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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We all know that the imperative glorious farewell victory will come, but from where? Will it be a late gift from King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the G1 Qipco Champion S., the key race of them all? Dettori will hope that it comes much sooner in the afternoon to release the enormous emotional pressure. There is the 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., his old friend Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint, and the aptly-titled Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S. Away you go, Prospero.

Ahead of one of his biggest days in the saddle, the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame jockey is trying to hold it together. “I'll try to keep my emotions in check until after my last ride, but obviously all my friends and family will be there. I'm sure I'll shed a tear on the day, but at the moment I'm really trying to focus on the races and give my friends and family something to shout about on the day,” he said.
King Of Steel's trainer Roger Varian summed up the general feeling ahead of the rider's tumultuous farewell. “We're happy to have him on our horse on Saturday and on the big day, when the goggles come down, he's one of the very best there has ever been and the season he's had tells everyone he is still riding at the top of his game,” he said.

Adding to the sense of occasion is the fact that Dettori will sport the Godolphin royal blue he is most synonymous with as he partners the G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup contender Trawlerman (Ire) by his renaissance horse Golden Horn (GB). Hugh Anderson, managing director of Godolphin, is keen to stress the import of the situation. “For Godolphin, Frankie Dettori has been a huge part of our history,” he said. “For my whole adult life–and I'm a little bit older than Frankie–he has been the top jockey or one of the top jockeys in this country and I think his contribution to the sport has been incalculable. I'm very pleased he is going to be wearing Godolphin blue on what is potentially his last Champions Day and we hope he does well.”

Paddington | PA Media

Ballydoyle Big Guns Are Rolled Out…

Despite the feeling of inevitability that things will ultimately fall his way, there are of course 52 reasons why Frankie won't ride a single winner and six of them are from Ballydoyle, with the TDN Rising Star Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) having been on the receiving end of Dettori's magic as he suffered a momentum-stopping defeat to Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Juddmonte International. Prior to that, he had hoarded the Irish 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace, Eclipse and Sussex and his role in a rich renewal of the QEII will tell us where he stands among the season's kingpins. If Paddington isn't a mortal lock, the yard's Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) could well be as he continues his improbable comeback from his well-documented strife in the Long Distance Cup.
Aidan O'Brien reflected on his key duo earlier this week. “Paddington loves racing and loves work–when you build up his work, he starts putting on weight and that's just the way he is,” he said. “He's a good strong traveller and quickens very well and handles all types of ground. He goes like a real miler, even though he's won over a mile and a quarter. I couldn't believe Kyprios made it back to any race really–I couldn't believe the day he went out of the parade ring at The Curragh he was actually there. He was just barely ready to run and we think he's made progress since then.”

Allez France?

While the feature Champion has been kind to France since moving to Ascot and the focus is understandably on Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) to cap a momentous autumn for Gousserie Racing, there is also the prospect of the QEII-bound Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) to keep Yeguada Centurion and Christopher Head in the big time that they have become accustomed to during the current campaign. Those keen to write off the latter after three excusable defeats will be well served to remember that he dismantled Horizon Dore in Chantilly's nine-furlong G3 Prix de Guiche when the ground was given as officially heavy. Patrice Cottier's emerging star has moved up in trip subsequently while Big Rock has gone the other way, so a sensational double for this Gallic pairing is not a far-fetched scenario.
Pauline Chehboub said of Horizon Dore in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf qualifier, “He is doing well, he is in good form with some freshness. He is stronger than at the start of the season. He needed time this year, so we chose to stay in France for the first part of the season and now it's time to travel and see him at group one level.”

Girl Power…

Nashwa | Scoop Dyga

This day is all about bringing the best together and, luckily, the two power contests boast three power players among the females. It just so happens that Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) represents double trouble in that regard, with Hollie Doyle combining to make for a potent threat in the QEII that has for so long looked tailor-made for her. More about pure muscular pace than stamina at four, Imad Al Sagar's beloved filly bullied her sex in the G1 Falmouth S. and comes back to that mile trip after two huge efforts attempting to carry her speed over 10 furlongs.

Hollie Doyle, who will have already steered her perennial hero of the hour Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) in the Long Distance Cup, is geared up for her latest dose of the Nashwa treatment. “It really hasn't mattered to me which race they chose,” she said. “Nashwa seems just as good at a mile as a mile and a quarter, so the trip doesn't seem to be an issue and she goes on any ground. The figures say she's improved significantly again, which is mad, so I'm delighted she's staying in training.”

