Prince Faisal intent on supporting Mishriff in future French stud career

Prince Faisal's long-time racing adviser Ted Voute reports that Mishriff's owner-breeder will throw his full support behind the homebred star when he begins life at Sumbe's Haras de Montfort et Preaux next year.

The Classic and three-time Group 1 winner, produced by the prince's top-class Make Believe from a distinguished family developed by the Saudi Arabian nobleman, is set to run in Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe before a possible Breeders' Cup swansong.

"We considered many offers last year and a few again this year from as far afield as America and Japan and in the end he sees this as a partnership for the future and to keep his legacy going," said Voute.

"We’ve retained a small part of Mishriff and he intends, as he did with Make Believe, to send a lot of his broodmare band to him. He’ll have a band of only around 11 but he plans to buy a couple more specifically to go to him, and he’s already working out the nicking patterns.

"He’s a very significant horse to the prince, he's named after a good friend of his and he won the Saudi Cup in his homeland, so he very much wanted to be in for the long term."

Voute said the team had been encouraged by the actions of the stud now under Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe with the promotion of the late Le Havre.

"They’ve proved they can launch a stallion on the market at the highest level and sustain a full book of mares, that was the key thing, to have a partner that is used to a stallion of that calibre and can send some really good mares at him themselves," he said.

"Makfi was sold to Japan but was a Classic winner, Make Believe was a Classic winner, Mishriff is a Classic winner, so it's a Classic branch of the Dubawi line. Having the two most prolific stallions that he bred [Invincible Spirit and Kodiac] right there in the pedigree too, he’s very hopeful he’ll be a very influential stallion in the years to come for the industry.

"Make Believe is in Ireland and there’s definitely a hole in the market in France for this kind of stallion. Sumbe have already said they’ve had several inquiries, we think he’s in the right spot and let’s hope that between us we can make him."

Mishriff is an intended runner on Sunday, although connections are keen to avoid sticky ground.

"If he were to win, it would be an amazing achievement and quite something if he's standing in France," said Voute. "Hopefully the ground will be to his liking, John [Gosden, joint trainer] seems very hopeful, and then there will be a regroup as to whether they'll go to the Breeders' Cup Turf."

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