It seemed like all the ingredients were there for Muhaarar to make an immediate and significant impact, a two-year-old winner in May who was blessed with brazen speed on the racecourse and the fiercest of support from Sheikh Hamdan in his second career at stud.

Not only did Sheikh Hamdan send a handful of Shadwell's best mares to his prized homebred in that first year, but he also went to great lengths to secure the pick of Muhaarar's debut yearlings at the sales in 2018, including the top-priced filly at 925,000gns.

It was an immense show of faith from the legendary owner-breeder in the hope that Muhaarar might one day prove to be a worthy successor to his grandsire, Green Desert, the flagship stallion on the Shadwell roster for many years and a hugely influential sire of sires, having produced the likes of Cape Cross (Ire), Invincible Spirit (Ire) and, of course, Muhaarar's own sire, Oasis Dream (GB).

Perhaps the best compliment that can be paid to Muhaarar is that he was arguably a better racehorse than any of them. Having made the breakthrough in Group 1 company when winning the inaugural running of the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, Muhaarar then went on an unstoppable run which saw him add the G1 July Cup, G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and G1 Champions Sprint S. to his unique haul.

A few other top-class performers came along shortly after him in what can often be a muddled sprinting division, the likes of Battaash (Ire)–also trained by Charlie Hills for Sheikh Hamdan–Blue Point (Ire) and Harry Angel (Ire), but none of them achieved what Muhaarar did in winning four Group 1 races in the same season.

However, whereas Blue Point romped to top honours in the first-season sire ranks last year, having 41 individual winners in Britain and Ireland, it's fair to say that Muhaarar found it altogether tougher going with his first runners four years earlier.

Ranked joint-sixth among the leading first-season sires in Britain and Ireland in 2019, Muhaarar did have a black-type performer among his 12 winners in that first crop of two-year-olds, the Group 3-placed filly Unforgetable (Ire), but otherwise it was a rather forgettable debut year.

Better was to come in 2020 when Muhaarar was the leading second-season sire in Britain and Ireland with 44 individual winners. His 17 juvenile winners included Sheikh Hamdan's G3 Horris Hill S. hero Mujbar (GB), plus Amo Racing's Baradar (Ire), who won two of his first three starts before finishing third in the G1 Futurity Trophy.

It was Muhaarar's 27 three-year-old winners that year who surprised most observers, though, chiefly with the range of distances they were capable at. Unforgetable continued to look cut from the same cloth as her sire when Listed-placed over five and a half furlongs and Group 3-placed over seven, but Muhaarar's other highly-rated runners in Britain and Ireland included Albaflora (GB), runner-up in the Listed Noel Murless S. over a mile and five furlongs, while, in France, Paix (Ire) won the G3 Prix de Lutece over a mile and seven.

It's in France that Muhaarar finds himself in 2024 for the third straight year. It was announced in the autumn of 2021–just a few months after the death of Sheikh Hamdan–that Muhaarar would be relocating to Alain Chopard's Haras des Faunes in Bordeaux where he covered 54 mares at a fee of €5,000 in 2022 and 124 mares at a fee of €7,500 in 2023.

Now, Muhaarar is limbering up for his first season standing at Haras du Petit Tellier following a deal which saw him make the move from Bordeaux to Normandy in August last year. Shadwell owner Sheikha Hissa retains half of the shares in the stallion, with the other half being made up of a consortium of French breeders.

Eric Puerari of Haras des Capucines is at the helm of the new syndicate, managed by Capucines Bloodstock, and it's clear in his view that Britain's loss is France's gain with a stallion who has so much to offer–if not the guarantee of speedy, two-year-old winners which eventually saw his popularity on home soil decline.

“It's a very exciting, new adventure,” Puerari begins when explaining how the stallion came to be at Haras du Petit Tellier. “Muhaarar had been leased in the south-west with Haras des Faunes for two years. My partner, Michel Zerolo, loved the horse and we made an offer to Shadwell to purchase half of him.

“He didn't totally convince the English breeders because they thought his progeny were not precocious enough. They take a bit of time to come [to hand], but they're durable and very resistant. They've won all over the world–France, England, Ireland, United States, everywhere. He's a very versatile sire and they can win from six furlongs to a mile and a half.”

