Photo: Trish Dunell
Former shuttle stallion Almanzor’s flying days are now behind him, with Cambridge Stud announcing their Group One-producing sire will remain a permanent resident of New Zealand.
A deal has been brokered with their northern hemisphere partners Haras d'Etreham to secure the full breeding rights of the son of Wootton Bassett, with the French stud farm agreeing his future best lay in the southern hemisphere.
"After six seasons of shuttling it is logical for us to accept the offer from Cambridge Stud, which will allow the stallion to remain in the hemisphere where he is the most successful,” Haras d'Etreham's executive director Nicholas de Chambure said.
Cambridge Stud are delighted to have secured Almanzor, who was one of the first acquisitions for the new iteration of the farm under the ownership of Brendan and Jo Lindsay.
“We are really happy to have certainty on his future in New Zealand,” Cambridge Stud sales and nominations manager Scott Calder said.
“He has been shuttling now for seven seasons to New Zealand. He couldn’t keep shuttling forever and the way he is going in New Zealand we were really keen to secure him long-term.
“He is a very important horse here at Cambridge Stud and I think he has got a big part to play in the New Zealand breeding industry for the foreseeable future. He is the youngest stallion in the top 10 and he has come off a really good season last year. I think it is just the beginning for him considering he has got some really well-bred and big crops coming through the pipeline in the coming years.
“We have to thank Etreham for allowing us to be involved with him. We approached them in 2018 when he had already started breeding up there. They put their faith in us and it has been a really good relationship on both sides. Hello Youmzain has been the follow on from that.
“He has been a good source of positive news for us from the get-go. He had a full book in his first year and his first crop of yearlings sold so well at the yearling sales. The momentum has been building and every step of the way he keeps getting stronger.
“He had Dynastic (Karaka Millions 2YO winner and Group One performer) in his first crop and that put him on the board early. Manzoice came out the next spring and got his first Group One (Victoria Derby, 2500m), and now we are seeing a wide range of winners over various distances.
“He has been a really big part of the new Cambridge Stud and I think it is fantastic to have him locked in for the future.”
Calder said interest continues to remain strong in Almanzor from New Zealand breeders, which was further enhanced over the weekend when his progeny, Rise At Dawn and Positivity, quinellaed the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield.
“He is just getting better and better as he goes along,” Calder said.
“He has got a nice book of mares. He has been our most popular horse on bookings right from the start. His fee ($30,000 + GST) combined with the results that he has had really made him look like good value in the proven sire ranks. Having a quinella at Caulfield on Saturday has kept the ball rolling and the phone is continuing to ring.
“Breeders have latched onto the value he presents this season.”
