Hello Youmzain moves in at Haras d'Etreham after retiring from the track

Group 1-winning sprinter Hello Youmzain is already settling well into life in his new home at Haras d'Etreham in Normandy, with his retirement from the racecourse formally announced by his owners.

The four-year-old was purchased by a partnership between Etreham and Cambridge Stud in New Zealand at around this time last year, having claimed the Haydock Sprint Cup for Kevin Ryan and Jaber Abdullah.

A son of Kodiac bred by the Rabbah Bloodstock operation, Hello Youmzain went on to double his top-level tally on his seasonal reappearance in the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot, thwarting Dream Of Dreams by a head.

He was second in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and bade farewell to the track at the place where he made his name with a respectable fifth behind old sparring partner Dream Of Dreams.

Etreham's Nicolas de Chambure said of the new recruit: "We are delighted to welcome Hello Youmzain and offer his services to French breeders. He presents a rare profile as no sprinter of this calibre has begun his stud career in France since Anabaa, and we have seen the success of sprinters as stallions, such as Danehill, Green Desert, Invincible Spirit, Oasis Dream and Kodiac.

"He has adapted well to his new environment and we look forward to showing him to visitors. He is a high-class individual with a strong physique and fantastic movement."

Once he has concluded his first European covering season, Hello Youmzain is set to shuttle to Cambridge Stud. Brendan and Jo Lindsay's team expect him to be popular with Australasian breeders given Kodiac is a Danehill three-quarter brother to Invincible Spirit and Hello Youmzain’s dam is by another former shuttler in Shamardal.

The stud's chief executive Henry Plumptre said: "Hello Youmzain will be an exciting addition to the Cambridge Stud stallion roster and the New Zealand breeding industry next year. Through his exploits this year, he has added further significance to the partnership between Haras d’Etreham and Cambridge Stud, which began with Almanzor in 2018.

"Retiring with a race record that includes two Group 1 races, two Group 1 placings and two Group 2s, Hello Youmzain combines a superb pedigree with outstanding performance. It is indeed encouraging that his sire Kodiac has had a stellar year on the racecourse with his progeny, throwing two Group 1 winners in Hello Youmzain and Campanelle as well as seven individual two-year-old stakes winners."

Plumptre continued: "Cambridge Stud and Haras d’Etreham would like to thank Kevin Ryan and his team at Hambleton Lodge, including jockey Kevin Stott, for giving us an amazing highlight in the Diamond Jubilee at Ascot. We look forward to continuing that relationship and the arrival of Hello Youmzain at Cambridge next year."

Ryan, who also produced his charge to land the Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte as a juvenile and the Sandy Lane at Haydock at three, said: "He was a lovely horse to train, showed his class and ability at a very early stage and was such a sound horse all the way through his career. He had such a great temperament and proved to be very tough and genuine."

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