Mathieu Alex | Horse Racing Free Tips

A Golden Opportunity At Sumbe

Sumbe-under its previous guises as Haras de la Cauviniere and Haras de Montfort et Preaux and still today under the guidance of new owner Nurlan Bizakov-has made a concerted effort to upgrade the level of stallions standing of France. It has done so with success, too; as part of its fruitful relationship with Gerard Augustin-Normand, the Cauviniere principals retained the 2009 G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Le Havre (Ire) to stand in France, and the son of Noverre rose through the ranks to become one of the most successful domestic sires ever, climbing to a career-high fee of €60,000 and leaving behind 50 stakes winners and five Group 1 winners and counting.

Shortly after changing its name to Montfort et Preaux, the stud added Recorder (Ire), The Queen's homebred G3 Acomb S. winner by Galileo (Ire) who was well supported by breeders and, with eight first-crop winners this year, sits behind only Zarak (Fr) on the French first-season sires' table.

Last year, Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) became the first stallion recruited to the stud since it was purchased by Bizakov and renamed Sumbe in homage to his hometown in Kazakhstan. The G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde represents a unique opportunity for French breeders, he being one of very few representatives of the red-hot Acclamation sireline in the country, and its only Group 1 winner.

Bred by CN Farm, Golden Horde was picked up by trainer Clive Cox for £65,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale of 2018. He made his debut in mid-May for owner Al Mohamediya Racing and broke his maiden at second asking two weeks later when making all to win a Windsor maiden by 4 1/2 lengths. Two lengths from the winner Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never) when fifth in the G2 Coventry S., Golden Horde won the G2 Richmond S.-just like Acclamation's ascendant sire son Mehmas (Ire)-over Threat (GB) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), who would go on to add the G2 Gimcrack S. and G2 Champagne S. in his next two starts. Golden Horde, meanwhile, stepped up to Group 1 company finishing third behind Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix Morny before running that rival to a neck when second in the G1 Middle Park S.

Golden Horde returned to Royal Ascot for a belated 3-year-old debut in the G1 Commonwealth Cup, and shook off the cobwebs in decisive fashion when racing prominently and pulling 1 1/2 lengths clear in the closing stages for a first top-level win. Facing older horses for the final three starts of his career, Golden Horde made a good account of himself on each occasion, beaten 1 1/2 lengths when third in the G1 July Cup, fifth in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and third in the G1 Sprint Cup S. Golden Horde proved both consistent and versatile, having been Group 1-placed over both good and soft ground.

“He was very consistent, very tough, and I loved his way of racing-first out, running hard all the way and very, very tough and genuine,” said Sumbe's Mathieu Alex. “It's a great pleasure to have him here too, he is very well behaved and has a great mind, and we have a lot of faith in him.”

Golden Horde's pedigree has continued to go from strength to strength since his purchase as a yearling. His dam, the Pivotal (GB) mare Entreat (GB), was sold by her breeder Cheveley Park Stud for 14,000gns at Tattersalls July in 2016 carrying Golden Horde. A month after Golden Horde became a pattern-race winner, his elder sister Exhort (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) also scored at listed level. Line Of Departure (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Entreat's 3-year-old of 2021, won the Listed Cathedral S. in June, and was ultimately gelded after tall assignments in the July Cup and G2 Hungerford S. Entreat has a 2-year-old filly by Zoffany (Ire) named Heart To Heart (GB) who was a 580,000gns Tattersalls October purchase last year by MV Magnier and won one of nine starts this year, and a filly foal by Zoustar (Aus) who was bought back for 240,000gns at the same sale. Golden Horde traces back to a highly productive American family: his third dam is Imagining (Northfields), best known as the dam of the champion and Group 1 producer Serena's Song (Rahy), whose legacy includes G1 Coronation S. winners Sophisticat and Rizeena (Ire), Jim Bolger's useful sire Vocalised, dual Grade I winner and Grade I sire Honor Code and G1 Prix d'Ispahan victor Zabeel Prince (Ire).

The recent death of Golden Horde's broodmare sire Pivotal may mean that his genes are more highly sought after than ever, especially considering Pivotal's position in the pedigree of French champion sire Siyouni as well as exciting young stallions like St Mark's Basilica (Fr), Sottsass (Fr), Cracksman (GB) and Advertise (GB).