What Nashwa has in brute strength, The Aga Khan's Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) possibly makes up for in tactical elan but this potentially horrible going is not what she needs and Dermot Weld will be quick to spare her a gruelling examination in the QEII–a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile–if the expected torrents come this way. Any volume of rain is of no concern to the Champion S. siren Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), whose performance in Newmarket's G2 Dahlia S. in May still stands as one of the season's major moments. What she achieved subsequently, even when winning at a higher level in The Curragh's Pretty Polly, did not have that same elevated feel but the ground has come right for another tour de force from Rebecca Hillen's star of the George Boughey show.

“She looks amazing for this time of year and her best performances come after a break, which she's had since Deauville two months ago,” Boughey said. “Oisin [Murphy] already knows her well, having ridden her work when she was with Joe [Tuite].”

Not A Bridge Too Far…

Bay Bridge | Megan Ridgwell

When it is on the soft side, it is fair to describe last year's Champion S. hero Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) as one of the best of the middle-distance division. His success over Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) in this 12 months ago, and more importantly his brushing aside of Mostahdaf in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. last May, mark him as a special talent when conditions are kind. On the Polytrack, James Wigan and Ballylinch Stud's flag-bearer again showed what he is capable of on his penultimate start in the G3 September S. and it is possible to excuse all defeats around those wins mostly on surfaces too quick.

Sir Michael Stoute's sole runner in the card's pattern races is probably still the one to beat in the feature and the master trainer's assistant James Savage is giving out the right vibes. “We've been very pleased with how Bay Bridge came out of the Arc, which was a tough race on ground that dried out throughout the day,” he said. “He ran well at Longchamp and was only beaten about six lengths, having done a little bit too much in Richard's hands in the early and middle parts of the race.”

“We are pretty sure he stayed the mile and a half, as he did at Kempton, but you'd have to say that going back to Ascot in conditions we've been waiting for all year he'd have a great shout,” he added. “I think Mostahdaf is a very, very good horse, and so is Horizon Dore, so in my opinion it's just as strong a race as last year, but conditions will hopefully be very much in our favour once again and he's training very well.”

Time Calls For Charlton…

Another subplot to the fixture is the last Champions Day for Roger Charlton as he nears the handover to son Harry at the end of the season. They saddle the fast-improving Time Lock (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Fillies & Mares and her impressive defeat of the re-opposing Sweet Memories (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in Newmarket's G3 Princess Royal S. last month marks her down as one of the favourites. “She is in great form and is on the right path, growing in confidence with her success. It looks very competitive with a big field but she's in as good form as any of the others at the moment,” Harry said. “It's hard to be too confident, as the conditions aren't ideal. We'd be going with more confidence if they weren't looking at so much rain, as good ground would have been ideal, but she handles soft.”

Inner Track Decision Made…

Ascot announced that the inner flat course will be used for the middle-distance races on Saturday, with the going at soft, heavy in places on Friday. It was good-to-soft, soft in places on the inner track then and soft on the straight course. As a result of the change, the Long Distance Cup will now be run over 82 yards shorter, the Fillies & Mares will be 78 yards less while the Champion Stakes remains at 10 furlongs.

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We already know where he will stand at stud eventually since his part-sale after his victory in the Prix du Jockey Club to the Chehboub family's Gousserie Racing. Kamel and his daughter Pauline Cheboub will now decide with their partner and the colt's original owner Serge Stempniak and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget whether the unbeaten star will retire to their Haras de Beaumont for the 2024 covering season or remain in training as a 4-year-old.

In an update on Ace Impact on Monday morning, Pauline Cheboub told TDN, “He's in good shape and recovering well. We're really happy with him.

“We'll take the decision this week with the team and our partners and take the time to make the right decision for the horse. He deserves that.”

Kamel Cheboub, a long-time owner and breeder in France through his Haras de la Gousserie, was revealed this time last year as the buyer of a major part of the historic Haras du Quesnay, just outside Deauville. Christened Haras de Beaumont, the new stallion operation opened its doors earlier this year with the G1 Champion S. and G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Sealiway (Fr) as its first headline stallion, backed up on the roster by the Wertheimer brothers' Intello (Ger). Mathieu Alex, who played such a key role, along with Sylvain Vidal, in the success of the stallion career of Le Havre (Ire), was appointed to manage Haras de Beaumont. 

