Jean-Claude Rouget | Horse Racing Free Tips

Seven Days: Jubilation

With Britain en fete in the midst of the Platinum Jubilee festivities, the Oaks and Derby fell slap-bang in the middle of a four-day bank holiday and, despite the absence of Her Majesty the Queen at Epsom, the meeting still offered much cause for celebration.

Sir Michael Stoute is never one to blow his own horn, though he is often heard humming on Newmarket Heath while watching his horses work. And as one of British racing's senior trainers, on the royal roster to boot, he was a most fitting winning trainer for the Cazoo Derby with Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), even though, in typically modest fashion, he was quick to refer to the Derby he had 'lost' for The Queen when her Carlton House finished third in 2011.

Never mind that, in winning the Derby for the sixth time, he also became, at the age of 76, the oldest trainer to have done so, taking that particular record from former Newmarket trainer Mat Dawson, who landed the race in 1895, when he was 75, with Sir Visto.

In Richard Kingscote, Stoute appears to have found the perfect jockey for his stable, which previously had such a successful association with the similarly taciturn Ryan Moore. Saturday was a huge day for 35-year-old Kingscote, winning the Derby for the first time on only his second ride in the race, but he enjoyed the moment and accepted the plaudits with endearing humility and complete absence of hoopla.

Interviewed the following morning on Luck On Sunday he was asked how he and Stoute's relationship is developing, replying with a straight-bat delivery of which the trainer would have approved enormously.

“Well, neither of us like to talk much,” he said in deadpan fashion.

It would appear that neither trainer nor jockey will need to do much talking when they have a horse who does that for them. Certainly the stable whispers had grown ahead of the Dante, and Stoute's quiet confidence before and since York was fully vindicated on the most prestigious strip of turf of them all at Epsom.

Desert Crown, with just three impeccable runs to his name, is now as short as 3/1 favourite for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October. For a trainer so adept with progressive middle-distance horses it seems almost remiss that Stoute has won the Arc just once, in 2010. But when he did, it was with his most recent Derby winner before Saturday, Workforce (GB). That great horse's sire King's Best had also been resident at Stoute's Freemason Lodge stable, and won the 2,000 Guineas for Desert Crown's owner Saeed Suhail. Underlining the trainer's versatility is the fact that the most recent top-class performer he has had for Suhail was the sprinter Dream Of Dreams (Ire) (Dream Ahead), winner of the last year's G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot.

Nathaniel the Elite

Nathaniel (Ire) entered elite company on Saturday in joining the group of stallions to have sired a Derby and an Oaks winner. Of course his own sire Galileo (Ire) is a fully paid-up member of this group, as are two of his other sons, fellow Derby winner New Approach (GB), sire of Masar (Ire) and Talent (GB), and Frankel (GB), with Adayar (Ire) and Anapurna (GB) to his credit. Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire) is also part of this set, courtesy of Harzand (Ire) and Taghrooda (GB), and he enhanced his Epsom roll of honour when Hukum (GB) won Friday's G1 Coronation Cup.

But let's not forget some mighty mares. On Friday at Epsom, both Group 1 winners already had Group 1-winning full-siblings. Hukum, handing his trainer Owen Burrows a first top-level win, is the brother of Baaeed (GB), who is arguably the most exciting horse in training at the moment. Their Listed-winning dam Aghareed provides what appears to be a pretty magical cross for Sea The Stars with Kingmambo, and is herself a daughter of the dual Grade I winner Lahudood (GB) Singspiel {Ire}). Notably, her current 2-year-old, Naqeeb (GB), is by Nathaniel and he will be heading into training with William Haggas. And in Jubilee year it was fitting that the Coronation Cup winner emanated from a family initially developed by the Royal Studs.

Similarly brimming in talent is the family of Oaks winner Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). She became the third Classic winner for her dual Group 1-winning dam Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) after Minding (Ire) and Empress Josephine (Ire).

