Scat Daddy’s Seahenge boosts US influence for speed

For visitors heading from the Channel ports or based for the weekend of the Route des Etalons in Deauville, the Haras de la Haie Neuve represents something of a final frontier.

Located midway between Laval and Rennes, this is both the most southerly and most westerly stallion station on the trail.

But there is plenty of incentive to make the extra effort, as Tangi Saliou and his team have one of the most interesting group of young sires in France, with Pedro The Great quickly establishing himself as a surprise package and the newly arrived Seahenge offering a chance for breeders to tap into a Group 2-winning son of Scat Daddy.

Saliou took over the farm from Alain Regnier at the beginning of 2018, with the previous proprietor keen to have an injection of youthful enthusiasm.

Regnier still keeps his own broodmares on site and Saliou and wife Dorothee haven’t departed radically from the Haie Neuve imprint of speed and toughness in acquiring three stallions in their first two years to go with Pedro The Great. War Front’s son Whitecliffsofdover was a newcomer in 2018 and Saliou can now boast three former Ballydoyle runners as well as three stallions with plenty of US blood coursing through their veins.

“There still needs to be some evidence of performing in Europe,” says Saliou, whose adventures in bloodstock have taken him via the former National Stud at Le Lion d’Angers, followed by six years with the Haras de Montaigu.

“The advantage with Scat Daddy is that they go on every type of ground and all surfaces – dirt or turf. It’s extraordinary really. But it’s hard with American pedigrees if they don’t have that [European experience].”

Always quick to spread the praise around, Saliou says both he and Regnier have their partnership with Narvick International’s Emmanuel de Seroux to thank for such a privileged relationship with Coolmore.

Seahenge proved himself a potential future stallion prospect at two when landing the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, backing that up with third place in US Navy Flag’s Dewhurst.

His three-year-old career may have suffered slightly from being campaigned alongside Mendelssohn on dirt in Dubai and the US, but Saliou wasted little time once the offer to acquire him came along.

“We’ve been after a son of Scat Daddy for some time and were interested in Sioux Nation, though the price was beyond us,” says Saliou. “We also looked at a son of his who stands in Chile but I think it would have been difficult for him in Europe and he was also pretty expensive, having won a Group 1 down there.

“There aren’t many Scat Daddys available and, when we learned Seahenge was an option, the deal was done in a few hours.”

Seahenge was a $750,000 yearling at Keeneland and boasts a thoroughly stateside pedigree, being out of a black-type mare in Fools In Love, who is by the Mr Prospector sire Not For Love.

“He corresponds very well with the broodmares we have here and Alain and Emmanuel have always chosen stallions primarily on the basis of what suited their breeding and their band of mares,” says Saliou.

“We’re delighted with Seahenge, who is a magnificent horse and who I think will work well for us. We’ve already had plenty of bookings.”

Some stallion masters with the luxury of standing a proven champion on the track might like to limit the early books with one eye to longevity but at La Haie Neuve you are always expected to pay for your keep.

“It’s like with young people, you have to put them to work. Our stallions will work hard, don’t worry about that. When I was at Montaigu I worked with Martaline as well as Balko and No Risk At All. I’d reserve 150 covers for a stallion with no problem.”

Seahenge will debut at €5,000 this year, whereas Pedro The Great spent his first three seasons covering at a fee of €3,000. It’s little surprise the son of Henrythenavigator was stepped up to €5,000 in 2017 and this year heads the roster at €10,000.

In France, the 74 runners from his first two crops to reach racing age have already accrued 62 wins and he was ranked leading second-season sire in the country by percentage of winners with a 51 per cent strike-rate.

Pedro The Great’s flagbearer has been Fatale Bere, who was Listed-placed for Joel Boisnard but really took off when purchased privately to race for Leonard Powell in California.

The highlight of three wins on turf for Powell came in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, while this month Fatale Bere was lighting up the salesboard at Keeneland, with Shadai Farm the winning bidder at $700,000.

“Pedro is a real improver of stock,” says Saliou. “When you look at the details he has a lot to offer. He has that highly prized Kingmambo blood, which is certainly what Teruya Yoshida was looking for. He has an exceptional dam [Glatisant] who also produced Footstepsinthesand.”

