The Arqana Lowdown: Haras d'Etreham

Haras d'Etreham was top of the pops last year at the Arqana August Sale when selling a Dubawi (Ire) half-sister to the Group 1-winning duo of Wooded (Ire) and Bucanero Fuerte (Fr) for €2.4m to Oliver St Lawrence on behalf of Victorious Racing. Now named Battle Rhythm (GB), she has been assigned to trainer William Haggas. 

Will history repeat itself when Etreham brings the full-brother to last year's sale-topper as Lot 134 late in Friday's opening session ? Time will tell.

The Etreham stallion ranks will be boosted next year by the Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Victor Ludorum (GB), who has his first yearlings for sale at Arqana and is on the moved from Haras du Logis. He will eventually be joined at the stud by this year's winner of that same race, Metropolitan (Fr).

Etreham, which is run by Nicolas de Chambure, ended last year's sale as the second-leading vendor with 18 sold for €6,077,000. It had also been responsible for the top lot back in 2021 when selling a Dubawi filly out of Typique (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) on behalf of Thierry Gillier's Haras Voltaire for €2.4m. That filly's half-sister, the G2 Prix de Malleret winner Babylone (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), features in this year's 21-strong draft as the dam of Lot 66, a filly by Etreham's former star resident Wootton Bassett (GB).

Nicolas de Chambure says: “We stayed involved a little bit with Wootton Bassett after we sold him and he's a horse we've tried to use as much as we can. We bred six of his Group 1 winners so he has been really good to us in terms of helping our mares, and we are lucky to have three really nice fillies and a colt by him in our draft. Hopefully they are all very representative of what he gets on type: good-looking horses with a bit of strength and class, and if so they will sell well.

“Victor Ludorum is in Australia at the moment, shuttling to Darley, but he will be coming to us when he returns. It's good timing as there is a strong representation of his first yearlings at Arqana.

“The Dubawi colt out of Frida La Blonde (Fr) is different to his sister [last year's top lot]. He's a bit more Dubawi, whereas the filly was a bit more [like damsire] Elusive City. He's still a bit immature as he was born later than his sister and we know August can come a bit soon for some of those later-born foals. It's typical of those foals to do so much through the prep. He's still a bit babyish but people will see for themselves and whoever buys him will have a horse who will be evolving a lot through the autumn. He's a quality colt with a good walk and I hope he goes to a good home.

“We're also bringing three well-bred fillies to Book 1 in Tattersalls. They had a place in August but it was just going to come a bit soon and we felt it would be good to spread them around a little bit in different markets. The August Sale is good and it has its place and tradition in the calendar but it can be tricky for certain horses.

“The next week will be a mix of stress and excitement. Obviously there is some really good racing over the next few weeks, and all of the racing world is there so it is a great time to showcase French racing. It's also a good time to see how well France is doing internationally in attracting major owners to this sale.”

Draft highlights: 

Lot 152 is a Victor Ludorum half-sister to Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Zarakem (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}). 

“Zarakem is going to run in the Juddmonte International and his half-sister is a nice filly who is a good showcase for the stallion – on type and on pedigree,” says de Chambure. “It's a family that we've had for a while as we had Luminosity on the farm, who bred the filly's granddam Harem Lady, who was good performer herself.”

Another yearling by a first-season stallion is Lot 58,  a Palace Pier (GB) half-brother to the top sprinter and sire Aclaim (Ire) and he is not the only close relation to a Group 1 winner in the draft. One of the aforementioned Wootton Bassett fillies, Lot 225, is a half-sister to the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}),

Claim to fame: Bucanero Fuerte and Wooded, both by Wootton Bassett, are Etreham graduates, having been sold at the August and October sales respectively, and the stud can also claim bragging rights for the European champion three-year-old Almanzor (Fr), also by Wootton Bassett and his earliest bright star when the stallion stood for a bargain fee at Etreham. He was later sold to Coolmore and now stands for €200,000.

Also on the sales roll of honour are the GI Belmont Oaks winner Magic Attitude (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and the GI Jenny Wiley Stakes winner Uni (GB) (More Than Ready).

Last word: “I feel that in the last six months in particular the French-bred and -trained horses have been doing really well, both in France and abroad. I would be hopeful that that will help the French yearling market. We are also seeing a new generation of French trainers doing really well, which is a big plus for owners in knowing they can buy yearlings in France and leave them here with trainers who have proved themselves.”