Ace Impact has Trio of Mares in Foal

Haras de Beaumont's European champion three-year-old and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) has had his first three mares scanned in foal. 

These include the 2023 G3 Prix Imprudence winner Showay (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) and the Listed winner and Group-placed Mixed Intention (Ire) (Elusive City), who has already produced the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club third Millebosc (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire})

“Ace Impact is proving very popular with French and international breeders, and we are very grateful for the support. His first book is very exciting,” said Haras de Beaumont manager Mathieu Alex.

Ace Impact's stud-mate Sealiway (Fr) has his first foals arriving this year having covered 165 mares last season.

Alex added, “The first foals by Sealiway are now on the ground and we couldn't be more pleased with them.”

Ace Impact's fellow first-season sire Bouttemont (Ire) has also made a fast start to his new stallion career at Rathbarry Stud. The first three mares covered by the son of Acclamation (GB) have been confirmed as pregnant in recent days and 20 other mares are holding service to him.

Rathbarry's Niamh Woods commented, “We are delighted with the start that Bouttemont has made to his stallion career. Every mare covered by him that has been scanned so far has turned up pregnant, so we couldn't ask for any more. He is proving to be very popular and we are particularly excited by the volume of stakes performing and stakes producing mares he is attracting. Our clients are finding him an easy stallion to like, as there is a big sense of déjà vu with him being a son of Acclamation that looks so similar to his sire and has his same easy temperament. He's going to get a great chance to succeed as a stallion.”

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Beaumont has Ace in the Hole in a Stellar French Intake

The stallion business, just like many other aspects of life in the racing world, is a cyclical one. Riding the high waves is easy, but arguably of most importance is to keep paddling away below the water line when things are a little flat.

Keen observers of the French scene will detect a swell on the horizon. Following the untimely demise of Le Havre (Ire) and the sale to Coolmore of Wootton Bassett (GB), Siyouni (Fr) has been almost a lone head bobbing along in the elite waters, but the pool of talent is swiftly being refilled. A strong intake of stallions in France this year has an obvious leading player in the unbeaten Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Ace Impact (Ire), whose light shone brightly, if a little too briefly for some, during the summer of 2023.

The son of Cracksman (GB) has joined Haras de Beaumont, which, in less than two years of existence, is already home to the busiest French stallion of the year in Sealiway (Fr). That dual Group 1 winner will now have to make room for Ace Impact as he embarks on his new career as the most expensive first-season sire in the country for 2024 at a fee of €40,000.

Mathieu Alex runs Haras de Beaumont for Kamel Chehboub, who bought a 50% share in Ace Impact from Serge Stempniak midway through the season, and whose daughter Pauline is also heavily involved with the stud and the family's horses in training, who compete under the name of Gousserie Racing. 

“Serge Stempniak, who previously owned 100%, made it very clear when we approached him that he would like the horse to stand in France,” Alex explains. “Obviously Kamel and his family were very ambitious from day one. With Haras de Beaumont the idea was to try to have the best possible stallion prospects.”

Plenty of breeders have already had the chance to inspect Ace Impact during the week of the Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana, just 10 minutes down the road from Beaumont, which sits on part of the estate of the storied Haras du Quesnay. It is a safe bet that the stud will also be inundated with visitors during La Route des Etalons on the weekend of January 20 and 21.

“Haras de Beaumont was created last year, summer 2022, really. And when we had our first discussion with Kamel about this project, it was always very clear for him that standing stallions was an important part of the movement,” says Alex. 

“Obviously it started with Sealiway. He and his family were the owners of Sealiway, a top-class performer, so it was a nice introduction, you know, to be able to stand a horse like Sealiway. But we never could have thought that a year or two in we'd be standing on a horse like Ace Impact. It's great for the team. It's great for me. It's great for France.”

He continues, “I think his acceleration is probably what everyone is talking about. And the fact that he's unbeaten is a big deal. His trainer did a wonderful job in the way he spaced time between the races and targeted the best races he could. He was extremely impressive in the French Derby because he was so far back, yet very relaxed. And when you think that he was probably ten lengths behind Big Rock at the end of the straight and won by two and a half lengths beating that Group 1 winner, it's extraordinary.”

It is easy to forget that Ace Impact was still unraced at this time last year. Between the end of January and the beginning of October, he ran six times in a faultless progression from maiden to champion. Shortly after the horse's retirement, his trainer Jean-Claude Rouget told TDN why he had chosen to start the horse off at Cagnes-sur-Mer in January. 