“Golden Horde's sireline is very proven-Acclamation, Dark Angel, and his dam Entreat is by Pivotal and is the dam of six winners including three stakes winners, and it is the family of American champion Serena's Song and Sophisticat,” Alex said.

Breeders can be encouraged, too, by the fact that Sumbe threw the strength of its broodmare band behind Golden Horde, who Alex describes as “a very good-looking horse,” in his first season at stud.

“He's very masculine and has a lot of strength, and he's a great mover,” Alex said. “We supported him heavily on the farm sending 20 very good mares–stakes performers and dams of stakes performers. He's been very well received in France, and across Europe.”

After covering his first book in 2021 for a fee of €10,000, Golden Horde will be available for €8,000 next year.

“I think Golden Horde should be a very commercial sire because he was a very talented 2-year-old who brings a lot of precocity, but also trained on and won a Group 1 race at Royal Ascot as a 3-year-old,” Alex said. “He's a fast horse, a very good-looking horse with a great pedigree, so fingers crossed-he has a lot of things going for him.”

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New Sales Frontier For Sumbe

DEAUVILLE, France–Nurlan Bizakov has made no secret of his intention to make a lasting mark on the French Thoroughbred industry, the Kazakhstani businessman having over the past two years purchased two of the best-known studs in the country: Haras de Montfort et Preaux and Haras du Mezeray. Those, along with Bizakov's Hesmonds Stud in the UK, have been united under one name, Sumbe, which will this weekend present its first sales consignment at Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale. And Sumbe-named for the famed Kazakhstan horse and agricultural region where Bizakov was born–certainly isn't making a quiet entrance to the consignment scene: it offers two of the sale's star turns in Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) (lot 160), this year's G1 Prix de l'Opera winner, and Speak Of The Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) (lot 172), a narrow second in last year's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, as part of a Saturday selection of black-type fillies.

“Mr. Bizakov bought Haras de Montfort at Preaux at the end of 2019 and, since that, purchase, Haras de Mezeray, so two big, nice farms in France,” said Mathieu Alex, longtime manager of Haras de Montfort et Preaux prior to its name change. “Mr. Bizakov still owns Hesmonds Stud in England, so that comes under the Sumbe banner too.”

“We are just about to run a consignment in Deauville for the first time at the breeding stock sales,” Alex added. “It's a very exciting exercise mainly thanks to the horses we'll be presenting, including two Group 1-winning fillies. It's a great consignment to have for the first year.”

Rougir, owned by the Chehboub family's Haras de la Gousserie, is the only current-season, Group 1-winning 3-year-old filly to be offered at Europe's breeding stock sales this year. A debut winner in June of last year at two, Rougir capped a productive campaign with a win in the G3 Prix des Reservoirs following a third in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac. She came within a half-length of a Group 1 victory in August when fourth behind Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in the G1 Prix Rothschild, but made amends next out when nosing fellow Arqana entrant Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) in a thrilling finish to the G1 Prix de l'Opera on Arc day. Rougir was last seen finishing seventh in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 6. Rougir, the third foal out of the listed-placed Summer Moon (Fr) (Elusive City) last visited the Arqana ring as a yearling, when she made €55,000 at the August yearling sale.

“Rougir's owner, Mr. Kamel Chehboub, is a breeder I've known for a long time and we've renewed our relationship lately,” said Alex. “We're very grateful for his support. It's a fantastic opportunity to buy a Group 1-winning filly. She's very sound and she could race on. The opportunity is very rare so we look forward to it.”

Speak Of The Devil and two additional black-type fillies in the Sumbe draft, Frankel's Magic (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) (lot 190) and Roman Bamb (Fr) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) (lot 213), are owned by Rashit Shaykhutdinov, who was a client with Mezeray that has stayed on after the Sumbe transition. Speak Of The Devil, a €62,000 Arqana October yearling, ran just once at two, winning a late-season maiden race in Deauville for trainer Fabrice Chappet before finishing a nose second in the Pouliches in just her third start the following spring. Speak Of The Devil picked up a first black-type win over seven furlongs in last year's Listed Prix de Saint-Cyr, and this year won three listed races over a mile for new trainer Frederic Rossi. She came close again to winning a Group 1 when third, beaten a neck, in the Prix Rothschild in which Rougir was fourth. Speak Of The Devil is a half-sister to the triple Group 3 scorer Morando (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}).

