Toronado

Haras de Montaigu completed its full set of topping both days of the Osarus September Yearling Sale in La Teste de Buch when selling a Toronado (Ire) filly for €40,000 to John Hammond. Already named Acqua Rosa (Fr) and offered as lot 154, the April-born filly is out of the four-time winner Rose Tea (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), a half-sister to the G2 Prix Greffulhe runner-up Handsome Devil (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). The clearance rate picked up a little throughout the second session, settling overall for the two days at 62%....

DEAUVILLE, France--One last six-figure yearling was added to the list on Thursday when trainer Joel Boisnard went to €130,000 for a Toronado (Ire) colt from Haras de l'Hotellerie to top the third session of Arqana's October Yearling Sale. A half-brother to two black-type performers, lot 434 is a son of the Prix de Diane place-getter Diyakalanie (Fr) (Ashkalani {Ire}) and was bred by Haras de Sainte Gauburge. Boisnard already trains two of his half-siblings, including Diyashal (Fr) (Shalaa {Ire}), who was won over fences and hurdles since the catalogue was...

Cheltenham is behind us and, yes, we still have Aintree and Punchestown to come of the major jumps fixtures but, with the clocks on the turn, really the only thing to think about now is the return of the Flat. The turf season makes its staggered return in Ireland on Sunday, and in Britain the following Saturday. France is already racing ahead and packed in four stakes races at Saint-Cloud last Saturday, with the Listed Prix Omnium II providing the first TDN Rising Star on the European turf for 2023...

4th-Chantilly, $29,000, Debutantes, 2-6, 3yo, c/g, 8f (AWT), 1:39.82, ft. MR MOLIERE (GB) (g, 3, Kingman {GB}--Armande {Ire} {GSW & G1SP-Fr, $222,116}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}). O-Baron Edouard de Rothschild & Lady O'Reilly; B-SC Ecurie de Meautry & Petra Bloodstock Agency Ltd (GB); T-Andre Fabre; J-M. Guyon. Horseracing is a game of old. Appropriately, there is so much from the 17th and 18th centuries in the pedigree of Chantilly demolition winner Mr Moliere (GB). "Monsieur Moliere" for the French race commentator, evidemment. Moliere was the stage name of Jean-Baptiste...

Runner-up to stablemate Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) when setting a lively tempo in last year's GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S., Tribhuvan (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}) was the recipient of a beautifully rated ride from Manny Franco and proved not for catching while besting fellow Chad Brown trainee Adhamo (Ire) (Intello {Ger}) by 3 1/2 convincing lengths. Pace-compromised Gufo (Declaration of War), the 9-4 favorite, reprised his third-place finish from a year ago with a belated rally. Tribhuvan, whose front-running chances were done no damage when the typically prominent Channel...

Benoit Jeffroy's Haras de Castillon, a burgeoning force on the French racing and bloodstock scenes, burst into international prominence in December when it consigned the Group 1-winning Grand Glory (Ire) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, where she sold for €2.5-million. The quickly growing Castillon has only been in existence under its current guise since 2015, but the Jeffroy family has a history of breeding quality racehorses from their SCEA des Prairies, with just one recent example being Zelda (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}), a listed winner last...

Four days of selling in Deauville wrapped up on Tuesday with the single-session v2 Yearling Sale, back from a pandemic-necessitated hiatus in 2020. From 129 offered, 96 yearlings were sold at a clearance rate of 74.4%; it was 79% in 2019. With 14 fewer sold, the aggregate dipped 28.6% to €2,912,500. The average was down 18.2% to €30,339, while the median dropped 20.9% to €24,500. Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International Agency signed for the joint top lots at €140,000, a filly by Toronado (Ire) and a colt by Mehmas...

Since Al Shaqab Racing's first foray into racehorse ownership, the organization has grown exponentially with strong investment in bloodstock globally. The company has built an impressive stud farm at Haras de Bouquetot, which houses its nine-strong stallion roster as well as playing host to a broodmare band that includes dual G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) and multiple Group 1 winner Qemah (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) to name a few. However, it may be Al Shaqab's investment in personnel that sees the company thrive and...