Seven-Furlong Specialist Beauvatier Following the Wootton Bassett Path at Etreham

[Wandering Eyes]

La Route des Etalons returns next week when, as ever, you can bet your bottom dollar that bloodstock enthusiasts won't be able to resist straying slightly off the beaten track to view the seven-strong roster at Haras d'Etreham.

Situated roughly an hour west of Deauville, a fair distance from most of the other farms participating in the two-day extravaganza, Etreham has a long history of standing stallions, with a certain Wootton Bassett featuring among its famous residents of yesteryear. In 2014 and 2015, the privilege of sending a mare to Wootton Bassett at Etreham would have set you back just €4,000, a far cry from the €300,000 fee he commanded in his fifth season at Coolmore in 2025.

Though his own day-to-day involvement with the son of Iffraaj had long since passed, Etreham's Nicolas de Chambure came in for plenty of plaudits when the tragic loss of Wootton Bassett was announced in September last year, with a statement from Coolmore hailing the “incredible start” he enjoyed during his time in Normandy. It wasn't the first time de Chambure had provided such a platform, either, and it almost certainly won't be the last.

Indeed, therein lies the dream with a young stallion such as Beauvatier, who is new to Etreham for 2026 following a distinguished racing career for trainer Yann Barberot which yielded six wins from 18 starts. Three of those victories, including Beauvatier's most notable triumph when winning October's G2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket, were achieved over seven furlongs, which de Chambure is taking as a positive omen as he prepares to throw open the doors of Etreham for La Route des Etalons.

“Siyouni and Wootton Bassett were real seven-furlong horses and they became extraordinary stallions,” he says of comparisons with the much-missed Wootton Bassett.

“With Beauvatier, we tried him over a mile and we tried him over a little shorter, but I think his best distance was really seven furlongs. It's a distance where you need speed, a turn of foot and a little bit of stamina. It's all of the attributes that we like to see in a stallion and, hopefully, there will be similarities down the road between Beauvatier and Siyouni and Wootton Bassett. We would love that – nothing is written, but I think he has a very good chance.”

 

 

The first chapter of the Beauvatier story was written at Ecurie des Monceaux, his place of birth back in February 2021. Bred by a partnership consisting of Monceaux, Qatar Bloodstock and Barbara Keller, the son of Lope De Vega is the first foal out of the Listed Prix de Thiberville runner-up Enchanting Skies (Sea The Stars), a half-sister to three other black-type performers, including the G1 Preis von Europa winner Empoli (Halling). This is also the family of the German champion racemare Elle Danzig (Roi Danzig).

Bought by Barberot for €160,000 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale, Beauvatier earned 'TDN Rising Star' status when winning over five furlongs at Chantilly on his debut in May the following year, drawing right away in the final furlong to win by over five lengths.

Five months later, following his fourth consecutive win in the G3 Prix la Rochette, the unbeaten colt arrived at ParisLongchamp as the red-hot favourite for the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. Here, however, the similarities with Siyouni and Wootton Bassett end. Whilst that pair both won France's premier race for two-year-olds, Beauvatier had to settle for third, two and a half lengths behind Rosallion (Blue Point).

“He was a very precocious, early horse, more than his pedigree would suggest,” de Chambure says of that juvenile campaign. “He was out in May and he beat Ramatuelle on his second start over six furlongs. He carried that precocity all the way to the Jean-Luc Lagardere where he was an unlucky third.

“I think when horses have shown a bit of something at two, it's always important. We've seen with champion horses at three and four that didn't run at two, breeders are always cautious that it could it could be a negative. That's what I like about him is that he was a spring two year old, but he was also a three-year-old, and he was also a four-year old, so it makes the whole thing very attractive.”

At three, Beauvatier continued to be highly tried, running at the top level six times in seven starts. On three of those occasions he finished third, with de Chambure identifying his performance behind old rival Ramatuelle (Justify) in the Prix de la Foret as arguably the best of his career.

“I think his most impressive race was the Prix de la Foret as a three-year-old,” he explains. “He was at the end of a long campaign. When they go through the Classics and all of that, they can sometimes get a little tired at the end of the season, but that was his best race of the year. It was a 16-horse field and he had a wide draw. He had to sit at the very back and he came flying on the outside to be third. That was very eye-catching, against the older horses and a very strong field.”

Having confirmed at Newmarket that every inch of his ability remained intact at the age of four, Beauvatier is reported to have retired sound in wind and limb after being beaten less than five lengths on his swansong in December's G1 Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin. In fact, when it was announced in October that Beauvatier would be standing at Etreham in 2026, Barberot vouched that the colt had “never seen a vet”.

“That was a big factor for us,” says de Chambure. “I think it makes a lot of appeal for the breeders, because the racing is meant to allow us to select the stallion for tomorrow. Sometimes, I think the market probably gives too much room to horses that only won one race and were unsound.

“In Beauvatier's case, people can see that he was consistent three years in a row, without having any holes in his career. That's important for us and we're going to support him. The three main partners would be the Allaire family, LNJ Foxwoods and ourselves. The interesting part is that the three of us have different views on what broodmares could suit, so that's going to give the horse a different type of support, but three strong partners, very keen on giving him a good start.”

Philippe Allaire, LNJ Foxwoods and Etreham have retained 50% ownership of Beauvatier from his racing days, with the remaining 50% in the process of being syndicated. He has been introduced at a fee of €7,000 for 2026.

“We feel that he's got quite a bit going for him as a stallion prospect,” de Chambure sums up. “He's quite an outcross and he's going to be easy for breeders to use. He's a Lope De Vega out of a Sea The Stars mare. This is a successful sireline on both sides and Lope De Vega is yet to have a successful son in France. He's done really well as a sire of sires with some of his young sons in England and Ireland, so it's exciting for the French breeders to be accessing that blood without having to travel.

“He's a horse that could sit and quicken, and I think that's very important in France where our racing can be a little bit tactical. He has a very good turn of foot and he performed well until he was a four-year-old, which I think is very important as well. And he's a good-looking horse. He's a quality son of Lope De Vega, a good color with a nice head and a good walk. He has a lot of things going for him.”

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