A day after winning the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France, Sottsass was retired from racing, and he will stand for the Coolmore operation in 2021, Racing Post reports.
The 4-year-old Siyouni colt was campaigned in a 50/50 partnership between Peter Brant and Coolmore, the latter of which purchased its stake in January. Monday's announcement removes a key contender from this year's Breeders' Cup Turf, in which Sottsass earned a “Win and You're In” berth by virtue of his Arc score.
Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, Sottsass has been a high-level runner in France over the past two seasons.
During his 3-year-old campaign last season, the colt won the G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly and the G2 Prix Niel at Longchamp before finishing third to Enable in that year's Arc.
At four, he won the G1 Prix Ganay at Chantilly and he finished second in the G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club at Deauville ahead of his Arc victory.
Bred in France by S.A.S.U. Ecurie Des Moneaux, Sottsass is a half-brother to Sistercharlie, the 2018 Eclipse Award winner for champion turf female, who is also campaigned by Brant. Sistercharlie is a contender for this year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
2020 G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}-Starlet’s Sister {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) has been retired and will take up stallion duties at Coolmore Stud in Ireland, owner Peter Brant announced on Tuesday. A colourbearer for Brant’s White Birch Farm initially with Coolmore buying a 50% interest earlier this year, the 2019 French highweight’s fee will be announced later.
“A world champion at three and now an Arc winner at four, I have decided to retire Sottsass after what he has achieved,” said Brant. “He has retired sound and right at the top of his game–this is important to me. I am looking forward to breeding some of my best mares to him. Coolmore purchased 50% of him earlier in the year and he will stand there for 2021.”
Bred by Ecurie des Monceaux in France, the chestnut was knocked down for €340,000 at the 2017 Arqana August Yearling Sale on the bid of Michel Zerolo’s Oceanic Bloodstock for Brant. Put into training with Jean-Claude Rouget, Sottsass broke his maiden at second asking at Clairefontaine and captured the Listed Prix de Suresnes in his second run at three. In only his fifth career start, Sottsass defeated that year’s G1 French Guineas hero Persian King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, setting a new race record last June. The chestnut added a win in the G2 Prix Niel that September, and was a very good third in the 2019 Arc.
Besides his swansong at ParisLongchamp in 2020, Sottsass also captured the G1 Prix Ganay this term and was a close second in the G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron. He retires with a mark of 12-6-1-1 and $3,900,437 in earnings.
“Back in 1971, I was working on a film in Paris and was lucky enough to witness Mill Reef win his Arc,” Brant added. “I think it is the ultimate race to win and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have fulfilled a lifelong dream. Sottsass has an incredible turn of foot as he showed when readily disposing of Persian King in the Prix du Jockey Club. He smashed the race record time and knocked nearly a second off the 1m 2 1/2f track record at Chantilly previously held by dual Arc winner Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}). We were concerned that the testing conditions on Sunday might blunt his speed but he overcame them and showed his true greatness.
“Being a half-brother to Sistercharlie who had run second for us in the Prix de Diane, Sottsass was always going to be of interest to us as a yearling and we were delighted when the individual matched up to his pedigree. Being by France’s leading sire Siyouni and out of a daughter of Galileo only added to his appeal. The rest as they say is history as Sistercharlie has gone on to win seven Grade I races in the USA for Chad Brown and Sottsass has proved himself the ultimate champion.
“Jean-Claude Rouget has done a masterful job with Sottsass and it gave me great pleasure to share in his first Arc success.”
Said Rouget, “He’s a good looking horse with a good temperament, a classy horse and goes to stud in the best way after a great win in the Arc. The decision has been made now as they want to protect him for a stallion career and I think it was best not to go to the Breeders’ Cup as the track would have been too sharp for him. He is quite a big horse with a big action. It would have been a risk.”
Added the trainer of the colt’s early career, “I go slowly with my horses. He was promising after he had a bad trip first time out. He won his second race easily. He had a bad race first time out at three and, after he won his listed race easily, he won the Prix du Jockey Club. The Arc was the target this year. It was not easy with COVID-19 to do good planning, but we do it and we did well. I am very happy for him not to run again. He was a very courageous horse.”
The third consecutive group winner and third foal out of Starlet’s Sister, Sottsass follows on the hooves of Eclipse Champion Turf Female Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}), who counts a GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf laurel amongst her seven Grade I wins and played bridesmaid in the 2017 G1 Prix de Diane. Rounding out the trio of GSWs for Starlet’s Sister is My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}), a GSW in both France and America, who races for Brant. Sottsass is also a half-brother to the 2020 Arqana Deauville Select Yearling Sale topper, a €2,500,000 filly by Dubawi (Ire) purchased by Oliver St Lawrence, as well as €400,000 Arqana August yearling Radiant Child (Ire) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) who is three and a Fastnet Rock (Aus) juvenile colt who went for €700,000 to David Redvers at the same sale in 2019.
Out of GI Del Mar Oaks third Premiere Creation (Fr) (Green Tune), Starlet’s Sister is a full-sister to G3 Prix Cleopatre heroine Leo’s Starlet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and a half-sister to SW and MG1SP Anabaa’s Creation (Ire) (Anabaa). Farther back in the pedigree are champions Noalcoholic (Fr) (Nonoalco) and Leonnatus Anteas (Stormy Atlantic).
Peter Brant's return to Thoroughbred racing and breeding in 2016 after a nearly 25-year hiatus hit its pinnacle on Sunday with a victory by Sottsass in the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. The 4-year-old colt by the French stallion Siyouni, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget and ridden to victory by Cristian Demuro, had no trouble with the heavy ground at ParisLongchamp, defeating In Swoop and pace-setting Persian King in the 12-furlong European classic for 3-year-olds and up.