Muhaarar stands at an increased fee of €14,000 this season–albeit still a fair way below the £30,000 he stood for in his first three years at Nunnery Stud–following what was arguably the most successful year yet for his progeny on the racecourse in 2023.

The versatility Puerari speaks of was certainly on show throughout last year. G1 July Cup runner-up Run To Freedom (GB) and G3 Bengough S. winner Annaf (Ire) both achieved notable results over six furlongs, while Israr (GB) won the G2 Princess Of Wales's S. and Trevaunance (Ire) filled the runner-up spot in the G1 Preis Von Europa, both races run over a mile and a half.

Above all else, the highlight in 2023 was provided by Classic hero Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire), who became Muhaarar's second individual Group 1 winner in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains before going on to finish third behind the top-class pair of Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) and Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club.

Incidentally, Muhaarar's first Group 1 winner was Shadwell homebred Eshaada (GB) when she won the Fillies & Mares S. back in 2021. That was a thrilling contest in which she just held off paternal sibling Albaflora by a short head after the two talented, middle-distance performers had gone head-to-head for much of the Ascot straight.

Neither filly finished with the same ferocity that Muhaarar did when blitzing down the same straight to win the Commonwealth Cup and Champions Sprint S. six years earlier, but clearly there are other qualities which have been passed down, both from him and his maternal grandsire Linamix (Fr), a noted influence for stamina at stud.

Expertly unpicking Muhaarar's pedigree, Puerari says, “Interestingly, he has inbreeding on both sides to Lyphard and Mill Reef who were two real champions of their time. They are the two grandsires of the dam of Oasis Dream.

“Muhaarar traces back to Pugnacity, one of the top-class mares of Major Holliday's breeding operation. Pugnacity was the dam of Relkino, who was a champion horse in England. He was by Relko and you'll find again that Relko blood in Linamix.

“Linamix is a top broodmare sire. He's the broodmare sire of Kendargent and it gives that will to win to his progeny. And this is very important when you are breeding, to try to find blood with a will to win.”

Everything seemed to come easily to Muhaarar in most of his Group 1 victories, but that will to win was certainly in evidence the day he won the July Cup, looking on the back foot for much of the race before edging ahead close home to get the verdict by a nose.

The last few years of Muhaarar's stallion career have arguably been characterised in much the same way, having to fight hard for every bit of success he's enjoyed having been written off in some quarters, deserted by many of the breeders who rushed to him early on.

Now, Muhaarar can start to enjoy the fruits of his labour with a limited book of up to 130 mares due to visit him at Haras du Petit Tellier in 2024, the most expensive stallion on a roster which also includes Elvstroem (Aus), Recoletos (Fr) and The Grey Gatsby (Ire).

Jean-Daniel Manceau, responsible for stallion nominations at Capucines Bloodstock, says, “He will be used by plenty of French and international breeders, including Henri Bozo from Haras des Monceaux, Guy Pariente and Jean-Claude Seroul, who races all of his stock. He will also be supported by Shadwell, obviously. They will send a full-sister to the champion mare Taghrooda.

“We also have a good group of shareholders. We've got the Dubois family who will support him a lot. They have bred already some very good horses this year, and in the past, like Sauterne and Elusive Princess.

“We've also got Haras de Saint Pair [owned by Andreas Putsch], a very good breeder here in France, and Peter Kavanagh of Kildaragh Stud. And, obviously, we have Haras des Capucines who will support him a lot with some of our best mares.”

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Now owned by Shadwell and a consortium of French breeders including Haras des Capucines, and Haras de Saint-Pair, the bay is managed by Capucines Bloodstock, with Eric Puerari taking point.

The 11-year-old's year was highlighted by the victory of his son Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire) in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains. That runner would go on to place third in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club. Since the start of the year, he is responsible for nine stakes winners, with other three other Pattern horses among in G2 Princess Of Wales's S. hero Israr (GB) and two-time graded winner Motorious (GB) and G3 Bengough S. hero Annaf (Ire).

In total, Muhaarar has sired 24 stakes winners, half of them at group level. His other Group 1 winner is G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. heroine Eshaada (GB).

He bred 124 mares at Haras des Faunes in 2023.

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The group of breeders is comprised of Jean-Pierre Dubois and several generations of his family, Haras des Capucines, Haras de Saint-Pair, and several others. Sheikha Hissa will retain half of the shares in the stallion, and the syndicate will be managed by Capucines Bloodstock, with Puerari at the helm.

