Sheikh Fahad and Antony Thompson snap up explosive colt in multi-million coup

Widden Stud has pulled off a stunning coup on the eve of The Everest by purchasing exciting Group 1-winning stallion prospect Jacquinot, the sole three-year-old in Saturday’s A$15 million (£8.4m/€9.7m) sprint, the world’s richest race on turf.

The scintillating Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes winner, who is trained by Mick Price and Mick Kent jnr in Victoria, will run in the Coolmore-owned Everest slot, three weeks after his breakthrough Group 1 success, which saw interest from studs skyrocket.

The deal, which was finalised late on Thursday between Widden Stud’s Antony Thompson and Jacquinot’s ownership group, is believed to value the son of Rubick in the vicinity of A$15m.

Agent James Harron brokered the deal between the owners of Jacquinot and the interested investors, with Widden Stud the successful party.

A Boxing Day winner at Caulfield at two, he stormed home to run third in the Blue Diamond Stakes in February, where he displayed an explosive turn of foot, a trademark trait which was again shown in the Golden Rose, when he ran down elite filly In Secret to seal a slot in The Everest.

Jacquinot, whose sire also has Shades Of Rose in The Everest, will run for his existing ownership group at Randwick on Saturday, before racing in the colours of Qatar Racing’s Sheikh Fahad, who also partnered with Widden on Zoustar, now one of Australia’s most commercial stallions and this season’s general sires’ premiership table leader.

His current owners will retain a share in the new syndicate, which will be managed by Thompson “with Jacquinot’s stallion career in mind”, but racing on as a four-year-old is a distinct possibility.

“We’ve had a lot of success with the sire line and the Encosta De Lago line is really emerging as the new, big dominant line in Australia with the success Zoustar is having and, of course, Deep Field and now Rubick sire line as well,” Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“I’d say, being inbred to Shantha’s Choice, there’s a lot of options to your matings and, when it’s time [to retire him] to stud, he’ll be a really nice horse to breed to.”

Price said Jacquinot’s unbeaten three-year-old season thus far - he resumed with a victory in the Group 3 McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on August 27 - mirrored the colt’s physical improvement he had after his two-year-old campaign, which finished with a closing sixth to Fireburn in the Golden Slipper.

“He has superior athletic ability; he was a very good two-year-old who was unlucky not to win the Group 1 Blue Diamond, and he has definitely made the necessary improvement as a three-year-old,” said Price.

“I think Widden will have a good stallion when he goes to stud as he has the qualities of an alpha male and that X-factor as a racehorse, which translates so well into stud success.”

Damian Lane will ride Jacquinot from barrier two in The Everest, for which he is the $11 fourth elect behind dominant favourite Nature Strip ($2), Lost And Running ($7) and Eduardo ($10).

Yes Yes Yes, another son of the Swettenham Stud-based Rubick, won the Everest in 2019 and stands at Coolmore, with his first-crop yearlings set for the sales next year.

The Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington could round out the colt’s spring campaign after The Everest, a path successfully used last year by Home Affairs.

Sheikh Fahad: involvement could increase the chances of Jacquinot being considered for Royal AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

A trip overseas to Royal Ascot could also be on the cards for Jacquinot, if everything went to plan.

“With Sheikh Fahad’s involvement and Jacquinot being in his colours, he’d love to see him [at Royal Ascot], and that may be an option at the end of this three- or even at the end of his four-year-old season if we race him on,” said Thompson.

“He is a horse where races like the Golden Eagle, a A$10 million race, can be a tempting option for him, and possibly a second crack at an Everest.

“Now in Australia, with so much prize-money around in the spring, it’s very tempting with these colts not to just put them to stud at the end of their three-year-old season, but to consider those four-year-old races.

“Mick Price and some of the original owners would love to see him race on, so we will consider all that in time, but there’s by no means any definite decision on where he goes or what he does. At this stage, we’ll enjoy his racing and weigh that up.”

Rubick’s maiden Group 1 winner, Jacquinot is the first foal out of Ponterro, a sister to Group 2 winner Dragon Leap and a half-sister to Randwick Guineas winner Inference, and the highly promising Price-Kent jnr trained stakes-winning four-year-old Illation.

His second dam Pontiana was four times stakes-placed, while his third dam Liberty Rose was also a stakes winner.

Jacquinot’s co-breeder and part-owner Lindsay Maxsted said: “We are delighted that Widden has joined us in the ongoing ownership of our exciting three-year-old colt.

“It will be a pleasure to race Jacquinot alongside them and, moreover, he is going to a wonderful home at the conclusion of his racing career.”

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