The temptation will obviously be strong to retire a colt of the calibre of Ace Impact to stud, but Chehboub insisted that her family and Stempniak will take their time to consider the best course of action.

She continued, “We don't know his limits but it's difficult to top this season. He's a champion.

“It's an exciting time for us. We are very lucky to be part of this and we are pleased that we have a horse like him that we will be able to bring eventually to the French breeders, and Sealiway as well.”

Chehboub added, “We're lucky to have a great team – from the trainer, jockey and at the stud. Mathieu Alex is a great horseman and does such a great job. We're all just enjoying the moment.”

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A long-circled date on the calendar for the connections, the team is reportedly happy with Ace Impact's form going into the Arc as the general 7-2 favorite.

“We are very pleased with him since his run in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano,” said Pauline Chehboub, racing manager for her family's Gousserie Racing operation.

“He is a very unique horse and every time he comes to the races it feels like he loves it. We are very fortunate to be a part of this champion. His target since the French Derby, like Jean-Claude Rouget announced, is the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, so we follow the plan. He is the Arc favourite, unbeaten and his limits are unknown. The dream continues.”

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Unbeaten in four starts to date, Ace Impact set a new race record in winning his Classic for Stempniak and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. From the first crop of Cracksman, who was one of the earliest stars for his sire Frankel (GB), he was bred by Waltraut Spanner. Unsurprisingly, there has been interest in the exciting young colt from stallion farms around Europe.

“I was very keen for Ace Impact to remain in France for his future stallion career,” said Stempniak. ” It was also very important for me to engage in a French partnership. I had a lot of offers from abroad. However, I thought that this was a shame because the horse certainly has a great career ahead of him in the breeding shed in France. I'm very happy to enter into a partnership with the Chehboub family whom I met a short while ago. We hit it off straight away. They are people with great human values. I have retained a 50 per cent stake in Ace Impact, and the terms of our agreement stipulate that the horse will carry the colours of both concerns on an alternate race basis.  My last condition was that Ace Impact's Arc bid should be in my colours.”

Pauline Chehboub owns Haras de Beaumont with her father Kamel, traditionally racing their horses under the banner of La Gousserie. The stud, which is on part of the land formerly used by the historic Haras du Quesnay, was officially launched in December and is already home to the stallions Sealiway (Fr), who covered 160 mares in his first season this spring, and Intello (Ger), who was sent 130 mares.

She said, “Ace Impact is the best Classic winner of his generation in Europe, and his rating ranks him among the top five horses in the world. Ace Impact represents an exceptional opportunity for French breeders. We're really of the same mindset as Serge Stempniak, as letting him go abroad would have been a huge loss. He's also a very attractive type. With the help of Mathieu Alex, who is a key lynchpin in the success of Haras de Beaumont, we are fortunate to have enjoyed a successful first breeding season.”

Jean-Claude Rouget signed for Ace Impact as a yearling at Arqana for €75,000. He has indicated that his ultimate aim this season is the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, with the colt likely to be seen next in Deauville in the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano. After that, Ace Impact could head either to Longchamp for the G2 Prix Niel, or to Leopardstown to contest the G1 Irish Champion S.

The trainer said, “This is a very good indicator for French racing and breeding. Kamel Chehboub has made a major statement by purchasing a 50 per cent stake in Ace Impact, and with the aim of standing him as a stallion at his Normandy stud when his racing career ends. Serge Stempniak, having acquired the colt as a yearling at the Deauville sales, will retain 50 per cent in the colt, at least until the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in which we hope to run.”

Haras de Beaumont manager Mathieu Alex, who played a key role in the stallion career of another Prix du Jockey Club winner, Le Havre (Ire), added, “The stallion business is extremely competitive, so securing a high-class horse like Ace Impact is fantastic news for Haras de Beaumont and for France. Unbeaten, Ace Impact is the fastest Prix du Jockey Club winner and his rating of 123 makes him the best three-year-old in the world today. He's got a great mind and his turn of foot is exceptional. In the care of one of the best European trainers, Jean-Claude Rouget, his future is exciting.”

