French import boosts Maher’s middle-distance stock

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Zarakem to continue his racing career in Australia before returning to Europe to take up stallion duties

The Ciaron Maher stable are hopeful three-time stakes winner Zarakem (Zarak) can become their next Gold Trip (Outstrip) after the French-bred entire recently arrived on Australian shores to chase the riches on offer. 

The deal to bring Zarakem from his native France to the other side of the world was brokered by Astute Bloodstock’s Louis Le Metayer, whose acquisitions include Group 1 winners Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni) and Harlem (Champs Elysees).

Having just completed his mandatory two-week post-arrival quarantine period, Zarakem is acclimatising to the Australian summer in one of the 40 paddocks on Maher’s 97.5-hectare Bong Bong Farm in regional New South Wales.

After racing exclusively in France at his first ten starts, the northern hemisphere four-year-old shot to prominence when he came within three-quarters of a length of running down Coolmore’s recently-retired dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact) in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f) at Royal Ascot.

Zarakem, who will continue to carry the colours of his co-owner Sofiane Benaroussi when he steps out for Maher, was subsequently unplaced when unsuited by the attritional ground at Longchamp in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m).

Shortly after the final run of his preparation in the Prix du Conseil de Paris (Gr 2, 2200m), Zarakem entered quarantine in Europe to begin the next phase of his career, which his connections hope will culminate in Group 1 glory in Australia.

The plan at this stage is for Zarakem to test himself against the cream of Australasia’s middle-distance ranks until the end of 2025, when he will commence stud duties in France at Haras d’Etreham – the farm which first stood Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) before selling him to Coolmore for a sizeable fee.

Le Metayer is close friends with the farm’s proprietor so when the idea of sending Zarakem to Australia was first floated, he was quick to recommend the services of Maher.

“Etreham has an impressive line-up of stallions, so they acquired Zarakem just over a year ago with a view to him joining their roster once he had finished racing,” Le Metayer told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“He’s got some fabulous form in Europe, so he’s a very good horse and he’s still only young.

“The farm has been in the family for many years and I’m friends with the current owner Nicolas du Chambure, a young guy who likes to think outside the square. They currently stand Masked Marvel, who came over to Australia for a couple of years at the end of his racing career and ran in the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup for Lloyd Williams.

“So they thought they would do the same with Zarakem, who is fit and racing really well. He is probably a length off the very best horses in Europe, but he fits the profile of Australian racing well. The idea is to boost his CV and bolster his prize-money, because as we know the money on offer over here is significantly more than they race for in Europe.

“I quickly recommended Ciaron [Maher] to Nicolas, and given what a successful spring carnival he’s had and his overall results in recent years, it was a fairly easy sell.

“Once he’s finished racing in Australia, the horse will then go back to France to join Etreham’s roster. His sire Zarak is a very good stallion who has produced multiple Group 1 winners, and he’s by Dubawi so there is plenty of stamina in the profile.”

Were Zarakem to add to Maher’s rich history of Group 1 success, there is every conceivable chance that he could shuttle to the southern hemisphere in the future. However, Le Metayer is of the view that the demand for a stallion with staying pedigree might be higher in New Zealand than in Australia, where speed is king.

“Etreham has a close association with Cambridge Stud, they now stand Almanzor and have shuttled Hello Youmzain, who is on the stallion roster at Etreham and is doing a good job for them,” said Le Metayer.

“Zarakem would obviously have to do very well in Australia to drive that demand, but it’s certainly a possibility in the future if he did perform next year.”

Zarakem’s main target in 2025 will be the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m), a race Maher won last season when he oversaw a devastating display by Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai).

How Zarakem gets to his autumn grand final remains to be seen, with connections keeping an open mind on his likely kick-off point in the new year; but according Maher’s bloodstock manager Will Bourne, the stable has high hopes that the entire can convert his European form into Antipodean success.

“We think he’s a serious racehorse,” said Bourne, who recently returned from a trip to Newmarket in the United Kingdom for the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale.

“We’re very lucky to be sent the horse and Ciaron’s had a fair bit of success with tried international horses before, so we’re hoping Zarakem can continue that trend. We’ll probably aim for the Queen Elizabeth and a race like the Tancred Stakes might also be up his alley, depending on how much weight he was to get.

“But he’s only just arrived at Bong Bong, so Ciaron will take some time to get to know the horse better and then he’ll look to map out a program for him. Hopefully he can adapt quickly to the Australian environment because he’s shown enough in his runs in Europe to suggest that he should be very competitive over here.

“The Arc form usually holds up over here, the last horse we bought out after running in an Arc was Gold Trip, and that worked out pretty well so this bloke might have some big shoes to fill. But he’s a very exciting animal and Ciaron’s thrilled to get the chance to train him.”