Persian King

Group winner Pearled Majesty will be ridden by Cristian Demuro in the 2100-metre G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly. Co-owned by former trainer Criquette Head and trainer Mauricio Delcher Sanchez, the son of Persian King won the G3 Prix Noailles in preparation for this Classic at ParisLongchamp in April. He will be the first runner in the Classic for Delcher Sanchez, a former multiple champion trainer in Spain. "We have always thought highly of Pearled Majesty," said Delcher Sanchez, who has been based at Chantilly since 2013. "Since his...

In this corner of the bloodstock world we like to keep our glass half-full, if not topped up to the brim. With that in mind, it is sometimes preferable to look back, rather than forwards. A dive into history via the pages of the Bloodstock Breeders' Review is always entertaining, if not a regular reminder that the more things change the more they stay the same. Take, for example, Lord Rosebery's speech as TBA president in 1947 when he said, "I was perturbed at the Yearling Sales at Doncaster when...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This column is highlighted by the victory of Darya at Santa Anita. Persian King Filly Crowned In Arcadia Darya (Persian King) steamed home a 2 3/4-length winner at Santa Anita in late March (video). Raced by Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables and Marsha Naify, the three-year-old filly was bred Emir Alkas. A 40,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling, she failed to meet her reserve when passed in for 20,000 out of...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features the return of Wootton Centurion. 12.17 Chantilly, Cond, 3yo, c/g, 8fT WOOTTON CENTURION (IRE) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is the first of two TDN Rising Stars, Presented by Hagyard to spring back into action on a fascinating card, with Victoria Head eyeing a potential Classic tilt for...

The victory on Monday of Royal Chapel in the Listed Criterium de Bordeaux brought up the 100th stakes winner for the filly's sire Kingman. His speed in reaching this landmark century since retiring to stud a decade ago has been beaten only by Kingman's fellow Banstead Manor resident, Frankel. There can be few finer tributes to the vision of the late Prince Khalid Abdullah than these two third-generation homebreds standing alongside each other and continuing to fly the flag for the Juddmonte brand through their achievements at stud. The record...

What's rare is wonderful. Royal Ascot winners coming on the market is certainly a rare thing and Quai De Bethune (Persian King), successful in the Golden Gates Stakes at the Royal meeting, was most certainly wonderful when selling to Blandford Bloodstock's Richard Brown for a record-high price of 775,000gns at the Tattersalls July Sale.  That sum eclipsed the previous best that was achieved just over 24 hours earlier for Calyx's sister that went the way of Badgers Bloodstock at 550,000gns. But Quai De Bethune was billed as the star attraction...

9th-Tampa Bay Downs, $32,000, Msw, 1-17, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:36.74, fm, 4 1/4 lengths. BRILLANTE (FR) (f, 3, Persian King {Ire}--Baga {Fr}, by No Nay Never) made her American debut Friday after a pair of starts as a 2-year-old in her native France. Privately purchased and imported to the Chad Brown barn late last year, the 7-5 favorite spotted the field a step at the break and raced near the back of the field behind Mona L (Caravaggio) who set an opening half tempo of :48.33. Staying wide throughout, Brillante...

The G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) has been retired to Haras d'Etreham, where he will be introduced at a fee of €12,500. From the Juddmonte family which includes Hasili (GB) and her stallion sons Dansili (GB), Cacique (GB) and Champs Elysees (GB), Onesto was named a TDN Rising Star at two and was also placed in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Irish Champion S. He is in the process of being syndicated. Next season, the Etreham sires Persian King (Ire) and Hello Youmzain...

DEAUVILLE, France--The return to the V2 Sale at Arqana worked wonders for the middle market trade on Tuesday with eight six-figure lots going through the ring on a day where over €5.5m was spent on 141 yearlings.  The V2 Sale was replaced by the September Sale 12 months ago due to an oversupply of yearlings but an average price of less than €20,000 on 202 horses sold brought an abrupt end to the new concept. With the Tuesday average over double that of last year's September Yearling Sale, reverting to...

DEAUVILLE, France--In a departure from the normal schedule, Arqana's August extravaganza kicks off a day early this year, on Friday. With a handful of shows having taken place on Tuesday, viewing began in earnest on Wednesday morning, with Joseph O'Brien first out of the blocks and on parade at the Haras des Capucines draft while most people were still having breakfast. While many of the families of the horses catalogued will be familiar to potential purchasers, each new season brings with it a wave of new stallion names to grapple...

Is it just me or should France be known as the bloodstock land of opportunity? This is the country that saw Wootton Bassett (GB) and Walk In The Park (Ire) pull themselves up by the bootstraps after entering the stud book at relatively modest sums. There are few serious racing nations that provide as much of a chance for a stallion to flourish than France does. Take Kauto Star (Fr), the greatest staying chaser of the modern era, as an example. He hailed from the largely unheralded Village Star (Fr)...

The Group 3-placed Epic Poet (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 18) and a share in Classic winner Persian King (Ire) (lot 11) are two of the highlights of the Arqana December Online Sale at 3-5 p.m. on Dec. 15. The Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Epic Poet won the Listed Prix Pelleas at Compiegne in July. Third in the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange on Sept. 4, he was most recently second in a pair of listed races at Marseille Borely. Persian King, who won the G1 French 2000 Guineas among his...