From son of a teaser to a stallion: Tiberian to stand at Haras de Saint-Arnoult

Classy French middle-distance performer Tiberian will begin his stallion career at Larissa Kneip's Haras de Saint-Arnoult in Normandy, in a dual-purpose role with a focus on jumps production.

The seven-year-old, originally trained by Alain Couetil, rose through the ranks at three, winning in the provinces before running second to Vazirabad in the Prix Chaudenay.

In the following season he ran second in the Prix du Conseil de Paris and fourth in the Grosser Preis von Baden, and at five he took the Prix de la Porte de Madrid, Prix d'Hedouville, Prix de Reux and Grand Prix de Deauville, before running a creditable seventh in the Melbourne Cup.

His best subsequent effort was finishing second to Finche in last year's Prix de Reux, and he was knocked down to MAB Agency for €55,000 at the Arqana Summer Sale in July.

Tiberian's greatest claim to fame, though, is that he is one of very few runners by Tiberius Ceasar, a Group 3-winning son of Zieten who is the resident teaser at Haras du Logis in Normany.

As reward for his unenviable task, Tiberius Caesar was allowed to cover one mare each year, and the first three resultant foals were all winners – Tiberian being followed by the smart handicapper and Listed fifth Magnentius and Prix de Diane eighth Yellow Storm.

Following Tiberian's heroics, Tiberius Caesar covered more mares and he has nine two-year-olds and eight yearlings registered with France-Galop.

“This is a horse with a pedigree that is off the beaten track,” said Kneip. “Many jumps mares now carry the blood of Cadoudal, Sadler's Wells or Monsun, and Tiberian provides an outcross to those families.

“He is a magnificent horse, with good size and a lot of bone, with a very expressive head. He proved his toughness and stamina in his racing career, having run at Group level on all sorts of going until the age of seven.

“He was a real warrior while also being a very easy horse to deal with."

Tiberian will be advertised at a fee of €2,200, with breeding rights available for €5,000. They entitle the breeder to two covers in each of the first three years and then from the fourth year an annual nomination for life.

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