‘He looks like a horse with genuine Classic ingredients’ - French aspirations for Zaramix’s Norwegian connections

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Few owners have been quicker out of the gate in the prelude to the Flat season than Stall Perlen, whose blue and white silks could well be carried in European Classic over the coming weeks.

Norwegian-born business mogul Magne Jordanger and his wife Bente have been expanding their Flat interests in recent times and have horses stabled with Richard Hannon and the Pia and Joakim Brandt stable.

The Chantilly side of the business unleashed a ready winner of a 1m2f maiden at Saint-Cloud last Sunday, Zaramix. One day later Street Show, a Showcasing colt owned between Magne Jordanger and Finn Blichfeldt, was beaten just a neck in the Listed Prix Ronde de Nuit at Chantilly, while back at Saint-Cloud last week there was a promising effort from their homebred Lope De Vega filly Amie Amour, who was touched off on her second start.

One man who has been particularly encouraged is Morten Buskop, the genial industry jack-of-all-trades who has a successful bloodstock agency.

He signed for Zaramix back when the Zarak colt was a foal who topped a session of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale in 2023 for €190,000.

"The owners are very good friends of mine," Buskop explained. "They usually use Peter and Ross Doyle as their agents but sometimes I'm lucky to buy a horse or two for them as an agent too.

Zaramix achieved €190,000 as a foalCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

"Me being a Scandinavian representative in Arqana, and an agent in my own right, I was lucky to buy him. Magne picked the horse out in the catalogue and said, 'Go and have a look at it, see what you think'. I loved him straight away. He was a lovely walker, nice sized, didn't look precocious but we were fine with that. They're fine with giving the horses the time they need."

Buskop underlines that he is not Stall Perlen's racing manager but is in touch with the Jordangers frequently. Although based in Denmark, Buskop is a native Norwegian and stood Appel Du Maitre for his compatriots at Stutteri Hjortebo.

A Group and Listed winner all around Europe, he has become Scandinavia's dominant sire. Last year, the couple even had a runner in the Derby, the Hannon-trained Nightime Dancer.

"Magne and Bente have got a few mares with Philip Lybeck at Haras de Bourgeauville, one of them being Good Hearted, who I was lucky enough to buy for them, a half-sister of Peeping Fawn and Thewayyouare, when she was in foal to Paddington at Arqana in December 2024,” he said.

"Magne loves data-based covering schemes, he uses all the programmes, but is also very, very keen to become a more serious owner. He's careful with what he buys and he doesn't have that many but he does it with strategy. In France he's ramped up, he really wants to make an impact in French racing I think."

Zaramix, a son of the winning Sea The Stars mare Brodie, first appeared at the end of January with a fourth on the all-weather at Deauville before his clear-cut defeat of Andre Fabre and Godolphin's Libeccio Wind in the Prix Tertullien over a mile and a quarter.

Morten Buskop signed for Zaramix at ArqanaCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

"He's been impeccable all the way through, one foot abscess that was all, and he got over that very nicely early as a two-year-old," Buskop said. 

"He was always late; Pia and Joakim are given a long rein by the owners. If they think we should wait, we wait.

"He was just out to learn the first time, came very nicely from behind, and he was a lot better this time, very impressive I thought. The plan was not to go to the front but he did everything you'd like to see."

The loose plan for the Prix du Jockey Club entry is a trial, most likely the Prix Noailles at Longchamp in a month's time.

"He looks like a horse with genuine Classic ingredients; relevant pedigree, progressive profile, tactical flexibility and the right kind of middle-distance shape," Buskop said. "He's not yet a confirmed Jockey Club horse, of course, but he's exactly the sort of colt who could become one in April. It's very early days but that will be his big task after this."

Buskop's life contains numerous equine achievements and he even once bought and trained the top-class stayer-turned-jumper Percussionist, who went on to land the American Grand National in 2010. A year earlier, he had prepared Gold Cup stalwart Harbour Pilot’s half-brother General Ledger to finish second in the same race at Far Hills, despite there being no schooling facilities anywhere at the Klampenborg racecourse in Copenhagen.

The well-travelled Slava Ukraini is set for a belated comebackCredit: Andrew Parker

He had good news too of another notable horse, Slava Ukraini. The Danish-bred son of Moohaajim is owned by a syndicate and named after the country's rallying call, a phrase which has been repeated with heightened patriotic vigour since the Russian invasion. 

Funds earned by Slava Ukraini's exploits were reportedly even used to build a bomb shelter in Lviv after an apartment block in which family of one of the owners lived was struck.

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Now six, he has already competed in Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

"He was the best horse in Scandinavia, he was injured and had more than a year off," Buskop said. "He's back and [trainer] Niels Petersen thinks he'll be back as strong and fit as he was, so we'll see. 

"He won everything in Scandinavia, the Danish Derby, Swedish Guineas, breeders' races. He'd probably be my shrewdest purchase ever as he cost more or less nothing and turned out to be a really good horse.

"He was born and raised with a small breeder who is a vet in Denmark and I bought him at the Danish yearling sales, he wasn't sold in the ring so I bought him privately afterwards, brought in a few partners. He's one I'm very proud of."

Buskop will also be paying a close interest in the other Stall Perlen horses, adding: "Street Show ran a good race first time up when probably needing it and they also have a very good horse that Ross and Peter bought at the Arqana breeze-up last year [€430,000], Take Me On. 

"He came out late in Deauville during the October sales and won very impressively on his first outing. He's exciting and will be a horse I think for the English 2,000 Guineas if all goes well.

"Magne bred Amie Amour himself, who ran really well the other day as well. It's early days again, but at this time of year everything is a big dream, isn't it?"

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