Star sires and sumptuous spreads - la vie est belle on Normandy studs tour

In one 48-hour spell over the last two days I have had paraded in front of me a world champion racehorse, a Derby hero, a brilliant sprinter granted European joint-champion juvenile honours alongside Frankel and the outstanding sires of Classic winners Avenir Certain, La Cressonniere and Laurens.

No, I had not fallen asleep while reading the Weatherbys Stallion Book and dreamt I had ascended into horse heaven. The cavalcade of equine greats is very real and was available for free to anyone able to make it to Normandy this weekend.

All those referred to above – Manduro, Authorized, Dream Ahead, Le Havre and Siyouni – were among around 100 stallions on show during the tenth edition of La Route des Etalons, the annual open house event for French studs.

Not only that, but each farm welcomes visitors with local gastronomic delights and there is a champagne party at the grand Villa Strassburger on the Saturday evening that enables Route pilgrims to meet fellow enthusiasts or breeders and to compare notes.

First stop on the Racing Post's itinerary on Saturday was the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval, at which a barn had been converted into a chic, moodily lit reception area where hot drinks and crepes were served.

Man of the moment was Siyouni, the revelation of the Normandy stallion ranks whose fee has risen to €100,000 after the classy and courageous Laurens became the latest to advertise his merits last year.

“You must remember that Laurens, and all these Siyouni horses so far, they were bred at €7,000,” said Georges Rimaud, manager of the Aga Khan's French studs.

It appears that breeders have very much remembered that fact, as later in the conversation it transpired that Siyouni has been fully booked since August.

Elsewhere on the Bonneval catwalk, it was notable that Dariyan, the Group 1-winning son of Shamardal whose first crop are yearlings, has filled out into a striking specimen, while Zarak is well on his way to receiving a similar comment as the stud awaits its first foals by the top-class son of Dubawi and Zarkava.

Unfortunately, as the first stop of the day, breakfast had barely been digested so a sampling of the crepes had to be forgone. Apparently, savoury crepes were coming out at lunchtime but the Racing Post's French correspondent and my chauffeur Scott Burton was unconvinced when I said I would need to come back and have a second glance at Siyouni at around midday.

Onwards to Haras de Montfort et Preaux and its success story Le Havre and young pretender Recorder, and the always chipper commercial relations manager Matthieu Alex who has helped oversee the stallions' careers.

He described Le Havre – who has three elite winners to his name as sire; Suedois as well as Avenir Certain and La Cressonniere – as “our Galileo” and had some interesting updates on some of his progeny.

Most intriguingly, the unraced three-year-old colt out of Miss Bio who will race for Le Havre's owner and staunch supporter Gerard Augustin-Normand, is so exciting that trainer Pascal Bary is saying he is the reason he is putting off his retirement. Le Mont is the name to look out for on French racecards.

There was also a bullish forecast for the three-year-old campaign of Boitron, the talented colt trained by Richard Hannon for a partnership of Augustin-Normand and Middleham Park Racing. It'll be a trial, possibly the Greenham, and then the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket for the impressive Denford Stakes winner and Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere fourth.

Alex burst with pride in describing how the stud's achievements with Le Havre – who was even cheaper than Siyouni in his first years, at €5,000 – had led to an arrangement with no less than the Queen whereby it stands her Acomb Stakes winner Recorder, a son of Galileo and speedy two-year-old Memory whose first foals are arriving on farms now.

Authorized goes on display for his admirers at Haras du Logis

Even the ebullient Alex sounded unnerved as he brought up the dreaded subject of Brexit, though. “I do not understand why a country would do this to itself,” he said with palpable bafflement.

I left my travel companion Scott to explain the Conservative Party's internecine wars while I helped myself to some of the fare laid on at the stud, despite really still being full from breakfast. But, keenly aware of the investigative journalist's duty to their readers, I forced down the pea soup with foie gras and can report it was tres delicieux.

Haras de Grandcamp next, where a fittingly large crowd had assembled to see the stud's lengthy roster of stallions.

Top of the bill are Dream Ahead, sire of Prix Jacques le Marois winner Al Wukair and the smart pair Donjuan Triumphant and Dark Vision, Lawman, sire of five Group 1 winners including Classic laureates Just The Judge and Harbour Law, and Dabirsim, the son of Sunday Silence stallion Hat Trick who wowed with a high-achieving first crop that contained the speedy Different League.

Playing a strong supporting role are American Devil, Chemical Charge, Martinborough, Shamalgan and Sumbal.

Dream Ahead and Lawman are on loan from Ballylinch Stud and stud manager Eric Lhermite said: “John O'Connor and I had been talking for a while about taking the decision with Lawman and finally we agreed to bring him to France.

“Much like Dream Ahead he has had some good results here, including some very classy black-type horses. As soon as he arrived we received plenty of enquiries, as well as congratulations for bringing him over, so that's a good sign for the future.”

Lhermite's English, though miles better than my French, is not quite fluent enough to convey technical details of horse deals so while my francophone colleague Scott jotted down the quotes in his notebook it was left to me to research the stud's hospitality provision.

Grandcamp's buffet spread is quite something. Veganuary has clearly not made it to this part of Normandy, as there was pig served in about 27 ways, in various hams, salamis, terrines and pies, as well as big chunks of the local cheese.

This is obviously a stud that looks after its customers, as if the claims of Dabirsim, Dream Ahead and Lawman were not reason enough to bring a mare here.

On to Haras du Logis, at which stud owner Julian Ince stands Darley's French-based stallions. The big draw this year was a first chance for the public to view Prix Ganay winner and dual Arc place-getter Cloth Of Stars in retirement.

The son of Sea The Stars did not disappoint. Having already endeared himself to us all as a valiant performer who showed top-notch form for four consecutive seasons – including at two, don't forget – he also proved to be in possession of a sleek, well proportioned physique.

It was no surprise, then, to hear that available breeding rights in Cloth Of Stars sold out quickly and that his debut book is already oversubscribed.

The other members of the Logis roster – including Bow Creek, Hunter's Light, Masterstroke and Ultra – offer something to breeders in all categories. But it has to be said the real treat at Logis each year is seeing Manduro, who bestrode the 2007 European Flat season like a colossus, and Authorized, the Derby hero who has proved remarkably versatile at stud, having supplied among others a multiple Australian Group 1 winner in Hartnell and a durable multiple Cheltenham Festival scorer and Grand National hero in Tiger Roll.

The Logis buffet was not perhaps as expansive as at other studs when we got there – sandwiches made from sliced white, cut into quarter triangles to make you feel homesick for Britain, along with posh German biscuits – but never mind that when they were giving away cloth bags bearing the name Cloth Of Stars.

Astute of the brains behind the bag to realise that the brilliantly bred colt's name will be introduced to untapped markets when I pack my groceries in it on my next shopping trip to Iceland.

More stallions and spreads were to be sampled on Sunday. If you have not made the trip yourself before, you really should try your best to make the time for it next January. The range of first-class stallion talent in the region and warm hospitality at each stud is hard to beat.

Just remember to pack a sat-nav, as some of the studs are well hidden, and your thermals, as the wind-chill is brutal.

And maybe find room in your suitcase for a strip of indigestion tablets.

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