From limited chances Pedro The Great is far from a one-hit wonder: Lagrandecatherine was an unlucky-in-running fourth in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac, having already finished second in the Prix du Calvados; Bonita Fransisca was also twice placed at Group level while Feralia lifted the Listed Criterium du Bequet.

Pedro The Great described by Saliou as 'a real improver of stock'Credit: Herve Delaroque

The arrival of Saliou in 2018 coincided with two new stallions, with Whitecliffsofdover and jumping prospect Magneticjim proving an instant hit in terms of numbers.

He says: “Whitecliffsofdover covered 93 mares in 2018 and you won’t find many stallions in France with a pedigree like his. His dam is a full-sister to Pulpit and is from the family of Tale Of The Cat and Johannesburg. It’s an exceptional family. He was third in a Group 1 [the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere] and, had he won one, we couldn’t have afforded him.

“He’s magnificent as a specimen and War Front is, in my opinion, along with Galileo, the best stallion currently active in the world. He has been very successful in Europe as well as the US and we’re thrilled to have his son.”

With three potential sources of speed and precocity, all boasting deep American roots and representing – in the case of Scat Daddy and War Front – two stallion lines breeders have shown a near unlimited appetite for, the new team at La Haie Neuve have wasted little time in making a determined statement.

Saliou says: “I never look back too much because if you get stuck in reflecting on the past, you never achieve much. You have to make things happen for yourself and I was like that, even when I was much younger. All the people I’m close to who have succeeded in life have been prepared to take risks.”

In the case of Magneticjim – a well-bought and useful performer on the Flat for Pascal Bary before winning over hurdles with Alain Couetil – there may have been less upfront financial risk. But Saliou is hugely enthusiastic about a horse with whom he has plenty of shared history.

“I foaled Magneticjim when I was at Montaigu and he was then sold for €500,000. The dam, Dibenoise, is from a family of stallion producers both on the Flat and over jumps. I followed his racing career very closely and when he came up for sale I looked for some partners and we were able to get him.

“He was full up the first year, covering 115 mares. He was a very accessible price but I find generally that it’s better to start off like that and get plenty of foals on the ground, rather than starting off at a higher price and getting fewer covers. I think he’ll be popular again because he’s a beautiful-looking horse. Around here he is known as Magnifique Jim.”

American dreaming More new US blood on the Route by hot duo Scat Daddy and Kitten’s Joy

La Haie Neuve is not the only farm in France to have acquired a son of Scat Daddy, with Haras de SaintArnoult’s Larissa Kneip now standing Seabhac, a name probably not too familiar to European eyes but who was a Grade 3 winner on the Belmont turf for Todd Pletcher as a juvenile.

Out of a Curlin half-sister to Afleet Alex, Seabhac is being offered at €5,000 in 2019.

Kitten’s Joy enjoyed a landmark season in Europe in 2018 as well as the US, where he was leading sire for the second time, and his son Taareef should prove popular at Haras du Mezeray, where he is being launched at €6,000.

Taareef was a tough and classy miler for Shadwell and Jean-Claude Rouget over four seasons, twice running away with the biggest allage miling prize over Arc weekend, the Prix Daniel Wildenstein.

Seabhac, winning a Grade 3 at Belmont Park, will stand at Haras de Saint-ArmoultCredit: NYRA photos

His sire’s progeny have thrived in France from limited opportunities and, with Vita and Niccolo Riva having moved their operation European Bloodstock Management from Haras du Thenney to Haras d’Annebault, Kitten’s Joy has another stallion string to his bow in France with the arrival of Luck Of The Kitten, who boasts the same Giant’s Causeway cross as Eclipse and Sheema Classic hero Hawkbill.

Luck Of The Kitten’s best performance was when chasing home Wesley Ward stablemate Hootenanny in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and he will stand for €3,500, joining EBM’s roster stars Reliable Man and Spanish Moon in a seven-strong line-up at Annebault.

And one from a different vintage . . .

Elusive City may have made his career on the racetrack with Gerald Butler but Haras d’Etreham’s Prix Morny hero, who has just turned 19, is an all-American boy.

More from the Route des Etalons:

Highly rated Cloth Of Stars an exciting newcomer at Haras du Logis

Six must-see sires on Normandy road trip