Making up for lost time

Patience is a virtue. Stallions, mares, racehorses need time to flourish and judging them too quickly can be a risky business. Muhaarar is an example of a stallion momentarily rejected by the market before proving his detractors wrong. 

Since he moved to France, Muhaarar has been busy. He covered 124 mares in 2023 at Haras des Faunes for a modest fee of €7,500. The horse was partly sold by Shadwell to a group of French breeders led by Eric Puerari at the end of that year, and he moved to Haras du Petit Tellier in Normandy for the 2024 season, covering 114 mares. 

“It was a buy of opportunity really, as he was somewhat underused in the South-West,” explains Puerari. “There is no longer a big pool of broodmares in that region. We have a diverse syndicate in place to support the horse made up of a number of excellent French breeders, including members of the Dubois family, and some Irish breeders. Irish breeders always have their finger on the pulse! In my opinion breeding has no real frontiers these days; it is so easy to travel mares and foals.”

The Champion 3yo Sprinter in Europe in 2015, there were a lot of expectations around the son of Oasis Dream when he retired to Shadwell’s Nunnery Stud. His initial fee was £30,000 and bookmakers made him the 11-4 favourite to top first-season sire charts. However, his first two-year-olds failed to make an impression, with no Black Type performers. 

As usual in the stallion game, everything is about expectations, whether you exceed them or fail to meet them. “The higher the expectations, the more likely you are to be disappointed,” says Puerari “and people are very quick to judge, especially when the first crop underperforms. I also think that Muharaar’s progeny were not very well suited to the Anglo-Irish system which places a lot of emphasis on precocity and speed. His stock has speed, but they need time to mature and reach their potential. That lack of precocity meant that he fell victim to some sharp criticism following his first crops.”

Four years later, it is clear that time has rewarded those who kept faith in the horse. He is now a well-established sire with 45 Black Type performers (12.2% of his runners), including 12 Group winners and two Group 1 winners. 

Although sprinter himself, Muhaarar has staying influences in his pedigree, and he passes on more stamina than expected. The average winning distance of his progeny is just over a mile (8.36f). His flag bearers are Eshaada, winner of the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes over 12 furlongs, and Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi, who also placed in the French Derby. 

Muhaarar’s son, Marhaba Ya Sanafi finishes fast to provide his sire with his first Classic success in the 2023 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at Longchamp.

“The stamina comes from Linamix as his damsire,” says Puerari. “Linamix was not a successful sire of sires but he has been influential through his daughters. It is an very interesting bloodline, that of Grey Sovereign, as the dam of Mendez was by Caro. There’s a lot of speed, but above all the competitiveness and willingness that you need in a racehorse. Linamix’s progeny were warriors on the track, and he has passed that on through his daughters. I think the blood of Grey Sovereign is a very precious thing: Kendor and Kendargent are also excellent damsires.”

Muhaarar’s other Group winners have come from 6 furlongs (Bran, out of a mare by King’s Best) to 15 furlongs (Paix, out of Pacifique, by Montjeu). “He produces sprinters from fast mares, and stayers from distance mares,” continues Puerari. “He also produces as many horses with aptitude for soft ground as for fast ground. Muhaarar is a very easy horse with a good, willing nature which I think is a very important attribute. They win in every country, from the U.S.A, to Dubai, and Europe. He’s an outlier in his ability to produce all types; not just horses with specific aptitudes. He has produced well both with sprinting and staying mares. He doesn’t have the physique of a sprinter, he has a lot of length.”

Muharaar’s book of 114 mares in his first season at Petit Tellier at a fee €14,000 included the Group 3 Prix Cleopatre winner and Group 1 placed Crown Princesse (Zarak); Preciously (Lord Of England), the dam of Group 2 winner Crystal Cliffs, and Watchful, the dam of dual Group 1 winner Watch Me (Olympic Glory). He was well supported by local breeders, and Puerari explains: “France suits him as we give more time to our horses. He is also in a niche where he doesn’t have a lot of competition. The other proven sires in France – Zarak, Siyouni, Galiway – are all far more expensive. So, from a commercial perspective, he’s in an interesting position. He also suits a number of pedigrees as he’s relatively free of the major bloodlines, particularly Galileo. He was used by a number of owner-breeders this year and Shadwell continue to support him, sending him Dujaa, a full sister to Taghrooda (Sea The Stars).”

Only time will tell whether the twelve-year-old stallion, with his two most significant crops since retiring to France now foals and in utero, can continue his steady rise. The precocious broodmare band of Alain Chopard at Haras des Faunes covered in 2023, and the more classically-bred broodmares of the Normandy region have certainly provided a variety across his book in the last two seasons. An opportune purchase by some of the most astute breeders in the Hexagone region of France, but one that may be poised to reap rewards.