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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Group 1 Winner Rougir Added To Arqana December

Haras de la Gousserie's G1 Prix de l'Opera winner Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) is one of three wild cards to have been added to Arqana's Breeding Stock Sale in December, along with Eudaimonia (Fr) (Vision d'Etat {Fr}), who was third in the same race.

Winner of the G3 Prix des Reservoirs and placed in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac at two, Rougir progressed this season to take fifth in the G1 Prix de Diane, finishing just a length and a half behind the winner Joan Of Arc (Ire). She was then just half a length off the same filly when finishing fourth in the G1 Prix de Rothschild in August before claiming her own top-level spoils in Paris on Arc weekend. 

Out of the Elusive City mare Summer Moon (Fr), Rougir was a €55,000 graduate of Arqana's August Yearling Sale and will be offered in December though Sumbe as lot 160.

Joining her in Deauville is her erstwhile Prix de l'Opera rival, the third-placed Eudaimonia, who was subsequently runner-up in the G2 Premio Lydia Tesio last weekend. The 6-year-old is the winner of five races and was also placed in last season's G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris for trainer Edouard Monfort and owners Rebecca Philipps and John Hammond. 

Eudaimonia, who is catalogued as lot 200, is the third of the wildcards to sell on the opening day of the sale and will be preceded by Persona Grata (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) as lot 170. The 10-year-old broodmare was bred by Kirsten Rausing and was a dual listed winner in France before being sold to Eric Puerari, whose Haras des Capucines is consigning the mare in foal to Night Of Thunder (Ire).

Persona Grata's first foal, the 3-year-old Lovely Esteem (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), is a winner and Group 2-placed in Ireland, and the pedigree has also received a boost from afar as Persona Grata's half-sister Kesara (GB) (Sadler's Wells) is the dam of Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), a multiple Group 1 winner in Australia this year.

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale begins on Saturday, Dec. 4 and runs for four days.

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Rougir To Continue Fine Run For The Chehboub Family

It has been quite the run for the Chehboub family's Haras de la Gousserie this autumn. First Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) won the G1 Prix de l'Opera on Arc weekend. Then Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), whom they race in partnership with the colt's breeder Guy Pariente, took some fairly notable scalps on QIPCO British Champions Day when landing the G1 QIPCO Champion S.

The gallant stayer Skazino (Fr) (Kendargent {FR}), winner of three Group races at ParisLongchamp this season, only narrowly failed to keep the good times rolling when finishing a length second to the progressive 3-year-old Scope (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the G1 Prix Royal-Oak last Sunday, but there is still the chance of another big international score this year as Rougir heads to California for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar.

“It's the best season so far for us with four very good horses, including the best 3-year-old filly in France and the best French stayer in Skazino, who is in really good form,” says the charismatic Pauline Chehboub, 27, who manages the growing racing and breeding operation for her father, Kamel.

In a way, the success has really just rolled on from the previous glorious autumn, when Sealiway progressed from winning a Vichy listed race to being placed in the G3 Prix la Rochette before providing the family's first major success on Arc weekend by winning the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. With a decent second in the Prix du Jockey Club this term behind St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and, following a switch from the stable of Frederic Rossi to his nephew Cedric, a fifth-place finish in the Arc, Sealiway was perhaps overlooked going into Ascot. That is unlikely to be the case in the future.

“The plan for the moment is to keep him in training as a 4-year-old,” Chehboub says. “My father thinks he will be better at four. We love a challenge. We know we have a champion in our stable so it will be interesting to see him at four, running in the biggest races in the world. We really think that the best is yet to come. In the Champion Stakes he ran a really true race and the best horse won. He is a champion because nothing bothers him–the track, the going–he is an easy horse with a good temperament and that is so important.”

Rougir, too, had more than hinted at her prowess during her juvenile season when finishing third in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac before winning the G3 Prix des Reservoirs a fortnight later.

She continues, “Rougir is a very solid filly who will run in the Filly & Mare Turf at the Breeders' Cup where she will have a pace advantage. We are confident that she will run a big race. She's a tough filly and we are happy to travel with her.”

Natives of Marseille in the south of France, where the majority of their horses are trained, the Chehboubs have established their breeding operation in the centre of the country in the Loire region, not far from a number of successful Thoroughbred studs, most notably Haras du Mesnil. But they also have plans for expansion on the racing front, as Pauline Chehboub explains.

“We have just bought a stable in Chantilly and we are very excited to be part of this project that will include a lot of yearlings and young horses. Richard Chotard will train for us there. He is a friend of ours, as is Xavier Nakkachdji, who will also be working there. We can't wait to have our first runner from this stable,” she says.

“It is important for us to keep horses in the south of France because that's where we were born and where we live, so it is especially important for my father to keep some horses there, and lots of trainers have had success for us there. We have shown that is is not impossible to train a horse like Sealiway in Marseille.”

Though the family also race homebreds, both Rougir and Sealiway were bought at the yearling sales for what now look like very reasonable sums. Rougir was picked up at Arqana's August Sale for €55,000 from her breeder Jan Krauze, while Sealiway was bought from the same sale for €62,000 from Pariente's Haras de Colleville, with the breeder retaining a share.

“Our best horses are from Arqana and the sales,” says Chehboub. “We have big ambitions and we are trying to have more yearlings, but at the same time we want to be more selective. To find one champion or good horse you need to have a lot of horses. We have grown over the years and we buy horses in August and October, and in the future my father would like to buy horses in England and Ireland as well as the USA. We love the racing in America so he would love to go to Keeneland for the sales.”

Kamel Chehboub's love affair with American racing was almost certainly enhanced by the triumph in the 2008 GI Arlington Million of Spirit One (Fr) (Anabaa Blue {GB}), whom he bred and raced with his brother Bouzid. The brothers initially kept their breeding stock at Haras de Lonrai before investing in their own land at Haras de la Gousserie not long after Spirit One's valuable victory. 

“My father has a busy life in the property business and horses are his passion but when you have more and more horses it becomes a business. It is wonderful though to be able to share that passion with your family,” says Pauline, a former pony showjumping champion.

“We have 20 broodmares at the farm but we are trying to reduce that number and keep the best ones. We don't know yet if we will keep Rougir but with a filly like her, she could be a very good foundation mare for the stud.”

As a Group 1 winner already, Rougir has done plenty to advertise her credentials as an enticing future broodmare prospect. The next step for the French star is to conquer America, and as the Chehboub family has already shown, this is far from impossible.

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