Thinking of Josh

Amid all the jubilation on Friday, and a fourth win in the Oaks for Ballydoyle's number one jockey with Tuesday, thoughts also turned to Ryan Moore's brother Josh, who remains in hospital making a steady recovery from serious complications following a race fall on April 16.

“Every day we talk and always the first thing we speak about is Josh, and then everything else leads on from there,” said Aidan O'Brien in the post-race press conference. “We hope and pray that every day Josh makes another little bit of improvement.

“Everyone is very conscious and aware of what the important things are, but Ryan is obviously a very professional person and when he has to do his job he just goes into a different zone. That's his job and we are very grateful to him for doing it.”

London Calling for Derby Runner-up

The Goffs London Sale returns this year after a two-year hiatus and, rather unusually, the catalogue includes a Classic-placed colt.

Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) upheld the faith shown in him by his owner Ahmad Al Shaikh when storming to a second-place finish in the Derby on Saturday at odds of 150/1, and he remains as lot 6 for next Monday's eve-of-Royal Ascot sale, now with a rather significant update to his page.

It was the third year that Al Shaikh had had a Derby runner, with Khalifa Sat (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) also finishing second in 2020, and Youth Spirit (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) running eighth last year.

All three were trained by Andrew Balding, who said of Hoo Ya Mal, a 40,000gns yearling purchase by Federico Barberini, “I have Ahmad Al Shaikh to thank entirely, because I didn't want to run in the race but he insisted.”

Balding also trained the fourth home, Masekela (Ire) (El Kabeir) for Mick and Janice Mariscotti, whose good day at Epsom was augmented by the win of Swilcan Bridge (GB) (Helmet {Aus}) in the opening race. Both Swilcan Bridge and Hoo Ya Mal were bred by the Weinfeld family at Meon Valley Stud, who were also the owner/breeders of the 2019 Oaks winner Anapurna (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

Aga Khan Appreciation Day

There's little let-up in the Classic calendar in Europe at this time of year and no sooner had the smoke cleared from the ill-advised pre-Derby fireworks at Epsom than attention turned to Chantilly for the Prix du Jockey Club.

The British-trained duo of El Bodegon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) dug deep but could offer no riposte to the streaking home run of the Aga Khan homebred Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}).

“It's been quite a day, quite significant,” said the Aga Khan Studs manager in France, Georges Rimaud, as he assessed a magnificent afternoon which featured three stakes winners for the team.

The trio was led by Vadeni, whose victory was significant for a number of reasons, not least because he was the first Classic winner for Coolmore's young Guineas winner Churchill (Ire). For his owner/breeder he represented a ninth victory in the Prix du Jockey Club, and he was the fifth for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, whose run started back in 2009 with Le Havre (Ire).

Adding to the spoils was Baiykara (Fr), a maiden from two starts prior to Sunday but now a new group winner for her sire Zarak (Fr), who made such a promising start with his first runners last season and was the toast of the autumn and winter sales. It is easy to imagine that the Aga Khan would be thrilled to see Zarak properly succeed at stud as he is of course a son of the mare he considered to be the greatest achievement of his lengthy spell as a breeder, the great Zarkava (Fr), a fifth-generation descendant of Prince Aly Khan's champion, Petite Etoile (GB). As the Aga Khan Studs operation celebrates its centenary this year, Vadeni's success was extremely apposite, but there was more to come for both Zarak and the runners in the green and red.

Francis Graffard is now overseeing the Aga Khan's private training centre at Aiglemont along with his own training operation and, after saddling Baiykara to triumph in the G3 Prix de Royaumont, he struck again with another smart 3-year-old later on the card when Rozgar (Fr) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) won the Listed Prix Marchand d'Or, giving retained jockey Christophe Soumillon a memorable treble. Rozgar's victory was all the sweeter for his breeder as his dam, the listed-placed Roshanara (Fr), is a daughter of Sea The Stars (Ire), who stands on his Irish roster.