Juddmonte Farms Enable finished sixth in her bid for a record third Arc de Triomphe victory, Jockey Frankie Dettori said of the John Gosden runner: “She hated that ground. I knew my fate at the 400.”
The victory was the first in the Arc de Triomphe for Brant, Demuro and Rouget.
Sottsass was prominent from the outset, saving ground inside of Chachnak as Persian King established the pace. In Swoop raced just behind Sottsass, alongside Enable. There was little change in the running until the field of 11 runners reached the stretch run.
Persian King was well off the rail giving Demuro an option to go inside or outside of the front-runner. He chose to swing Sottsass to the outside for his run while In Swoop and jockey Ronan Thomas took the inside route. Sottsass hit the front with 200 meters to run, but In Swoop was inching forwardly when they reached the winning post.
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was one of five Group 1 races that were Breeders' Cup Challenge Series events at ParisLongchamp, giving the winners fees-paid berths to the world championship races to be held this year at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., Nov. 6-7. The connections of the winners also receive $40,000 in travel allowances.
The victory by Sottsass gives him a fees-paid spot in the starting gate for the Turf. Other Group 1 Win and You're In Challenge Series races saw Tiger Tanaka win the Prix Marcel Boussac, giving her a berth in the Juvenile Fillies Turf; Sealiway win the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, giving him a berth in the Juvenile Turf; Wooded win the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, giving him a berth in the Turf Sprint; and Tarnawa win the Prix de l'Opera, giving her a berth in the Filly & Mare Turf.
Enable, who won the 2017-'18 renewals of the Arc (and finished second in 2019) became the first horse to win both the Arc de Triomphe and Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year when she accomplished the feat in 2018.
Peter Brant at Belmont Park
Sottsass, who came into this year's Arc off a fourth-place finish behind Magical in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in Ireland on Sept. 12, had finished third behind Waldgeist in the 2019 Arc after earlier in the year winning the G1 French Derby and G2 Prix Niel. The French-bred colt was champion 3-year-old of 2019.
Out of the Galileo mare Starlet's Sister, Sottsass is a half-sister to Brant's American champion Sistercharlie (by Myboycharlie), who gave the owner his first G1 victory after being away from the game for so long when taking the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in 2018. Brant's horses in the U.S. are trained by Chad Brown.
Brant came back with a splash when he made the decision to return to racing, focusing heavily on broodmares but also buying weanlings and yearlings at both European and American bloodstock auctions. He spent $10 million in 2016 and doubled that investment the following year. Among his yearling purchases in 2017 was Sottass, bred by Ecurie Des Monceaux and purchased for 340,000 euros at the Arqana August Yearling Sale.
In a 2018 interview with the Paulick Report, Brant – who had campaigned such champions as Waya, Just a Game and Gulch in the late 1970s and '80s – spoke about how alliances and partnerships had become an important element in the current iteration of the Thoroughbred industry. As such, earlier this year he sold half-interest in Sottsass to Coolmore, where the Arc winner presumably will stand upon his retirement.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the general public was unable to attend the races at ParisLongchamp. Brant, presumably watched his colt win one of the world's most prestigious races from his home in the U.S.
Agave Racing Stable, ERJ Racing, Madaket Stables and Rockin Robin Racing Stable's Bowies Hero will attempt to become the third horse to win the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) in consecutive years when he faces 10 rivals Saturday in the 35th running of the $750,000 race.
The Shadwell Turf Mile is one of five graded stakes on Saturday's 11-race program at Keeneland that begins at 1:05 p.m. ET. The Shadwell Turf Mile is the afternoon's third Grade 1 race and scheduled as the 10th race with a 5:57 p.m. post time.
Trained by Phil D'Amato, Bowies Hero will be trying to join Gio Ponti (2010-2011) and Dumaani (1995-1996) as the only repeat winners in the race that is a “Win and You're In” test for the $2 million Breeders' Cup FanDuel Mile (G1) Presented by PDJF to be run Nov. 7.
Bowies Hero will break from post position four and be ridden by Rafael Bejarano.
To repeat, Bowies Hero will have to get by a quartet of runners trained by Chad Brown headed by two-time Grade 1 winner Raging Bull (FR).
Owned by Peter Brant, Raging Bull returns to Keeneland where he was third beaten a neck in July in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1). Winner of the Shoemaker Mile (G1) at Santa Anita in May to open his 2020 campaign, Raging Bull will be ridden Saturday by Joel Rosario and break from post position six.
Brown's other entrants are William Lawrence's Analyze It, winner of the Transylvania (G3) here in 2018 and fourth in the Shadwell last year; Juddmonte Farms' Flavius, winner of the recent Tourist Mile at Kentucky Downs; and, John and Tanya Gunther's Without Parole (GB) who was fourth in the Maker's Mark Mile.
Tyler Gaffalione will ride Analyze It and break from post eight; Flavius will exit post seven and be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. while Julien Leparoux has the call on Without Parole who will break from post position three.
The field for the Shadwell Turf Mile, with riders from the inside, is: Casa Creed (Martin Garcia), Halladay (Luis Saez), Without Parole (GB) (Leparoux), Bowies Hero (Bejarano), Born Great (Corey Lanerie), Raging Bull (FR) (Rosario), Flavius (Santana Jr.), Analyze It (Gaffalione), Parlor (Umberto Rispoli), Spectacular Gem (James Graham) and Ivar (BRZ) (Joe Talamo). All starters will carry 126 pounds.
