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sought after. So much so that in 2020 Coolmore paid several tens of millions to acquire him. He moved to Ireland, where he covered numerous daughters of Galileo and a host of Group 1-winning mares. From these unions emerged top-level winners: Al Riffa, Almanzor, Audarya, Bucanero Forte, Camille Pissarro, Hawk Mountain, Henri Matisse, Incarville, King Of Steel, Puerto Rico, Royal Patronage, Sahlan, Tennessee Stud, Twain, Unquestionable, Whirl, Wooded, and Zellie. There is no doubt that his final crops will be highly sought after in the sales ring. Last October, three of the six most expensive yearlings in the Tattersalls Book 1 sale were by Wootton Bassett. Bloodstock agent Michel Zerolo compared him to Sunday Silence. Will he one day be regarded as such, despite a life cut short? Only the future will tell.
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BY LOÏC STECHER CHOCRON
FRANCIS-HENRI GRAFFARD, THE RECORD- BREAKING MAN
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Over the past two months, Francis-Henri Graffard has done nothing but accumulate one success after another! Keeping editorial teams on their toes for constant updates— and once again, this proved necessary at the end of November. The Chantilly-based master has shaken up the Group 1 victory counter, snatching André Fabre’ s record hold since 1992 by a single win: the Aga Khan Studs’ principal trainer now counts 14 top-level victories in 2025, following the latest exploit by their exceptional champion Calandagan in the Japan Cup. It had been 38 years since a French-trained horse had triumphed, and 20 years since the European continent had celebrated another winner. But this is not the only record Francis-Henri Graffard has surpassed this year. Never before had a training operation reached— let alone exceeded— the € 10 million mark in prize money in a single year, solely in France. Francis-Henri Graffard’ s stable has done it. And this tally does not even include the Group 1 victories earned abroad. Add more than € 3 million for Calandagan’ s Japan Cup success, about € 1 million for Gezora’ s victory in the Maker’ s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar, and € 2 million for Calandagan’ s triumphs in the King George and the Qipco Champion Stakes in England. Francis-Henri Graffard is enjoying the best season of his career, one that began with a bang when Zarigana, granddaughter of the champion Zarkava, was awarded victory( in the stewards’ room) in the Emirates Poule d’ Essai des Pouliches( Gr. 1), the first classic win for the Aga Khan Studs since he became their principal trainer. A distinctive set of colours under which he also achieved consecration in the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe( Gr. 1) with Daryz’ s exceptional finishing run( and we will see him again on the track in 2026!).“ It is the culmination of an incredible year,” he said. One classic after another, the man from Le Creusot, passion- ate, dedicated, and now at the peak of his craft, also secured a second Prix de Diane Longines this year. Gezora finished ahead of her stablemates Cankoura( 3 rd) and Mandanaba( 4 th) before showing splendid in the USA. Will he one day be capable of matching, or even surpassing, Jean-Claude Rouget’ s record of 242 wins in a single year?
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BY LOÏC STECHER CHOCRON
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CHRISTOPHE SOUMILLON BACK ON TOP OF THE WORLD
When misfortune for some becomes opportunity for others. Christophe Soumillon is a man for the big occasions and proved it once again in 2025. He will no doubt long remember those two months during which Aidan O’ Brien called on him to ride Ballydoyle’ s leading chances, a luxury substitute after Ryan Moore suffered a stress fracture to his femur.“ It was unexpected and beyond anything I could have hoped for,” he told Paris-Turf. With three Group 1 victories on Arc day, including two with the two-year-olds Diamond Necklace and Puerto Rico, wins in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes( Gr. 1) aboard Delacroix and the Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques Le Marois( Gr. 1) on Diego Velazquez, two further Group 1 successes at Saint-Cloud, and a second Breeders’ Cup win with the two-year-old Gstaad, Christophe Soumillon benefited from
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