Faro De San Juan makes winning debut at Chantilly

Cambridge Stud shuttler Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) got his career off the best possible start on Monday as he sired his first winner with his first runner when the Francis Graffard-trained Faro De San Juan (2 c ex Fixette by Kodiac) landed a 1100 metre contest at Chantilly. 

Faro De San Juan picked up well inside the final stages to beat Perfect Colour (Ultra) by half a length, while Glenall (Coulsty) was a further length and a quarter away in third. 

The two-year-old colt is raced by a partnership that includes Haras d'Etreham and prominent Australian owner Peter Katelanis, who also raced his dual Group 3-placed dam Fixette (Kodiac) in partnership with Haras d'Etreham, where Almanzor resides in Europe and she was also trained by Graffard. 

The mare was purchased by Blandford Bloodstock for 375,000gns at the 2018 edition of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale and she was carrying the colt in utero. 

The colt was subsequently purchased by Haras d'Etreham and SF Bloodstock for 160,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in 2019. 

Faro De San Juan is from the same family as Listed winner Desert Ease (Green Desert) and she is herself the grandam of Gallante (Montjeu), whose brace of Group 1 wins include the 2016 Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m). 

Almanzor’s first crop of southern hemisphere bred yearlings were well received at the sales, with 57 of his yearlings selling for an aggregate of $11,443,549 at an average of $200,764. 

The son of Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) will stand for a fee of NZ$30,000 in 2021 and Cambridge Stud announced earlier in the month his book is already full. 

1st runner,1st winner!
Today was the day we have all been waiting for & we couldn't hope for a better start for #Almanzor's 1st runner as FARO DE SAN JUAN swept to victory in the Px du Soleil de Bretagne @fgchantilly ! Congratulations to all! @GraffardRacing @peterkatelanis https://t.co/TuU02prvy6

— Haras d'Etreham (@Haras_d_Etreham) April 26, 2021