“Mr. Shaykhutdinov was a client of Haras du Mezeray, so when Mr. Bizakov bought the farm we were connected and we are very grateful for his support,” said Alex. “Speak Of The Devil is a very, very good-looking filly. She's by top-class sire Wootton Bassett and she was beaten a very short margin in the French Classic. She's a proper Group 1 filly with a good pedigree, by a great stallion, and is a very good-looking filly so I'm sure there will be plenty of people wanting to buy her.”

Shaykhutdinov topped Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale in 2019 when his listed-placed Frankel Light (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) sold to Charlie Gordon-Watson for €1.3-million, and Shaykhutdinov will look to emulate that feat with another daughter of this year's leading sire by European earnings, Frankel's Magic. The 4-year-old made her belated racing debut last July a winning one, interestingly scoring over 2400 metres. She dropped back to 2000 metres for a pair of listed placings last autumn and was second in the Listed Prix Panacee over 2400 metres on very soft going on Oct. 4. Frankel's Magic, who was a 1.15-million gns buyback from the 2018 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, is out of the dual listed-placed Global Magic (Ger) (Lando {Ger}), herself a half-sister to eight stakes horses including group winners Global Dream (Seattle Dancer) and Global Thrill (Big Shuffle). Shaykhutdinov could also see fierce bidding for 3-year-old filly Roman Bamb, who broke her maiden at Chantilly in March before twice placing at listed level over 2000 and 1900 metres. She is from the family of the G1 Pretty Polly S. winner Nezwaah and is by Holy Roman Emperor, who is compiling a solid record as a broodmare sire.

Sumbe, from the corner section of Yard A from which Mezeray enjoyed so much success at Arqana, also sends out 3-year-old filly Louliana (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) (lot 135), winner of the six-furlong Listed Prix Marchand d'Or in June for owner Mbaye Niang and a daughter of the listed-placed Rosie's Premiere (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}). Sumbe also offers two foals: a colt by the ascendant Wootton Bassett (GB) out of the G3 Prix du Bois third and black-type producer Sage Melody (Fr) (Sageburg) (lot 73) and a first-crop daughter of Calyx (GB) out of the G3 Prix Minerve second Game Zone (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}) (lot 266) who is from the family of dual Group 1 winner Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and her G1 Cheveley Park S.-winning daughter Tenebrism (Ire) (Caravaggio).

The strength of the foal and breeding stock markets at Goffs and Tattersalls in recent weeks should permit sellers to enter the final breeding stock sale of the season with confidence, and Sumbe has a draft that gives it every chance to stand out.

“There have been very, very strong markets at Goffs and in Newmarket, and Arqana has done a very good job with its catalogue,” said Alex. “There are a lot of very, very talented horses getting ready to sell, so hopefully the momentum will carry on.”

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Bizakov Adds Mézeray To Expanding French Operation

Nurlan Bizakov's breeding operation Sumbe has been expanded further with the purchase of Haras du Mézeray from the de Moussac family.

The acquisition of the 440-acre farm in Normandy follows the 2019 purchase of Haras de Montfort & Préaux, which is just 10 kms from Mézeray and is home to the Sumbe stallions Le Havre (Ire), Recorder (GB) and Golden Horde (Ire). The latter, who has just embarked on his first covering season, had his first mare scanned in foal on Thursday.

Bizakov founded his breeding empire at Hesmonds Stud in the UK. He has retained that 700-acre Sussex farm, which is used for boarding clients' mares or for his own mares visiting British-based stallions, but his entire broodmare band was moved to France last year. Tony Fry, the long-term manager of Hesmonds Stud, has moved to Haras du Mézeray, and Mathieu Alex remains in charge of Haras de Montfort & Préaux.

The Kazakhstan-born Bizakov said of his most recent purchase, “When I bought Montfort & Préaux I realised that the existing land was not big enough to accommodate my own mares as well as those of Montfort & Preaux's clients. When we moved our 30-plus mares from England it put it under pressure, and from day one, Mathieu, Tony and I have been looking for some options around Montfort & Préaux. Then we decided to look at Mézeray, which was on the market and is just 10 minutes from Montfort & Préaux. It has been a long journey but finally we've done it and I am very happy because Mézeray is a very big name in French breeding. It has a long history, having been founded by Paul de Moussac in 1962. So it is coming up for its 60th anniversary next year.”