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Actually, my first job in the Thoroughbred industry is my current one, manager of our racing operation.

Biggest influence on your career?

Without hesitation, my dad from the beginning. I have a very high regard for him, and for what he has done. He is a self-made man.

Favourite racehorse of all time, and why?

Miesque, she had everything. A magnificent racehorse with a sturdy character, and in addition, she was a wonderful mare.

Who will be champion first-season sire in 2023?

Ten Sovereigns. His first yearlings were impressive at the sales, a mix of power and tenacity. He was a superb, unbeaten 2-year-old.

Greatest race in the world?

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is such a historical race. Super popular and hard to win.

If you could be someone else in the industry for a day who would it be, and why?

Maybe a top-class jockey like Mickael Barzalona (a very good friend) to feel his sensations. It must be a lot of adrenaline on a big day like Arc day or the Dubai World Cup.

Emerging talent in the industry (human)?

I would say Christopher Head, it runs in the family. For his first season as trainer, he has already trained a Group 1 winner. That is just the beginning for him.

Name a horse TDN should have made a Rising Star, and didn't?

Horizon Dore. An unbeaten two-year-old and very, very impressive.

Under-the-radar stallion?

Intello, he has done a really good job so far. Fantastic racehorse, superb pedigree, already produced Group 1 winners. And at €8,000 for 2023.

Friday night treat?

Popcorn (and Netflix).

Guilty pleasure outside racing?

Eat well and drink white wine or my favorite cocktail 'HUGO' with St Germain Liqueur.

Race I wish I'd been there for…

Flightline's Breeders' Cup Classic this year.

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Kamel Chehboub and his daughter Pauline, who plays a key role in the family's racing and breeding interests, campaigned Sealiway in partnership with his breeder Guy Pariente having bought him as a yearling at the Arqana August Sale in 2019. His subsequent rise to Group 1 star is very much a feather in the cap of Pariente's Haras de Colleville, as not only is Sealiway from the first crop of resident stallion Galiway, a son of Galileo (Ire), but his dam Kensea (Fr) was also bred there and is by the stallion that made the farm's name, Kendargent (Fr). Step back one more generation in the pedigree of Sealiway and we find that his second dam Sea Island (Fr), bought inexpensively by Pariente as a yearling, is by the former Quesnay resident Gold Away (Ire). What goes around, comes around. 

The success of this horse on the racecourse has in no small way driven the Chehboubs' desire to make a major impact on the French scene by launching their own stallion operation. Sealiway has been joined at Haras de Beaumont by the 12-year-old Intello (Ger), whose stud career thus far has been split between Quesnay and Cheveley Park Stud in Newmarket, and the George Strawbridge-bred Stunning Spirit (GB), a Group 3-winning miler by Invincible Spirit (Ire) in the same colours as Sealiway who started his stud career at Haras de Hoguenet and has his first foals on the ground this year. It is plain, however, that this new venture very much centres on one horse.

“Sealiway, It starts with him,” says Pauline Chehboub. “We have a horse like him, a champion, and we wanted to do the best for him. We are very proud to offer Sealiway in France. He won the Champion Stakes in the UK and he was the best two-year-old in France.”

The Chehboubs are certainly not newcomers to the racing scene. Hailing from Marseille, Kamel and his brother Bouzid raced the 2008 GI Arlington Million winner Spirit One (Fr) (Anabaa Blue {GB}) who spent some years at stud in France. They already own Haras de la Gousserie in the Loire region, and they also enjoyed a major victory on Arc weekend last year when Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) won the G1 Prix de l'Opera. She was subsequently sold for €3 million to Peter Brant and Michael Tabor and went on to win this season's GI EP Taylor S. for Chad Brown.

Running a commercial stallion operation is a new direction, however, and the family has played a masterstroke in appointing Mathieu and Emilie Alex to run Haras de Beaumont. Mathieu Alex, who cut his teeth in the business with a lengthy stint at Coolmore, was a key player in the success of Haras de la Cauviniere, later Montfort et Preaux, and its flagship stallion Le Havre (Ire), who died earlier this year. 

Pauline Chehboub adds, “We are very happy to establish this new project in France and to do that with family and with a good team like Mathieu and Emilie. That's super exciting.”