A Shadwell homebred, Muhaarar was champion sprinter of 2015, when he won the G1 Commonwealth Cup, G1 July Cup, G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and G1 British Champions Sprint S. as a 3-year-old. He began his career at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud, beginning at a fee of £30,000. He was moved to Haras des Faunes after the death of Sheikh Hamdan in a two-year arrangement.

“He started at Shadwell, and the first two years, he was so popular it was impossible to get a season,” said Puerari. But after a relatively slow start at stud, and the death of Sheikh Hamdan, Shadwell accepted an offer from Faunes. The stallion has been very hot the past two years, and after breeding 54 mares at Faunes in 2022 at a €5,000 fee, he covered 124 in 2023 at a €7,500 fee.

“Last year, he had an exceptional year and when you look at his statistics, he's boxing way above his weight for a horse who stood this year for an advertised stud fee of €7,500,” said Puerari. “Last year, he had an amazing percentage of stakes winners per runners. His numbers are very good. He's been kind of a forgotten horse.”

In 2023, Muhaarar has been represented by Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire), the winner of the G1 French Guineas, who went on to be third in the G1 French Derby, and Cicero's Gift (GB) an undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' through his first three starts before missing in the G1 St. James's Palace S.

His recent top runners demonstrate his versatility. 'TDN Rising Star' Be Your Best (Ire) was second in the GI Del Mar Oaks at nine furlongs on the turf on Friday; Run To Freedom (GB) was second in the six-furlong G1 July Cup on July 15; three days earlier, 'TDN Rising Star' Israr (GB) won the G2 Princess of Wales's S. at twice that distance; and this spring at Santa Anita, Motorius won the GIII San Simon S. at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

“He does tend to produce horses who stay, which is strange for a sprinter, because he's by Oasis Dream (GB),” said Puerari, “but when you look at Oasis Dream's pedigree, there's a lot of staying blood. We think he really fits a niche that we don't have in France in the €10,000-€15,000 range. For example, this year when Mishriff got hurt, after Intello, Galiway, Goken, and few others, there's not much. Not many people are going to travel to England and Ireland to breed for €10,000. So I think he should be very popular.”

Muhaarar will travel from Bordeaux to Normandy this coming week, where he will be available for breeders' inspection.

“He gets good-looking stock and he is himself a very good-looking horse,” he said. “He's a very well balanced horse. He's mid-sized. Very dark bay, no white. He's very handsome horse, with a beautiful head.

“We'll decide on his stud fee later. We'll wait for the end of the year and put him at a fee where people won't try to negotiate, because he'll be good value.”

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Mylady is the only reported foal out of Minoris (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}), herself an unraced daughter of Monspa (GB) (Monsun {Ger}). Monspa, in turn, is kin to Listed Hampton Court S. victor and G2 Hardwicke S. placegetter Persian Majesty (Ire) (Grand Lodge). Mylady's third dam Spa (GB) (Sadler's Wells) also produced Spasha (GB) (Shamardal), whose trio of stakes winners is headed by G1 Diamond Jubilee S. and G1 Sprint Cup hero Hello Youmzain (Fr) (Kodiac {GB}) and G2 Gran Criterium victor Royal Youmzain (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}). Mylady's fourth dam is G3 Lancashire Oaks victrix Sandy Island (GB) (Mill Reef), herself kin to runaway G1 Epsom Derby-winning sire Slip Anchor (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}). Sandy Island's descendants also include G1 Sisterna S. victor Summer Passage (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), with this being the dam line of legendary racemare and producer Schwarzgold (Ger) (Alchimist {Ger}).