During those last six decades two Arc winners, Trempolino and Subotica (Fr), have headed a notable list of Mézeray-bred Group 1 winners which includes Luth Enchantee, Amonita (GB), Naaqoos (GB), Coquerelle (Ire) and Mekhtaal (GB). More recently, it has also been responsible for the five-time Group 2 winner Enbihaar (Ire) and last season's G3 Prix Thomas Bryon winner and G1 Criterium International runner-up Normandy Bridge (Fr), a son of Le Havre who is a Classic prospect this season for young Deauville trainer Stephanie Nigge.

Montfort & Préaux has also produced a number of top-class performers in recent seasons, including the dual Classic heroines Avenir Certain (Fr) and La Cressonniere (Fr), both by Le Havre, who is also the sire of the David Menuisier-trained dual Group 1 winner Wonderful Tonight (Fr). She was bred at the farm, along with Suedois (Fr) and Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}).

Bizakov continued, “We will consider Mézeray and Montfort & Préaux as one farm. Obviously some staff will be focused on one farm and some on the other but I am sure there is plenty of room for synergy between the two. I hope that clients from both farms will benefit from this merger as well because it will give us more room, more facilities and more infrastructure.”

The owner/breeder indicated that he is keen to expand his stallion operation in France. Along with the three stallions at Montfort & Préaux, Mézeray is currently home to De Treville (GB), an Oasis Dream (GB) half-brother to Too Darn Hot (GB) who will be represented by his first runners this season.

“We will discuss with his owner Rashit Shaykhutdinov what he would like to do with De Treville,” he said. “We would definitely like to stand more stallions in the future. That was the main reason that I decided to buy Montfort & Préaux in the first place, because they had Le Havre and Recorder, who I hope will have a big year this year. Now with Golden Horde we have a new stallion at the farm and this year we will look for some options to buy. I would like to stand a Group 1-winning miler and we might look at a mile-and-a-quarter horse as well.”

Bizakov's own mare Card Shop (Chester House), the dam of G3 Prestige S. winner Ollie Olga (Stormy Atlantic), was the first to be scanned in foal to Golden Horde this week. The breeder will also be supporting his new stallion with Albanka (Giant's Causeway) and Totally Devoted (Seeking The Gold), the dams respectively of two more of his group-winning homebreds in Altyn Orda (Ire) (Kyllachy {GB}) and Tomyris (CGB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). Also slated to visit the G1 Commonwealth Cup winner is Melilot (Fr) (Elusive City), whose daughter Mageva (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was third in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, and Dalkeya (Fr) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), a half-sister to the Aga Khan's G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}).

“Golden Horde has settled in very nicely,” said Mathieu Alex. “He's a horse with a great mind. He has already covered 16 mares and the first one has been scanned in foal. He's a very exciting horse to have in France as he is a Royal Ascot Group 1 winner, so that is very exciting for French people. He had great form at two, which is always a plus, and he's a good-looking horse, so he's been popular.”

Of the inclusion of Mézeray in the operation's portfolio of studs, he added, “It is a great opportunity to be able to purchase such a prestigious farm where 27 Group 1 winners, including two Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners, were bred. Good land is so important and definitely one of the keys for racing success. Nurlan Bizakov loves the breeding side of this industry and it made sense to go ahead with this farm located 10 kms away from Haras de Montfort & Préaux. It is a very exciting project and all the team involved feel very privileged to be part of it. It is also great news for France where the racing system is one of the best in the world. It's great to see major players want to be here.”

Despite moving his breeding stock to France, Bizakov still has horses in training in Britain and he singles out the 96-rated treble winner Shandoz (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), trained by Roger Varian, as one he is particularly looking forward to seeing return to the track this season.

He said, “We have a good bunch of horses to go to war with. We bought two by Recorder last year to support our stallion and we sent one of those to England to Clive Cox, who trained Golden Horde. In England, we have horses with Roger Varian, John Gosden and Clive Cox, and in France we have a good bunch of trainers as well. With French premiums we will probably have more horses in training in France.”

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