William Haggas, who has his string in sensational form, added to the party by having Zarak's daughter Purplepay (Fr) well primed on just her second start for him and her new owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stable, who paid €2 million for the Group 1-placed juvenile at Arqana in December. She can now have her name displayed in bold black type after a taking victory in the G2 Prix de Sandringham.

“It has been a very nice day: a Group 1, a Group 3 and a Listed race, and three victories with three very different horses,” Rimaud said.

“Vadeni did it very easily beating some very nice horses. He's a true champion and we're very pleased in this centennial year. His Highness and Princess Zahra are obviously very happy but sometimes it just happens like this–it's nice that it has happened this way though because it puts a little focus on what we do. There's a long road ahead but hopefully [Vadeni] will be able to make the stallion roster.”

Aurora Australis

Mare Australis (Ire), the most beautiful deep liver chestnut, has been raced sparingly through his four seasons to date, and a fetlock injury kept him off the track between his G1 Prix Ganay victory in May 2021 and his placed return in the G2 Prix d'Harcourt two months ago.

It was therefore great to see the patience of his owner/breeder Gestut Schlenderhan repaid with a fourth win for the 5-year-old, this time in the G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly. The Arc had been the plan last year until injury intervened, and it remains on the cards this season.

“We breed stayers,” said Philipp von Ullmann, son of Schlenderhan's owner Baron Georg von Ullmann, before adding of winning the Arc, “It's been our dream for 153 years.”

Speaking to TDN for a feature last year, von Ullmann senior recalled his longstanding association with Mare Australis's trainer Andre Fabre.

“The first horse I had with Fabre was Shirocco and I told him at Belmont [at the Breeders' Cup] that it was the beginning of a new friendship,” he said.

“Fabre just really has this feeling. He was very happy when Mare Australis came to him as a 2-year-old, then he called me up and said 'you will be surprised but I will give him a rest and he will say thank you'.”

It was the culmination of a successful week for Mare Australis's sire Australia (GB), after

Ocean Road (Ire) became his fifth Group/Grade 1 winner in the Gamely S at Santa Anita for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Like her trainer, Ocean Road was born and raised in Ireland. She is the second top-flight winner for Kevin and Meta Cullen's broodmare Love And Laughter (Ire) (Theatrical {Ire}). The first came a decade ago when her son Wigmore Hall (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) won the GI Northern Dancer Turf S. for Michael Bell.

Walsh, now in his twelfth season in the U.S., had a good week with European imports. On Sunday at Belmont Park, he sent out Steve Parkin's homebred Lady Rockstar (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for her second successive win in as many starts since moving to his stable from William Haggas over the winter.

The half-sister to Spanish star Noozhoh Canarias (Spa) (Caradak {Ire}) made her breakthrough in England last October when winning a Kempton maiden by 12 lengths. Now four, she looks set for a bright future in the United States.

C:C The Stars

In the first-season sires' championship Havana Grey (GB) is still knocking in the winners and now has 15 to his name at a strike-rate of almost 40%.

But remember Cracksman (GB), who ran once as a 2-year-old in October over a mile, then ran placed in the Derby and Irish Derby before winning four Group 1 races from 10 to 12 furlongs? A son of the reigning champion sire Frankel, Cracksman has had just six runners to date, and four of those have already won.

Darley recently publicised Cracksman's PlusVital Speed Gene rating of C:C, i.e. sprint-orientated, with the adverting streamline “It's all about to happen faster than you think”. So far, so good on that front, as Cracksman has been represented by four winners since May 21.