“I prefer to give [my horses] experience and, to me, Cagnes-sur-Mer is a very good track,” he said. “I used to send 30 or 40 horses every winter. I did the same with Raabihah. She should have won the Diane for me. She was a close fourth, and after [Cagnes] she won [a Listed race] in Longchamp. I consider running in January to be the same as running in November. I don't push my horses to start. First time out I want there to be no risk.”

With Frankel's son Onesto (Ire) retiring to Haras d'Etreham for the coming season, Ace Impact extends that line again to the next generation and also increases the amount of Galileo blood available at Beaumont. Alongside Galileo's grandson Sealiway, there is also the dependable Intello (Ger), a son of Galileo whose season has been lifted by his dual Group 1-winning son Junko (GB).

 

Ace Impact's dam Absolutly Me (Fr) is a daughter of another Prix du Jockey Club winner in Anabaa Blue (GB), which brings in some inbreeding to the influential mare Allegretta (GB), whose daughters Urban Sea and Allez les Trois appear on opposite sides of Ace Impact's pedigree as the dams of Galileo and Anabaa Blue respectively. 

“Ace Impact is obviously from the Frankel line and his dam has produced five runners, five winners, and three black-type horses, including a champion. She's a good mare. And it's a nice combination between speed–Cracksman's dam is by Pivotal–and obviously stamina,” says Alex.

“Because he never raced outside France, we've had a lot of people coming to see him–Americans, Japanese, obviously [breeders from] Europe, England, Ireland, Germany, France. You know, it's very exciting. They all come with the excitement of coming to see a champion, and to see him physically is very important. He's going down very well.”

As Pauline Chehboub greeted those breeders through early December, she was able to bring them into the stud office for refreshments alongside the imposing trophy presented for the horse's final race, which is a replica of the Arc de Triomphe itself.

She casts her mind back to that day at Lonchamp in October. “The preparation was so good. Jean-Claude Rouget was so happy with him, so there was no pressure until the week of the race,” she says. “It was crazy to have the Arc favourite, an unbeaten three-year-old. So it was a memorable day, maybe [the most memorable] in our life.”

Chehboub continues, “It's special that we're just a new stud, a new project; and to have a champion like that, just one year after the beginning is incredible. And we are very happy with Sealiway, too, because he was the most popular stallion in France this season, for his first season.”

But this year, it's the Cartier champion three-year-old colt that people are flocking to see. She adds of Ace Impact, “Everybody wants to see him, to touch him. He's not a legend, but he will be, I hope so. He's special and it means a lot to us.”

 

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Intello’s Junko Dominates Munich Feature

Alain and Gerard Wertheimer's Junko (GB) (Intello {Ger}–Lady Zuzu, by Dynaformer), who hit the board in July's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud earlier this term, encountered just three rivals in Sunday's 12-furlong G1 Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern at Munich and made virtually all to claim a career high in Europe's final Group 1 contest of the season.

Last term's G3 Prix Noailles and this term's G3 Prix de Reux victor, third in ParisLongchamp's Oct. 15 G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris when last seen, was uncomfortable with an early crawl and immediately upped the tempo when seizing control approaching the judge first time. Comfortable on the lead until nudged along in early straight, the 13-10 second favourite was beyond recall once stretching clear passing the quarter-mile marker and stayed on relentlessly in the latter stages to easily account for Assistent (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) by three lengths. Gestut Ittlingen's G1 Preis von Europa heroine and 11-10 favourite India (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) was unable to land a telling blow and finished 2 1/2 lengths adrift in third, four lengths clear of the whipper-in Best Of Lips (Ire) (The Gurkha {Ire}). Junko will now point to the G1 Hong Kong Vase.

“He is a very big horse who needs time to get going and the slow early pace was not ideal, so I let him canter to the front,” Bauyrzhan Murzabayev told GaloppOnline. The jockey, who will ride for the Peter Schiergen stable next season after spending a year based with Andre Fabre, added, “I was sitting on the best horse in the race, so I could risk letting him take the lead and make his own race. He loved the soft ground, the trainer knows exactly what he's doing and I am grateful for the opportunity of riding him today.”