Alex is all too aware of the commercial imperatives key to launching a new stallion when he says, “It's clear [Sealiway had] quite an extraordinary racing career because he won his first race as a two-year-old in May over six furlongs. He had the speed to win over six. He won the Champion Stakes over ten. He was second only to St Mark's Basilica in the French Derby, which is a great stallion-making race. He was a champion two-year-old in France.

“It's the interesting part about him. Because he raced at two, three and four people forget, but he was extremely good as a two-year-old and had a lot of precocity, and there is a lot of precocity in his pedigree. And that's one of the targets with him, to try to target that two-year-old market as well.”

Sealiway, who had only arrived at Haras de Beaumont three days in advance of TDN's visit in early December, is certainly playing his part well so far. A relaxed individual who appears to enjoy posing for the camera, he is an easy-moving horse who will surely draw admirers as visitors descend on the new stud through the early months of 2023 and for the Route des Etalons on January 21 and 22.

“Sealiway is obviously a very important horse for for the this new operation and this farm,” Alex continues. “The owners want to support the horse. It's so important not only to send good mares to the horse, but also to raise [the offspring] properly and send them to good trainers. It doesn't always work, but this is the formula we like to follow.”

Alex acknowledges that the former inhabitants of the land now known as Haras de Beaumont set a formidable example to follow.

He says, “It's part of the Quesnay, which has been extremely successful. It's going to be very difficult to do as well as the Head family but we'll try hard for sure. And we are very fortunate to have this land. A lot of champions have been bred here. Treve has been raised here. So, you know, it's a dream for us, but we work hard for it. This location as well, when you're standing stallions, we are 10 minutes away from Deauville, so when people are at the sales, they can give us a call, we have a shuttle, they come here, they'll see the horses, and they can be back in town 10 minutes later.”

Sealiway is of course not alone in the new stallion barn. His fellow Galileo-line sire Intello is rising 13 and has the Group/Grade 1 winners Intellogent (Ire) and Adhamo (Ire) to his credit. Stunning Spirit, meanwhile, hails from the Strawbridge family that produced Group 1 winner Rainbow View (Dynaformer), a sister to his dam. 

“Intello has got an extraordinary ratio of stakes horses, 11% stakes performers to runners, which is huge,” Alex notes. “And he's a very well-bred, good-looking horse. He was a French Derby winner, and he's a proven sire at a very reasonable fee, so we are very happy to have him, and we are also going to stand Stunning Spirit, who is a group winner by Invincible Spirit and his dam is a full-sister to Group 1 winner.”

As outlined by Alex, the Chehboub family plans to support Sealiway with a number of mares from their own broodmare band as well as some recent purchases, including Key Success (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), the dam of black-type earners Axdavali (Fr) (Goken {Fr}) and Axdaliva (Fr) (Elusive City), bought at Arqana last weekend.

Pauline Chehboub says, “We bought three mares at Goffs especially for him: one by Dubawi, one by Acclamation in foal to Sea The Stars, and another Group 1-placed [mare], so we'll send maybe 25 or 30 mares to him this year.”

Pauline will have her work cut out as she oversees the family's stable in Chantilly, which is the base of trainer Ludovic Rovisse. Their 55 horses in training are also spread between a number of trainers including Jean-Claude Rouget, Francis-Henri Graffard, Yann Barberot and Didier Guillemin.

“I have a lot of trainers to follow and we have maybe 25 two-year-olds, so it is very busy,” she says. “But I love the breeding, it is my passion, so I will help Mathieu and Emilie and spend time in Deauville and Chantilly.”

She adds of Sealiway's recent retirement from the Graffard yard, “It was a special moment when he left the stable at Chantilly for the last time because there was a lot of sentiment for this horse. He has been different class from the beginning, since my father saw him as a yearling. He's a good mover, he could do short distances and Classic distances so, for me, he had everything.”

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The 4-year-old son of Galiway (GB) will be the first stallion to stand under the Beaumont banner, the new base for Kamel and Pauline Chehboub's breeding enterprise on land purchased from the Head family at the famed Haras du Quesnay. Haras de Beaumont will be managed by Mathieu Alex.

“I think we have the place for this champion in France. He deserves his place at stud,” Pauline Chehboub told TDN. “He was the best 2-year-old in France, one of the best 2-year-olds in Europe, and he was the best horse in France last year.

