Haras de Bonneval

Alain and Gerard Wertheimer's relatively unexposed 3-year-old colt Nitoi (Siyouni {Fr}) had just two prior outings under his belt heading into Friday's Listed Prix de Suresnes and called upon abundant reserves to claim a hard-fought career high in the 10-furlong Prix du Jockey Club trial. The Andre Fabre-trained homebred half-brother to G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern and G1 Hong Kong Vase hero Junko (GB) (Intello {Ger}) broke through in his Sept. 16 debut at this venue and ran second in ParisLongchamp's G3 Prix Noailles on black-type debut and seasonal return...

The first foals for European champion three-year-old Vadeni (Fr) have been reported by the Aga Khan Studs, who also welcomed one of the first arrivals for Group 2-winning miler Erevann (Fr) recently when a bay filly out of the G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Daryakana (Fr) (Selkirk) was born on February 11. The foal is a half-sister to five black-type performers--including the G1 Prix Ganay winner and sire Dariyan (Fr)--and is described as "a beauty" by French studs manager Pierre Gasnier. He added, "[She's] a very attractive filly, with plenty...

Where to start on the first morning of the Route des Etalons? It was a decision which would have been easy to rush into, what with so many enticing options to choose from, all of them immaculately presented, ready and waiting to welcome the first guests of the day. 'Pace yourself,' I reminded myself. 'There's always tomorrow for anything you don't get to today.' Anyway, that's enough about the breakfast buffet at the hotel. Suitably fueled with a pile of crepes, cakes and pastries that would have made my dentist...

A nomination to the Aga Khan Studs stallion Zarak (Fr) has been added to the Arqana Online January Sale, which is due to take place between the hours of 3pm and 5pm (local time) on Monday, January 20. For conditions of sale and to view the full catalogue, click here. Zarak stood his first season at Haras de Bonneval in 2018 and is set to command a career-high fee of €80,000 in 2025, having produced three Group 1 winners from his early crops, including last year's Poule d'Essai des Poulains...

Friday will be a day of milestones in the life of this scribe, with the first day of Normandy's Route des Etalons set to coincide with the one-year anniversary of my first day as a member of team TDN. And boy, what a year it's been. One of the highlights from 12 months spent in the job came in August when I had the opportunity to sample the delights of Deauville for the first time. Equally, one of the low points then came in December when poor organisation on my...

A 1/50th share in the Aga Khan Studs stallion Zarak (Fr) took top billing in the Arqana December Online Sale when going the way of Alex Elliott for €800,000. Of the 13 stallion shares and breeding rights offered, nine sold for a total of €1,323,000. A four-time winner when trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré, notably landing the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Zarak boasts an exceptional pedigree as a son of Dubawi (Ire) and the unbeaten G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar). Zarak stood his first...

Another share in the Aga Khan Studs stallion Zarak (Fr) will be offered by Arqana Online during a pop-up sale to be held on Friday, July 12. The share gives the right to one covering per year, plus an additional covering every odd-numbered year, meaning two coverings in 2025 followed by one covering in 2026, and so on. Last month an identical offering on the Arqana Online platform sold to Laurent Benoit, acting on behalf of Haras Voltaire, for €740,000. Bidding will take place between 5-6pm local time, with registration...

Leading European sire Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}--Sichilla {Ire}, by Danehill) will again be available to cover a limited number of mares to Southern Hemisphere time in 2024 from his base at Haras de Bonneval in France. Siyouni, who has sired eight Classic races from eight to 10 furlongs, finished the 2023 season as the leading sire of milers, headed by Tahiyra (Ire), Paddington (GB) and Mqse De Sevigne (Ire), who collectively won nine Group 1 races. Mqse De Sevigne also annexed the G1 Prix d'Ispahan earlier this year. In Australia,...

A share in the Aga Khan Studs stallion Zarak (Fr) will be offered by Arqana Online during a pop-up sale to be held on Wednesday, June 26. Bidding will take place between 5-6pm local time, with registration for bidding already open on www.arqanaonline.com. A four-time winner when trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré, notably landing the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Zarak boasts an exceptional pedigree as a son of Dubawi (Ire) and the unbeaten G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar). He stood his first season at...

The two newcomers to the stallions ranks at Haras de Bonneval, Vadeni (Fr) and Erevann (Fr), have both had their first mares scanned in foal, the operation announced on Wednesday. Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget and carrying the colours of the Aga Khan, Vadeni was among the leading three-year-olds in Europe in 2022 when his wins included the G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly and G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown. He also filled the runner-up spot behind Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on...

Both multiple Group 1 winner Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) and Group 2 winner Erevann (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) will be on show at The Aga Khan Studs' Haras de Bonneval during the upcoming Arqana Breeding Stock Sale from Thursday, Dec. 7 to Monday, Dec. 11 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A shuttle service will be available from Arqana to the stud running at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day. To book your visit, please see the Aga Khan Studs team in Yard P at Arqana or, alternatively, contact Fanny...

Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar), the Aga Khan's unbeaten 2008 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner and the dam of last year's champion French first-season sire Zarak (Fr), will be covered by another Aga Khan superstar, Siyouni (Fr), in 2022. Zarkava has already produced the listed-winning filly Zaykava (Fr) from a mating with Siyouni, and she has a yearling colt by the French champion sire. Zarkava's listed-winning and Group 1-placed daughter Zarkamiya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) is currently in foal to Siyouni. Siyouni stands for a second consecutive season for €140,000 at...