On Friday Coolmore announced the retirement of 2007 Irish Derby (Ire-G1) and
2008 Coronation Cup (Eng-G1) hero SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (Ire) (Galileo [Ire]) to
Haras du Logis Saint-Germain for 2010.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the five-year-old ends his career as the
third-highest rated son of Galileo as a result of his nine-length victory in the
Curragh classic and defeat of Youmzain (Sinndar) at Epsom last June, alongside a
host of sterling efforts. Among those were wins in the 2007 Prix Noailles
(Fr-G2), Prix Niel (Fr-G2) and Chester Vase (Eng-G3) as well as a third-placing
in last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1), in which he was fifth 12
months earlier. He was also runner-up in the 2006 Criterium de Saint-Cloud
(Fr-G1) and 2008 Grand Prix de Saint Cloud (Fr-G1).
“Coolmore have been looking to send a horse to stand in France for a number
of years and Soldier of Fortune seemed the ideal type to appeal to the French
breeder,” Coolmore’s Christy Grassick explained.
From the immediate family of the German-based and ex-Ballydoyle
representative Sholokhov (Sadler’s Wells), Soldier of Fortune has his initial
fee set at €10,000.
“We are delighted that Soldier of Fortune is retiring to stud here in
France,” said Claude Lambert, manager of Haras du Logis. “He’s got everything
one would look for in a stallion.”
“Soldier of Fortune is a fantastic-looking horse with a lovely head, great
bone, a good color and a great walk — typical of the Sadler’s Wells line,”
added Marc-Antoine Berghgracht, who brokered the deal.
Soldier of Fortune will join fellow Logis newcomer Palace Episode
(Machiavellian), winner of the 2005 Racing Post Trophy (Eng-G1). Palace
Episode’s fee is €4,500.