Speed gene tests are all well and good as an extra guide to a horse's potential but we don't need one to remind us that good, early juveniles can come from seemingly unexpected sources. Let's not forget that Cracksman's stable-mate at Dalham Hall Stud, New Approach (Ire), had three Royal Ascot stakes winners with his first crop of 2-year-olds. That should not have been surprising, however, because as well as winning the Derby he was also champion 2-year-old. Another Classic-winning son of Galileo, Sixties Icon (GB), also took some by surprise with a scorching start when his first 2-year-olds took to the track. And the old boy proved he's still got it by siring Friday's Woodcote S winner, Legend Of Xanadu (GB), trained by Mick Channon – who else?

The moral of the story? It is not just sharp, early 2-year-olds who can sire sharp, early 2-year-olds. But in sires like Cracksman, New Approach and Sixties Icon, there is also clearly the hope of their stock progressing as the seasons unfold. And that's when it gets really exciting.

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Churchill’s Vadeni Swoops In The Jockey Club

One hundred years on from the late Aga Khan III's initial foray into European racing, the internationally-renowned and respected operation were celebrating a momentous Classic victory as the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}–Vaderana {Fr}, by Monsun {Ger}) dominated Chantilly's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club. Always travelling easily in the slipstream of the leaders from his favourable inside draw, the May 10 G3 Prix de Guiche winner pounced on the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains hero Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) with 300 metres remaining and a furlong later Christophe Soumillon was already saluting the crowd with the race in safe keeping. At the line, there was a five-length margin back to El Bodegon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), the only runner with a lower stall than the winner in one, with the wide-drawn Modern Games an honourable third a short neck behind. The Aga Khan IV now has eight Prix du Jockey Club successes, with this being only the second since the distance was shortened in 2005.

“I am delighted to win for His Highness, as it has been a few years since we made it at the highest level and these prestigious races are so important for his breeding operation,” Soumillon said after steering his fourth winner of the 10 1/2-furlong Classic. “I feel sorry that he and Princess Zahra could not make it to the races today and my first thoughts were for them–I owe them so much and they have been so important in my career. The key to the race this year was to have a good draw and we had the perfect trip. My horse was travelling so easily and when I asked him he was impressive. His preparation had been perfectly planned by Jean-Claude Rouget and today he was at the top of his game.”

Introduced over seven furlongs at La Teste de Buch in July, Vadeni dealt with the eventual Listed Prix Montenica winner Loubeisien (Fr) before heading to Deauville in August to capture the Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage over a mile in which the subsequent group 1 performer Times Square (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) was third. Only third when over-racing as the 2-5 favourite behind El Bodegon in the nine-furlong G3 Prix de Conde on his final juvenile start, the bay returned with a staying-on fifth in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau at a mile at ParisLongchamp Apr. 17 before it all slotted into place in the Prix de Guiche back here last time.

After the earlier G3 Prix de Royaumont win of the Stud's Baiykara (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), there was a feeling in the air that this meeting would form some sort of crowning moment for the breeding operation which has its roots in Aga Khan III's 1922 Queen Mary S. success. Even the draw had been kind, twice, with Vadeni faring well the first time the balls were pulled out of the bowl and better at the second attempt. As is often the case in this race, it became a race of the haves and the have-nots in that respect with Soumillon able to cruise and draft with minimal effort and William Buick's hand forced by stall 13. He had to use up fuel on Modern Games to get the 21-10 favourite into the front line, but he made the right call as after the opening two furlongs, the eventual first, second and third were occupying three of the front five positions. TDN Rising Stars Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Lassaut (Fr) (Almanzor {Ire}) and the similarly well-fancied Al Hakeem (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) were far adrift as the trailing trio at that stage and the die was already cast for them.

Soon into the straight it was clear that those in the rearguard had little chance of getting to the leaders and one glance at the emerald green was enough to predict the outcome. Hard as Modern Games tried, he was losing steam on the rain-softened ground and while his compatriot El Bodegon was wearing him down, by the time they had grafted to a furlong and a half out the race had already slipped out of their grip. It is rare that a jockey is able to begin celebrations so far from the line and only time will tell how Vadeni ranks alongside Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), but the fact is that France has a new star and that can only be a good thing where the diversity of the racing game is concerned.

