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haras de la barbottière
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-
Donjuan Triumphant: the son of Dream Ahead collecting his Group 1 on British Champions Day
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