (GB), unsurprisingly, has been named the champion sire of France in 2022. He ceded his position as champion in Britain and Ireland to Dubawi (Ire), whom he finished in front of when it comes to overall European earnings. Of the winners of the above named Group 1 races--Alpinista (GB), Nashwa (GB), Inspiral (GB) and Onesto (Ire)--all bar Alpinista remain in training...

Jared Shoemaker, co-managing partner of Pocket Aces Racing, grew up in Lexington and fondly remembers going to Keeneland with his extended family from the time he could walk. It was one of his favorite things to do as a child. By the time he was in high school, he admits to spending a lot of afternoons at the track while supposedly in class. Not one to miss a good day of racing--no matter the reason--he scheduled all of his lectures at the University of Kentucky to be done by noon...

The mighty Sea The Stars (Ire) seems to have had more sons retired to the National Hunt stallion division than to the Flat, and he is of course represented by some notable new recruits to the stallion ranks this year in Britain in two of his most celebrated sons, Baaeed (GB) and Stradivarius (GB). Another son, Crystal Ocean (GB), topped the charts for the number of mares covered in Britain and Ireland in 2022, though of those 338 he of course covered predominantly jump mares at the Beeches Stud in...

The Aga Khan Studs' stallions Sea The Stars (Ire), Siyouni (Fr) and Zarak (Fr) are all set to stand for increased fees in 2023. Heading a powerful roster, Sea The Stars, sire of the brilliant Baaeed (GB) and Stradivarius (Ire), will cover at an all-time high of €180,000 at Gilltown Stud. Currently third in the sires' table behind Dubawi (Ire) and Frankel (GB), Sea The Stars is the sire of 19 Group 1 winners among his 101 stakes winners. His rising number of sons at stud include the aforementioned duo,...

Performance or pedigree? In an ideal world a breeder would choose both when buying a mare but, depending on budget, almost inevitably there has to be a compromise. In recent weeks in TDN we have heard from Mark Johnston about his selection process when buying yearlings, in which he is particularly keen on a decent rating for the dam. On the opposite side of the equation this week as vendor, Andreas Putsch is in agreement. "For us it is all about selection, of the matings, of culling, and trying to...

It has been a fascinating subplot to the Flat season, international sports people having their colours carried to big-race victories and, less than a month after former NBA star Tony Parker landed French 1,000 Guineas glory with Mangoustine (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}), the Atlético Madrid and French international striker Antoine Griezmann secured victory in the German equivalent with Txope (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Trained by Philippe Decouz, Txope, which is the nickname Griezmann gave his wife, ran out a convincing winner for the World Cup-winning soccer player at Dusseldorf racecourse on...