For Rouget, the performance was a clear peak of his grand total of five.”He is the easiest of my Jockey Club winners–he's very good,” he said. I will probably give him a break now and I'll speak to the owner and see what he wants to do. If he wants to go for the Arc, I would suggest running him in the Irish Champion Stakes first and if not, he could still come back in the Irish Champion and head to the Champion Stakes at Ascot as Almanzor did.”

Charlie Appleby is looking to the States now for Modern Games. “I think in the end he didn't quite see out the trip,” he said. “The winner was quite impressive and you could spot him from a long way out. I think on faster ground Modern Games can stay nine or ten and the Belmont Derby or Saratoga Derby are options for him now in America.” James Ferguson said of El Bodegon, “It's so great to see him back on track and I've never been so happy to be second–the winner is a fantastic horse and all credit to him. My horse has beaten everyone else. He wears his heart on his sleeve and tried all the way to the line.”

Vadeni is from the first crop of Churchill {Ire}) and becomes his first Classic and group 1 winner, while he was also giving Monsun his 16th success at this level as a damsire. The dam Vaderana, whose previous five foals include the multiple listed-placed Vadsena (Fr) (Makfi {GB}) and the Australian listed-placed Vadiyann (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), is a daughter of the G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Vadawina (Ire) (Unfuwain) who produced five black-type performers headed by the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris scorer Vadamar (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and the G3 Tyros S. winner and G1 Racing Post Trophy third The Pentagon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Vadawina is kin to the fellow Saint-Alary heroine Vazira (Fr) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and the stakes-producing, dual group 3 winner Vadapolina (Fr) (Trempolino), while their dam Vadaza (Fr) (Zafonic) is in turn a half-sister to the G1 Queen Anne S. and G1 Prix d'Ispahan hero Valixir (Ire) (Trempolino) and the listed-winning Celebre Vadala (Fr) (Peintre Celebre) who threw the G1 Prix du Moulin-winning sire Vadamos (Fr) from a mating with Monsun. Also connected to the GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Val Royal (Fr) (Royal Academy), Vaderana has the unraced 2-year-old colt by Camelot (GB) named Vazirpour (GB).

Sunday, Chantilly, France
QATAR PRIX DU JOCKEY CLUB-G1, €1,500,000, Chantilly, 6-5, 3yo, c/f, 10 1/2fT, 2:06.65, sf.
1–VADENI (FR), 128, c, 3, by Churchill (Ire)
1st Dam: Vaderana (Fr), by Monsun (Ger)
2nd Dam: Vadawina (Ire), by Unfuwain
3rd Dam: Vadaza (Fr), by Zafonic
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan's Studs SC (FR); T-Jean-Claude Rouget; J-Christophe Soumillon. €857,100. Lifetime Record: 6-4-0-1, €987,100. *1/2 to Vadsena (Fr) (Makfi {GB}), MSP-Fr; and Vadiyann (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), SP-Aus, $140,637. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–El Bodegon (Ire), 128, c, 3, Kodiac (GB)–Al Andalyya, by Kingmambo. (70,000gns Ylg '20 TAOCT). O-Nas Syndicate & A F O'Callaghan; B-Cecil & Martin McCracken (IRE); T-James Ferguson. €342,900.
3–Modern Games (Ire), 128, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Modern Ideals (GB), by New Approach (Ire). O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. €171,450.
Margins: 5, SNK, 1 1/4. Odds: 6.80, 14.00, 2.10.
Also Ran: Al Hakeem (GB), *Onesto (Ire), *Vagalame (Ire), Machete (Fr), Lassaut (Fr), Ancient Rome, Welwal (GB), Mister Saint Paul (Fr), Ivy League (Ire), Imperial Fighter (Ire), The Acropolis (Ire), Yoozuna (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by TVG.
*Dead-heated for fifth.