“To be able to stand him at such a magical place as Quesnay and to have as our first stallion a champion such as Sealiway makes us very proud and excited. It is a new turn in our career as owners and breeders. Our goal is to breed at the top level and to race the next champion.”

The Chehboubs, who race under the name Haras de la Gousserie, campaigned Sealiway in partnership with his breeder Guy Pariente. Among his five victories at two, he won the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, the race also won by France's current champion sire Siyouni (Fr). The following season Sealiway was runner-up to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and also ran fifth in the Arc before winning the Champion S., in which he beat Classic winners Adayar (Ire), Mac Swiney (Ire), and Mishriff (Ire).

The Chehboub family previously stood their homebred Arlington Million winner Spirit One (Fr) at stud in France but are now in the midst of a significant expansion of both their racing and breeding operations. Kamel Chehboub's daughter Pauline is managing the racing stable recently purchased in Chantilly which is now the base of Ludovic Rovisse, who is training 35 horses for the family.

Commenting on the significant purchase of part of Quesnay, Chehboub said, “I think it's very important to us to perpetuate what has happened on this land. The Head family was an example for everyone in this industry and for us too. 

“Beaumont is a major project, a story of people and encounters. We have called on Mathieu and Emilie Alex who, thanks to their expertise, will support us in doing everything possible to try to achieve our objectives.”

“It will be exciting in December to be able to show breeders the stud and Sealiway when they are in Deauville for the sales. We will be supporting the horse and we would love to add some new mares to the stud because he deserves to be covering mares at the top level. Unfortunately we sold Rougir last year, as he deserves this type of filly.”

In a banner year for Haras de la Gousserie in 2021, Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) won the G1 Prix de l'Opera on Arc weekend a fortnight before Sealiway's triumph on British Champions Day at Ascot. The filly was sold later that year by Alex under the Sumbe banner for €3 million to Michel Zerolo on behalf of Peter Brant and Michael Tabor. In Tabor's colours she won last weekend's GI EP Taylor S. for the Chad Brown stable. 

“We are proud to have raced such a filly,” said Chehboub. “She showed on Saturday that she was still the mare we had in France. I think she just needed some time to acclimatise to a new country, and one that's very different in France.”

For Chehboub and her father, the search is now on for the next stars to race under their new title of Ecurie de la Gousserie from their Chantilly yard alongside Les Aigles.

“I think my father is proud of what we have achieved so far, and the continuity of that is our project now. We have our eyes on the future. I would say the best is in front of us and that's very exciting.”

At Haras de Beaumont, Mathieu Alex has been appointed to run the stud and launch the career of Sealiway, a role for which he is well qualified, having previously worked with leading French sire Le Havre (Ire), among others, during his days at Haras de Montfort et Préaux, later known as Sumbe.

“It is exciting to start our activity with a horse with the class of Sealiway,” he said.  “His performances at the highest level, his warrior attitude and his longevity make him a true champion. 

“The Chehboub family and Guy Pariente are determined to do everything they can to give Sealiway the best possible start at stud. This is very positive for the French breeding industry. We will do our utmost to involve breeders in this exciting project and thus share the success of such an adventure.”

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Part of the Fairway Consignment draft and already named Tomokay (Fr), lot 34 is the fifth foal from his dam, the winning Hold That Tiger mare Loumaxaye (Fr). His half-brother Hayejohn (Fr), by first-season sire Johnny Barnes (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), carried all before him in the Listed Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles at Vichy after the catalogue was published.

This is also the extended family of the dual listed winner Sully (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and G1 Futurity S., G1 Queen Elizabeth S. and G1 Caulfield Cup S. heroine Aqua d'Amore (Aus) (Danehill).

Second on the buyers' sheets was lot 82, Tiger King (Fr) (Inns Of Court {Ire}). Originally a €9,500 in utero purchase by Jean-Claud Olivier out of the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale in 2020, the colt was re-sold one year later in that same sale for €19,000 to Six of Us. Offered by Haras de Grandcamp on Thursday, the February-foaled colt was snapped up for €85,000 by John Hassett of The Bloodstock Connection for GET IN THE GAME. Out of the listed-placed Pink Cloud (Fr) (Octagonal {NZ}), his dam is a half-sister to two-time listed winner Pink Gin (Fr) (Kouroun {Fr}), as well as the stakes-placed Pink Anabella (Fr) (Anabaa).

