La Motteraye makes first appearance at Goffs UK with two smart colts

With an eye on how another Normandy resident has broadened their horizons at Goffs UK, Gwenael Monneraye and Lucie Lamotte will be testing the water for the first time at this week’s Premier Yearling Sale.

The couple’s La Motteraye operation has partnered with Haras d’Etreham to offer a draft of two colts, one by Lope De Vega and the other by Wootton Bassett.

Its arrival follows on the heels of Anna Sundstrom’s Coulonces Consignment, which sold not only the brilliant Laurens at this event four years ago but realised £280,000 for another Wootton Bassett colt last year.

"As consignors, it’s important to know the trade at all of the sales, so that’s one of the reasons why we went, to know a bit more about it," Monneraye explained.

"We know Anna well and she told us it’s such a fantastic sale and one of the girls working in Goffs UK, Celine [Orton], used to work for us, she was very keen for us to come if we had the right horse.

"They are different buyers to what we get in Deauville, when you have different kind of horses it’s good to bring the horses to the right people. That’s what we’re trying to do – we don’t know if it will work or not but we’ll see."

La Motteraye are directly responsible for the Lope De Vega (lot 380), who was a 70,000gns pinhook from Tattersalls. He has had an extremely recent update with half-sister Prado finishing second in Saturday’s Group 3 Prestige Stakes at Goodwood.

Wootton Bassett himself was bought at Doncaster before becoming a top racehorse and stallionCredit: Bronwen Healy

"I thought he looked really racey for a Lope De Vega and he’s by a Holy Roman Emperor mare, so that brings a bit of speed.

"He was born a bit late [April 16] but he looks like he’ll develop into a very nice horse.

"He was bred by Newsells Park and they said the sister [Royal Nation] would win soon and it would change the black type, she did win a race, and then the two-year-old Prado won first-time-out.

"The original plan was to sell him in France because I didn’t think there’d be too many Lope De Vegas, but it turns out there are a lot this year! I realised at Goffs UK there were only two and he looks like he could do the job there."

Lot 338 is the only Wootton Bassett in the catalogue and is Etreham’s concern, having stood the stallion before his recent departure to Coolmore. The colt is out of a Green Tune mare from the family of smart miler Zafeen.

Monneraye said: "Wootton Bassett was sold at Goffs UK and he’s been very lucky in France. The three-year-olds are still horses that were covered at only €6,000 and the two-year-olds that ran at Deauville looked very promising.

"It looks like he could be a serious stallion for the future and he’s made it all himself, he started with very few runners, covered very few mares the first year, and he’s had good results with very few runners in England."

The pair worked at studs around the world before setting up La Motteraye just over a decade ago and it has developed into a powerful force very quickly.

Lamotte and Monneraye have sold the likes of the two foals out of late Classic winner Just The Judge for seven-figure returns at Arqana and have 29 entries in next month’s Select Sale. Preparing them is currently Monneraye’s prime responsibility while Lamotte has made the lengthy journey to Doncaster and will head on to sell another at Baden-Baden.

"You were allowed to travel with the horses so she went over with one of our employees," said Monneraye, who was amused by his partner’s video message of driving rain in South Yorkshire. "She had to have a swab taken, she was negative and was allowed to travel. There’s a bit of paperwork to do but it was doable, so we did it."

There is plenty more work waiting back home, as he explained.

"When we first set up the farm we were only consignors and for three years we’ve had the second farm where we breed.

"Pao Alto won the Prix La Force that leads up to the Jockey Club and wasn’t very lucky in the Jockey Club itself but was then third, should have been second, in a Group 2. Hopefully he can run in the Grand Prix de Paris.

"We had another that won a Class 1 race a few days ago, from just three runners, which is fantastic. We have 45 mares for clients, a few for us, so developing the breeding side of La Motteraye is the next goal."

First things first and this latest step towards global domination.

"In my mind this sale is very speed orientated, both horses look like they could suit the trainers or the breeze-up guys," Monneraye summarises.

"We thought give it a go and in this strange year, it’s good to have a few horses everywhere so you spread the risk."

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