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McGivern Optimistic as Speedy Fillies Catch Attention at Arqana

DEAUVILLE, France–Deliverance came a day early for Katie McGivern at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale as lot 64, a Sioux Nation filly and lot 66, a filly by Siyouni (Fr), finished in the top five fastest times overall in the session.

It was McGivern's fillies, the only two that she brought to one of the premier breeze-up sales in Europe, who emerged from the cavalry of 130 juveniles as being up there with the fastest on show.

McGivern stuck her neck out in going to €68,000 for the Siyouni filly out of Stars So Bright (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) at the Goffs Sportsman's Yearling Sale and she looks like being handsomely rewarded when she offers the speedster under the banner of Derryconnor Stud on Friday.

“I'm delighted,” the in-demand consignor said in between showing the fillies post-breeze. “They put in a solid breeze and had shown some pretty good homework before coming here. They stepped up on what I asked them to do here.

“The Siyouni just naturally knew how to go. There was no teaching in her. The Sioux Nation was very straightforward as well in fairness. I actually came over here on my own with them.

“Everyone was asking me why I didn't bring staff with me but I kept telling them how straightforward they were and they showed that today. I have a girl helping me today and for the sale tomorrow but usually the good ones are horizontal.”

So, too, is McGivern, who knows a thing or two about producing good horses. Daban (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), winner of the 2017 G3 Nell Gwyn S., is one of many high-class graduates from McGivern's nursery and, given the Siyouni and Sioux Nation fillies have passed the vet and pulled out of the breeze in top shape, the popular consignor was feeling optimistic on the eve of the sale.

She said, “They stepped up to the mark. You can do all of the homework you like but some will let you down at the sales. Not these fillies. I'm very proud of them.

“I bought the Sioux Nation in Book 2 at Tattersalls in October. I gave 36,000gns for her out of Sherbourne Lodge and I bought the Siyouni in the Sportsman's Sale off Castlebridge for €68,000, which would be a huge amount for me. We gave a big price for her as €40,000 is normally my maximum but we were lucky in that the mare hadn't produced a winner when we bought her but the first foal out of her has won since and that definitely helps.”

McGivern added, “It's very busy here and hopefully they sell well. I know they vet 100% which is a relief because there's no point in having a fast one who isn't going to pass the vet. I actually had Kaboo (More Than Ready) here last year, and he didn't pass the vet despite being the fifth fastest, so he only made €40,000 in the end. Thankfully, these two have passed so that hurdle is crossed. I'll definitely sleep easy tonight but it will be nerve-wracking tomorrow.”

There was a real international feel to the afternoon session, with Joseph O'Brien, Jean-Claude Rouget, George Boughey, Thady Gosden and Francis Graffard some of the many recognisable faces in baking heat.

Few have concentrated so heavily and reaped such rewards with breezers in recent years quite like Michael O'Callaghan has and, while he hopes to be active at the sale which kicks off at 2 p.m. local time, the Irish trainer admitted it will be tough to compete against the international competition.

“It's going to be very hard,” O'Callaghan admitted in between viewings on Thursday evening. “This, the best breeze-up sale there is, and the consignors keep their best horses for France. It will be hard to buy the best of them but we will give it a good go.”

He added, “Blue De Vega (Ger) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), Now Or Later (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}), Letters Of Note (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), they all came from the breeze-up sales and we'll be doing our best to find the next one tomorrow [Friday].”

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Confidence Behind ‘The Next Sottsass’ Ahead of French Derby

Jean-Claude Rouget is not prone to hyperbole so, when the decorated French handler compared the unexposed Al Hakeem (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) to his only G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) earlier this week, some people did a double take.

Not Benoit Jeffroy, who manages Haras de Bouquetot on behalf of the Al Shaqab operation. Jeffroy has long been aware of the standing in which the multiple Classic-winning trainer has held Al Hakeem and, when the colt won the Listed Prix de Suresnes at Chantilly on Tuesday, he wasn't one bit surprised that Rouget told the French press that 'he reminds me a lot of Sottsass'.