Sunday, Dusseldorf, Germany
JUNIOREN-PREIS-Listed, €22,500, Dusseldorf, 9-12, 2yo, 8fT, 1:38.50, g/s.
1–MYLADY (GER), 125, f, 2, by The Grey Gatsby (Ire)
1st Dam: Minoris (Fr), by Dabirsim (Fr)
2nd Dam: Monspa (GB), by Monsun (Ger)
3rd Dam: Spa (GB), by Sadler's Wells
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€20,000 RNA Ylg '20 BBAGO). O/B-Gestut Karlshof (GER); T-Markus Klug; J-Michael Cadeddu. €12,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, €17,000.
2–Ariolo (Ger), 128, c, 2, Reliable Man (GB)–Aussicht (Ger), by Haafhd (GB). (€95,000 RNA Ylg '20 BBAGS). O/B-Gestut Rottgen (GER); T-Markus Klug. €5,000.
3–Millionaire (Ger), 126, c, 2, Adlerflug (Ger)–Mill Marin (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). (€55,000 Ylg '20 BBAGS). O-Stall Emoji; B-Gestut Brummerhof (GER); T-Henk Grewe. €3,000.
Margins: HD, 1HF, 3/4. Odds: 6.60, 3.30, 4.30.
Also Ran: Sea Bay (Ger), *The Iconist (Ger), *Lavello (Ire), Grand Cru (Fr), Nathan (Ger), Rememberit (GB).
*Dead-heated for fifth.

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3rd-Compiegne, €20,000, Mdn, 7-2, 2yo, 7fT, 1:29.13, vsf.
JAY GATSBY (FR) (c, 2, The Grey Gatsby {Ire}–Hijaziyah {GB}, by Testa Rossa {Aus}), who posted a June 11 debut fourth over course and distance last time, was well away to race on the front end from flagfall in this one. Threatened on all sides once into the straight, the 16-5 favourite was stoked up approaching the final furlong and driven out in the closing stages to assert by two lengths from Balnikhov (Ire) (Adaay {Ire}), becoming the first winner for his freshman sire (by Mastercraftsman {Ire}). He is the latest of seven foals and fifth scorer produced by a winning half-sister to Listed Prix de Boulogne winner Mundybash (GB) (Diktat {GB}). The April-foaled chestnut is a half-brother to the dual stakes-placed Yanling (Fr) (Rio de La Plata) and Listed Prix Saraca runner-up Golconda (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}). Sales history: €55,000 Ylg '20 ARQSEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, €12,700. Video, sponsored by TVG.
O-Paul Le Solleu, Remy Dupuy-Naulot, Ecurie JML Racing & Marc Leonetti; B-Patrick Chedeville (FR); T-Carlos & Yann Lerner.

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There is not one member of the bloodstock fraternity who believes that this sales season will be in any way easy. As one major breeder observed on Tuesday morning, “If we get through this year and find that the market has dropped by a third then that would actually be a relief.” 

Set against world events, just to be healthy in 2020 is a win, and there will be some breeders and pinhookers who fare well in the next six weeks and those who will not. Most people with a horse to sell are accepting of that situation, and all that remains to be seen now is which of the major buyers decide to participate in Deauville, or perhaps keep their money in pockets for later sales.

There should be plenty here in Normandy to tempt them, however. No shortage of well-related individuals can be found in what is usually known as the August Sale. One standout simply has to be the Galileo (Ire) half-brother to last year’s €1.625 million sale-topper, whose other siblings include his full-sister Magic Wand (Ire) and her fellow Group 1 winners, Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}). This is Ecurie des Monceaux’s signature family, stemming from the purchase 16 years ago of the colt’s grandam Platonic (GB) (Zafonic) from Fittocks Stud for 100,000gns. As such, he needs little introduction, though there will be plenty of fanfare when the colt enters the ring on Thursday as lot 199 and, just to gild the lily, last year’s leading lady, now known as Philomene (Ire), won on debut for Andre Fabre last Thursday.

The siblings and half-siblings to Group 1 winners are plentiful in the pages of the Arqana catalogue. Lot 27 from Fairway Consignment is the Dariyan (Fr) half-sister to Danceteria (Fr) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), from a family which Dariyan’s sire Shamardal has worked so well with, namely as the father of Lope De Vega (Ire), who is a half-brother to this filly’s dam Bal De La Rose (Ire) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}).

Another filly with enhanced claims this season is lot 39, Haras de Montaigu’s Dream Ahead half-sister to dual Australian Group 1 winner Addeybb (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Then there’s the jewel that is the full-sister to dual Arc winner Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), who right from her first show on Sunday had all the composure of a horse who will be ready to face far busier environments than a sales ground. As lot 269, she follows 18 lots behind the Dubawi (Ire) (251) filly out of Starlet’s Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and of course the starlet in question as the half-sibling of this filly is Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}), but then she has a pretty famous brother, too, in last season’s G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}).

