Bonjour Donjuan et Robin!

Haras de la Barbottière welcomes Group 1-winners, Donjuan Triumphant and Robin Of Navan for 2020. Sally Ann Grassick chats with Sophie Rouselle

ONE FRENCH STUD FARM which is anticipating a very busy and exciting year in 2020 is Haras de la Barbottière as the farm has two new recruits on its stallion roster this season – the Group 1 British Champion Sprint winner Donjuan Triumphant and the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Robin Of Navan.

Located near Sable in the heart of the Sarthe region, south of Normandy, Haras de la Barbottière was set up in 1993 by Sophie Rouselle and Jean Claude Werle. Both originally Parisians, the pair made the decision to invest in 123 acres of land in the west of France. Rouselle, who was working as a sales person for veterinary products, found herself becoming more involved in the horseracing industry and eventually she took out her amateur jockey licence and a trainer’s licence.

The couple spent the early years developing the infrastructures and facilities of the farm before moving permanently to Barbottière in 2000 to develop a breaking and pre-training centre, alongside their existing breeding operation.

They have since purchased a further 185 acres of land and Werle’s son Stephane has joined the team as director, while Rouselle occupies the role of manager.

The stud now comprises of 296 acres with 30 stables and nine foaling boxes, while the pre-training part of the farm includes facilities such as a 6f sand gallop and a three and a half furlong jump gallop.

Haras de la Barbottiere

“At the end of 2010, Pascal Noue of Haras de la Hetraie approached us about the possibility of standing two stallions at Barbottèrie,” explained Rouselle. “There were a lot of obstacles to overcome in starting such a new venture. We had to build a new yard, independent from the pre-training centre, and a covering shed, but we welcomed the challenge.

“We started off with two stallions Apsis and Great Pretender for our first season in 2011 and things have just grown from there.” Since then many stallions have passed through the gates of Barbottière, including the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes winner Monitor Closely, the ex-Godolphin-owned Group 2 Hungerford Stakes winner Shakespearean and Zambezi Sun, who won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris for Pascal Bary in the colours of Prince Khalid Abdullah.

"The current team of stallions features Group 1 Deutsches Derby winner Nicaron, who joined the team in 2015 and whose first French crop of foals have already proved themselves around Auteuil as three-year-olds. Nicaron covered 160 mares in 2019 and broke the record of covers for a stallion standing in the west of France.

He stands alongside Chanducoq, who won on the Flat as a two-year-old and was later placed over hurdles for owner-breeder-trainer Jean-Paul Gallorini. The son of Voix Du Nord will have his first crop of foals this spring.

The two new recruits to the farm will mark a new chapter for Barbottière and for the region as a whole.

“Donjuan Triumphant is a completely new type of stallion for the west of France as we have no sire of sprinters in the area,”says Rouselle. “I think this is a niche that has not been exploited here before. We are so lucky to be able to acquire this horse – he was such a warrior on the track and won a Group 1 by beating eight other Group 1 winners!

“It couldn’t have happened at a better time than just before he retired to stud – that success at Ascot in the Group 1 British Champion Sprint was magnificent.

“One of our clients decided that he wanted to invest in a stallion and it was bloodstock agent Richard Venn who put forward Donjuan Triumphant to us.

“There has been a lot of interest for him already as we have put him at a very affordable covering fee of €4,000 live foal. It is also encouraging that there are a few mares from England booked into him already.” A son of Oasis Dream, Donjuan Triumphant started his career with trainer Richard Fahey for whom he won the Group 2 Criterium de Maisons Laffitte as a two-year old before ending the year with a fourth place behind Johannes Vermeer in the Group 1 Criterium International.

Donjuan Triumphant (above and below) at Ascot last October

As a three-year-old he finished second to Quiet Reflection in a Group 2 at Haydock followed by a second place in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest over six and a half furlongs at Deauville.

He seemed to lose his way towards the end of 2016 and he started the following year in the care of trainer Andrew Balding and in the blue and white colours of King Power Racing. That year he succeeded in several handicaps and was placed at Listed level, but he was a horse who seemed to improve with age and one to relish a challenge.

He finished off 2018 with a return to the top level when fourth to The Tin Man in the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup and third to Sands Of Mali in the Group 1 British Champion Sprint at Ascot.

He returned to Ascot the following year and pulled off a shock 33/1 success in the same race when beating top-class sprinters such as One Master, Advertise and Mabs Cross. Robin Of Navan was a stalwart of the Harry Dunlop yard for some time and took his connections all over Europe, and indeed the world, since buying him at the Arqana Breeze Up Sales for €47,000 in 2015.

A son of American Post, he won five stakes races over three separate years, including the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. He was also placed in ten other stakes races stretching from Germany to Italy and in France and Britain.

Robin’ is a French horse first and foremost, so he is very attractive to French breeders

Although trained in Britain, Robin Of Navan is equally well known in France – not only was he bred by Monique Lepeudry at Haras de Tourgeville, but he also raced on French soil a remarkable 18 times.

His career earnings ended up at £520,792, and that is without including his French premiums. Robin Of Navan was known for his tenacity and durability; he put up strong performances in whatever country he turned up in right until the end of his racing career.

Robin Of Navan won five stakes races in a five-year career

“Robin Of Navan was such a tough fighter and the story of how we came acquire him is very similar to that of Donjuan Triumphant,” reports Rouselle. “We had hoped to get Robin Of Navan at the end of 2018, but his owners decided that they wanted to keep racing him for another year. We were disappointed when we heard the news and thought that we had no chance of getting him as we knew that there were other French studs interested in standing him, too.

“Luckily, Richard Venn gave us the opportunity to acquire ‘Robin’ as we had been the first to inquire about purchasing him.

“He is a French horse first and foremost, so he is attractive to French breeders with being by American Post out of a Muhtathir mare. “We have been hearing a lot about Muhtathir as a broodmare sire and I think Robin will be a dual-purpose sire as there are a lot of NH breeders interested in him.”

With new stallions comes more work as it is not an easy task launching the career of a fledgling sire, but Rouselle is looking forward to the challenge.

“I am hopeful that these two new stallions will mark the start of an exciting time for the stud and we are very hopeful for the future,” she remarks.

“Having two stallions of such quality as Donjuan Triumphant and Robin Of Navan will bring new clients to the stud and that can only be a good thing for our business. “We have always worked with jump stallions in the past so having Flat sires will open up a new world for Barbottière. I, for one, am excited to see where they take us.”