John Hassett said, “He's a magnificent colt, that comes from a good stud. I'm very pleased with this purchase. It's possible that he might come back to Deauville for the Breeze Up next May, but nothing is decided yet.”

Hassett had struck for a colt by Shalaa (Ire) earlier in the day, when shelling out €68,000 for lot 71 as JCH Bloodstock. Haras de Castillon consigned the bay, whose dam is a half-sister to none other than outstanding third-crop sire and dual Group 2 winner Mehmas (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was also runner up in the G1 National S. and third in the G1 Middle Park S.

John Hammond bought four on the day for owner Gerard Augustin-Normand ranging in price from €5,000 to €80,000. Leading the quartet was a colt by City Light (Fr) (lot 101) from the draft of Haras d'Aspel. His dam is a half-sister to the stakes winner and stakes producer Rioticism (Fr) (Rio de la Plata), responsible for three-time stakes winner and G3 Round Tower S. third Ladies Church (GB) (Churchill {Ire}), while his half-brother by Birchwood graduated at Deauville this summer for Joel Boisnard. This colt will also join the Boisnard string.

Thursday's most expensive filly was a daughter of Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (lot 47). Purchased for €77,000 by Hammond from Haras de la Haie Neuve, the well-bred miss is from the same family as Group 1 winner Sequoyah (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), the dam of dual Classic winner Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo), and the Classic-placed Group 3 winner Queen Cleopatra (Ire) (Kingmambo); while Sequoyah's half-sister Listen (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) took the G1 Fillies' Mile and was runner-up in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. Carrying this filly, her dam brought €55,000 from Narvick International at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale in 2020.

“She's a lovely filly, that is very like her sire,” said Hammond. “I really like her physique and she has a lot of strength. We'll decide on her future at a later date.”

At the end of the day, 101 yearlings (71.6%) had sold from 141 offered. The gross was a respectable €2,113,000. The average was €20,921 and the median settled at €15,000.

The sale continues Friday at 2 p.­m.

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It will mean a switch to dirt for the last-out G1 QIPCO Champion S. winner–trained by Cedric Rossi–but with the race elevated to Group 1 status in just its second year and maintaining its position as the most valuable in the world, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

A top-level winner as a juvenile, Sealiway finished second to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and returned from a mid-season break to claim a fine fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe before his famous success at Ascot.

He is owned by Guy Pariente and the Chehboub family under the guise of their stud, Haras de le Gousserie, and racing manager Pauline Chehboub said: “He had a brilliant season, just as we hoped.

“It was a great run behind St Mark's Basilica in the Prix du Jockey Club, and he then ran a nice race in the Arc before that huge performance in the Champion S. We always believed he was a top-class horse, and he showed his talent at Ascot. The best is yet to come with him.

“It wasn't a surprise for us [winning at Ascot], he was in very good form after the Arc. He was the best 2-year-old in France after his win in the Lagardere and he proved after Ascot that he was the best 3-year-old. It was a crazy day, very emotional. We were so pleased with him, he's very special.”

Following the Ascot win. the international races at Hong Kong had been mooted but it was decided that the Saudi race was a better fit.

“It wasn't easy to say no to Hong Kong,” said Chehboub.

“He improved a lot on Champions Day and came out of the race very well. We all looked at the programme book with my father and co-owner and breeder Guy Pariente, and we thought the Saudi Cup was a good target.

“We are planning a big international campaign,” she added.

“We're not sure exactly where yet but there is the Arc in October and I'm sure we'll be going back to Ascot at some point. The first thing is Saudi, we'll make a plan after that. We think 2022 is going to be a very big year for Sealiway.”

It is always a big task for top-class turf horses to prove as effective on a dirt surface but last year's winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) showed it can be done.

“Sealiway works on the sand in the mornings and he's very impressive on it,” said Chehboub. “We think it will suit him well, we don't think it will be a problem. He is a very flexible horse. He has a lot of speed and we saw in the Arc that he can stay. We are confident he can adapt to different distances and tracks.

“We love a challenge. It's very exciting to be a part of a race like the Saudi Cup and to meet all those great horses from America and Japan. Mishriff won it this year and he's one of the best horses on turf in Europe, so it shows that it's possible.”

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