“Jean-Claude is a straight-talking man and he says what he thinks. It was no surprise to us to hear what he said about Al Hakeem because he always told us that the horse was a colt with a lot of ability, he just needed to show it on the track,” Jeffroy explained.

High praise indeed for a horse who has graced the track just four times, winning three of those starts, with Tuesday's Chantilly victory a personal best by some way.

However, Jeffroy is predicting that Rouget's bold comparison between Sottsass and Al Hakeem can become evident to everyone when the highly progressive colt tackles the G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on June 5.

“Who knows, maybe after the French Derby we can really start comparing him to Sottsass, let's wait and see,” he said.

“He is a great physical and, the fact that he showed what he could do at Chantilly the other day is very exciting with a view towards the French Derby.”

Jeffroy added, “There are a lot of similarities between Al Hakeem and Sottsass. They are by the same sire and have the same broodmare sire in Galileo (Ire).

“But the way this horse has been training, that's what reminds Jean-Claude most of Sottsass, as his work has been very good.

“Even as a 2-year-old, Jean Claude said that this might be the next Sottsass, the way he was training and behaving at home. Let's hope he is.”

It is that Siyouni cross with Galileo mares that not only produced one high-class colt in Sottsass but also St Mark's Basilica (Ire), hailed by Aidan O'Brien as 'possibly the best horse we've ever had at Ballydoyle,' after he scooped the prize for Horse of the Year at the 31st annual Cartier Racing Awards.

It may well be written in the stars for Al Hakeem but the comparables to Sottsass don't end with his pedigree. His dam, Jadhaba (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who showed classy form for Rouget before her career was cut short after she suffered a setback, was purchased by Al Shaqab for €620,000 at Arqana in 2014 from Ecurie des Monceaux, who also produced Sottsass.

“Jadhaba is a Galileo mare and, when it came to mating her, we felt that she needed a bit of speed, which is why we went to Siyouni,” he said.

“We thought the cross might work well and, not long afterwards, along came Sottsass and St Mark's Basilica, on the exact same cross. It just made a lot of sense.

“Galileo (Ire) crossed with Danehill has worked really well, as has Galileo and Pivotal, and she has got both. Hopefully Al Hakeem can be the third top-class colt from this cross.”

He added, “Jadhaba was in training with Jean-Claude as well. She was highly regarded and won twice as a 2-year-old and, after finishing third in a Group 3 on her only start at three, she developed a little issue so we had to stop. But she seems to have passed on a lot of her ability.”

If Al Hakeem can come good on Rouget's praise, it will stand the Al Shaqab operation in good stead for the future as she has a Siyouni filly at foot and is back in foal to the sire.

“Her first colt, Dahiya (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), won for Andre Fabre and Al Hakeem is only her second produce,” said Jeffroy of the broodmare.

“She also has a lovely Kingman (GB) filly in training with Jean-Claude, a very good looking Siyouni filly foal at foot and she is back in foal to Siyouni, so she could be an exciting young mare for us. She also has a Shalaa (Ire) yearling filly that is very similar to Jadhaba, a nice filly with good depth.

“Sheikh Joaan al Thani deserves it. He is passionate about the game and has invested a lot of money into it. He deserves to have bred a good one as a reward for all his investment.”

New dreams abound for a team that will forever be associated with Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), who carried the colours of Al Shaqab Racing en route to recording back-to-back Arcs in 2014.

Given Al Hakeem is being compared to another Arc winner in Sottsass, it seems fitting to ask if the mind has been allowed to wander as far as the great race on Oct. 1.

“No, step by step,” Jeffroy laughed. “The Arc is an important race and of course it's in the back of our minds but let's take it race by race and hopefully–hopefully it takes him one year less than it did for Sottsass!”

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