The catalogue for the three-day sale also features the offspring of no fewer than 23 first-season sires, with the biggest representation among the pack coming from the former champion 3-year-old Almanzor (Fr). Bred by Haras d’Etreham where he now stands, and whence his sire Wootton Bassett (GB) recently departed for Coolmore, he naturally features strongly among his home farm’s draft, which has eight catalogued, including a half-brother to GI Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Uni (GB) (More Than Ready) (lot 274).

Watch This Family
The draft of Haras du Petit Tellier, the Normandy farm which has belonged to Patrick Chedeville’s family for five generations, boasts not just a half-sibling to a Group 1 winner but also a number of offspring from the stud’s own freshman sire, the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Irish Champion S. winner The Grey Gatsby (Ire).

Lot 286 from the Petit Tellier consignment is a half-brother to the dual Group 1 winner Watch Me (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), who was bred and raced by Chedeville’s partner Antoinette Tamagni-Bodmer, who now offers the colt by another of the stud’s residents, Elvstroem (Aus). 

“In many ways it has been a wonderful year,” reflected Tamagni-Bodmer, who in 2017 welcomed the first crop of foals at her own private farm, Haras de Saint Julien, where Watch Me, the recent winner of the G1 Prix Rothschild, now resides. 

“She had a little problem in February in her fetlock, so then COVID for her was not a problem as I knew she would not be running before July. In the Rothschild the track was really fast and she likes it a bit softer, but she’s such a fighter and she won. She wasn’t lame coming straight out of the race but afterwards when we realised there was a problem with the fetlock again we said ‘stop’ straight away. By the Friday she was back home in the paddock.”

It is Tamagni-Bodmer’s intention to keep a select clutch of well-bred black-type mares at Saint Julien, and her operation could hardly have welcomed a better newcomer than the filly who also won last year’s G1 Coronation S., giving her trainer Francis Graffard, as well as her owner-breeder, a first Royal Ascot success.

Tamagni continued, “To me she is really a champion. To have bred a filly like this and then to have her back not long after I have created a completely new stud from scratch is a dream. If you want to make a proper breeding operation you need to have black-type fillies at the stud. My plan is mainly to sell the colts and to race the filies.”

One filly who will certainly be a keeper is the current foal of Watch Me’s dam Watchful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is by Golden Horn (GB). The mare is now in foal to Almanzor. For her newly-retired daughter, Tamagni still has her thinking cap on regarding her first mate next season.

She said, “I have some ideas for Watch Me and, with all the concerns about Brexit, I will send her to a stallion in France rather than go to Britain or Ireland. We have good stallions in France and it is important to support them with good mares.”

She added, “In this business, which I would call a passion, you always have to go forward and always ask questions about what you could do better. Every day you have to learn and you have to ask what you can learn from someone else.”

It is clear that Tamagni-Bodmer has learned plenty from Chedeville, whom she describes as a “traditional breeder”.

She says, “He doesn’t like to see the yearlings in their boxes. We prepare the yearlings from Petit Tellier and from my stud in exactly the same way. We don’t put them on a walker, they are only walked in hand and they go out in the paddocks, which is a risk, but I think it is very good for them mentally to do this.”

It’s not only Watch Me who has provided an update for the draft since the catalogue was printed but also Sunday’s winner of the British EBF Future Stayers Novice S. At York, Lenny’s Spirit (Fr) (Intello {Ger}), who is a half-brother to another Haras de Saint Julie-bred, lot 419. The chestnut colt by The Grey Gatsby is out of the G3 Prix des Reservoirs winner Moon Valley (Fr) (Aqlaam {GB}).

“The Grey Gatsby has such a good temperament and he is really stamping his yearlings with that same mentality and plenty of bone,” Tamagni-Bodmer said. 

“He was syndicated in five days when Patrick first bought him and had around 100 mares in his first crop. He had 99 mares again this year. We have supported him with our good mares and we are looking forward to seeing how the market accepts his yearlings.”

In an uncertain year, the same can be said for all yearlings, but the breeder and consignor was quick to praise Arqana in its rescheduling of the sale not once, but twice.

She said, “I don’t think Arqana could have done more than they have. It’s very hard to say what will happen but I’m sure with fewer trainers able to travel then fewer yearlings will be sold, even though the agents are all here. The quarantine in England is not helping as a lot of trainers aren’t here, but when I look around I see beautiful yearlings and I see clients, so we just have to be hopeful.”

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