 

Pedigree Notes
Junko, his sire's third Group 1 winner, is the leading performer out of GIII Regret S. and GIII Edgewood S. placegetter Lady Zuzu (Dynaformer), herself kin to MGSW GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and GI Woodford Reserve Manhattan H. runner-up Optimizer (English Channel) and to the dam of stakes-winning GI Belmont Derby Invitational third Cellist (Big Blue Kitten). The April foaled-homebred bay's third dam, GI Hempstead H. victrix Fantastic Find (Mr. Prospector), produced GI Acorn S. and GI Matron S. heroine Finder's Fee (Storm Cat), herself the third dam of unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero and sire Flightline (Tapit). Junko, kin to a yearling colt by Siyouni (Fr) and a weanling colt by Uncle Mo, hails from the family of elite-level winners Dancing Spree (Nijinsky), Furlough (Easy Goer), Heavenly Prize (Seeking The Gold) and Oh What A Windfall (Seeking The Gold).

Sunday, Munich, Germany
GROSSER ALLIANZ PREIS VON BAYERN-G1, €155,000, Munich, 11-5, 3yo/up, 12fT, 2:47.06, g/s.
1–JUNKO (GB), 132, g, 4, by Intello (Ger)
       1st Dam: Lady Zuzu (MGSP-US, $112,615), by Dynaformer
       2nd Dam: Indy Pick, by A.P. Indy
       3rd Dam: Fantastic Find, by Mr. Prospector
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere (GB); T-Andre Fabre; J-Bauyrzhan Murzabayev. €100,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW-Fr, 12-6-2-3, €435,020. Click for the the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Assistent (Ger), 132, c, 4, Sea The Moon (Ger)–Anna Kalla (Ger), by Kalatos (Ger). (€58,000 Ylg '20 BBAGS). O-Eckhard Sauren & Liberty Racing 2020; B-Gestut Rottgen (GER); T-Henk Grewe. €30,000.
3–India (Ger), 129, m, 5, Adlerflug (Ger)–Ivory Coast (Fr), by Peintre Celebre. O-Gestut Ittlingen; B-Gestut Hof Ittlingen (GER); T-Waldemar Hickst. €15,000.
Margins: 3, 2HF, 4. Odds: 1.30, 4.10, 1.10.
Also Ran: Best Of Lips (Ire). Scratched: Rebel's Romance (Ire).

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Ace Impact To Stand At €40,000

Haras de Beaumont's new recruit, the top-rated 3-year-old Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), will stand at an opening fee of €40,000. Unbeaten in six starts, the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained colt won the Prix du Jockey Club in record time and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

“Ace Impact proved himself to be an exceptional athlete,” said Haras de Beaumont manager Mathieu Alex of the dual Group 1 winner.

“The recent victory of Big Rock (Fr), who was second to Ace Impact at Chantilly, yet again underscored the brilliance of his win in the French Derby, which he won by 3.5 lengths. His lightning turn of foot, coupled with his warrior mindset, combined to make him an outstanding performer. He has a lot going for him to as regards becoming a top-class stallion. We are very grateful to the early support received by European breeders. The fact that he is beginning his stallion career in France at Haras de Beaumont is a very positive news for our country.”

Ace Impact's stud-mate Intello (Ger) will remain at a fee of €8,000 in 2024. The son of Galileo (Ire) covered 125 mares in his first year at Haras de Beaumont.

“That's one of the biggest 'books' of his stallion career,” Alex said. “The ratio of his progeny gaining black type per runner (10.6%) ranks as one of the best in France in the proven sires' division.

“The sire of 41 stakes performers, Intello has enjoyed another fine year in 2023. His yearlings have sold for as much as €135,000 this year, which is proof positive of the confidence levels in which the professionals have in him.”

Beaumont is also home to the dual Group 1 winner Sealiway (Fr) whose pedigree received a further boost over the weekend when his full-brother Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) won the G1 Critérium International (Gr1). Sealiway was the busiest stallion in France this year, covering 166 mares in his first book, and will remain at the same fee of €12,000 in 2024.

“Sealiway was crowned French champion 2-year-old following an easy win in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, and he was also one of Europe's top 3-year-olds, having finished second in the Prix du Jockey-Club won by St Mark's Basilica (Fr). Furthermore, his victory in the Champion S. at Ascot left a lasting impression,” said Alex.

“Haras de Beaumont has supported Sealiway from day one and will continue to do so as we have great faith in him.”

Completing the line-up is the Group 3-winning miler Stunning Spirit (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who will have his first runners in 2024 and will stand at a fee of €3,000.

“The 2024 season will be an important one for Stunning Spirit,” Alex added. “We are very pleased with his yearlings that have gone to trainers. The feedback emanating from various professionals is very positive, and we can't wait to see his first 2-year-olds on the racecourse.”

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