Haras de Castillon

Haras de Castillon's first-season sire Texas (by Wootton Bassett) was off the mark with his initial crop on Friday as Azamra took the first at Marseille-Borely. Standing at a fee of €3,800, the Poule d'Essai des Poulains runner-up was represented in the five-furlong Prix de Carro by the Nicolas Perret-trained filly who began in the worst possible manner by ducking right out of the stalls and taking a fierce grip in rear without cover. Still able to surge by her peers and gain the advantage a furlong out, the 6-1...

The Haras de Castillon-based stallions Marhaba Ya Sanafi and Tribalist have both had their first mares scanned in foal. Among the mares confirmed in foal to Tribalist is the unraced Grand Blonde (Almanzor), a half-sister to the Poule d'Essai des Poulains second Texas (Wootton Bassett), along with the multiple stakes-placed Atlantica (Mastercraftsman). Tribalist, who counted the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp among his 10 career victories, stands for a fee of €6,000 in 2026. Meanwhile, Love Song, a daughter of Lope De Vega from the immediate family of Group...

From the storied history of Haras de Bonneval to the beginning of a new chapter at Haras de Castillon, the 17th edition of La Route des Etalons had something to satisfy the curiosity of all who flocked to Normandy and its surrounding areas on Friday and Saturday. Among the overseas visitors taking part in the two-day event for the first time was renowned auctioneer John O'Kelly, just a few short weeks after bringing the curtain down on his time on the rostrum at Tattersalls. In any other year, O'Kelly would...

Castillon Stallions, Haras de Castillon's new stallion operation, has announced its fees for the 2026 breeding season, with the Group 1 winners Marhaba Ya Sanafi and Tribalist both being introduced at €6,000. Tribalist embarks on his first season at stud as a seven-time Group winner, a tally headlined by his pillar-to-post win in last year's Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, while fellow newcomer Marhaba Ya Sanafi gained his sole success at the top level in the 2023 running of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. Shares remain available in the Classic-winning...

DEAUVILLE, France -- Trade may have slightly shifted down a gear, as is to be expected of a graded sale, but right from the word go on Wednesday there was a noted surge in demand, along with a new wave of faces on the ground for this second session, which saw a rise in the clearance rate to 82.5 per cent, up by five per cent on the equivalent day last year. That in turn led to an increase in both average and median as well as the session's aggregate,...

DEAUVILLE, France -- In TDN Europe we have banned the use of the word fireworks in relation to action in the sales ring but as it is almost officially fireworks season let's just say that it would be no surprise to see a few whizz-bangers in Deauville on Tuesday. The Arqana October Sale gets underway at 10am, with the first two days devoted to Part 1, graded each day, and the 810-lot sale continuing through to Saturday.  Some enticing lots on paper include lot 103, Haras de l'Aumonerie's Kameko half-brother...

Group 1 winners Marhaba Ya Sanafi and Tribalist, both new to stud next year, will retire to Haras de Castillon's new stallion operation, Castillon Stallions for 2026. Fees for the duo will be announced at a later date. "Launching our own stallion station marks the realisation of a long-held ambition," said Benoit Jeffroy, who founded Haras de Castillon with Annabelle Aime in 2015. "I hope we can meet breeders' expectations with the stallion roster we're putting together. I want to sincerely thank all our partners for their trust and commitment....

Benoit Jeffroy's Haras de Castillon, a burgeoning force on the French racing and bloodstock scenes, burst into international prominence in December when it consigned the Group 1-winning Grand Glory (Ire) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, where she sold for €2.5-million. The quickly growing Castillon has only been in existence under its current guise since 2015, but the Jeffroy family has a history of breeding quality racehorses from their SCEA des Prairies, with just one recent example being Zelda (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}), a listed winner last...

DEAUVILLE, France--When Arqana issued the news, on Oct. 11, that Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire})—the Group 1 winner raced by a partnership of Albert Frassetto, John d'Amato, and Mike Pietrangelo—would be offered at their upcoming December Breeding Stock sale, there was something curious about the story. Reading the alert from the TDN, Benoit Jeffroy and the team at Haras de Castillon immediately picked up on it: the story did not list a consignor. "Amelie [Lemercier] sent me a text, and she said, 'Did you see? She's going to Arqana,'"...

Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) has taken her connections on a remarkable ride over the last three years, and after a short sojourn in Tokyo-where she picked up fifth-place prizemoney in Sunday's G1 Japan Cup-the G1 Prix Jean Romanet winner and G1 Prix de Diane third-place finisher rolls into Deauville this weekend to go through the ring at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale as lot 192 from Haras de Castillon. Grand Glory is trained in France and owned by a trio of Americans, but her story has a...

DEAUVILLE, France--Zarak (Fr), the Aga Khan Studs' beautifully bred son of Dubawi (Ire) and Arc heroine Zarkava (Fr), has made a promising start with his first 2-year-old runners this season and currently has 11 winners to his name from 26 runners. At the weekend he was represented by his first stakes winner when the Gestut Haus Zoppenbroich homebred Lizaid (Ger) the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin for Peter Schiergen at Baden-Baden, while another recent winner, Zagrey (Fr), gave an important update to the filly who topped trade as Part III of...