NEXT week Arqana will offer a share in the leading second-crop stallion Wootton Bassett for sale online. The champion juvenile son of Iffraaj was bred by the parents of broadcaster Gina Harding (nee Bryce) and his best racecourse performance was when he beat Tin Horse and Moonlight Cloud in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

He went to stud at Haras d’Etreham, where is remains, and he only had 17 foals in his first crop which are now three-year-olds. His popularity has grown since and this year he covered his maximum book of 130 mares, the biggest number he can contractually service each year. His fee is set to rise substantially in 2017 and will be at least €20,000.

His rise in popularity and cost is largely due to the success of his son Almanzor, the horse that keeps giving. Now the winner of eight of his 10 career starts, he added a further Group 1 success to his record when he beat Found and Jack Hobbs to land the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot. Now a Group 1 winner in three countries, he previously captured the Prix du Jockey-Club (French Derby) and the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes.

Purchased for €100,000 by his trainer Jean-Claude Rouget as a yearling at Arqana, Almanzor has earned well in excess of £2,000,000 and he is set to race next year before ultimately joining his sire at Etreham, the home of his birth.

Almanzor is the first foal, runner and winner for Darkova who was sold at Arqana in 2011 as an unraced three-year-old filly for just €16,000 to Canirola Bloodstock. Her second offspring is a two-year-old full-sister to Almanzor who was also bought by Rouget for €110,000 as a yearling. Named Troarn, she looks to be quite a bargain now.

Darkova’s third foal is a yearling colt by Falco that sold for €140,000 this week, while on the ground is a colt by Wootton Bassett.

The Aga Khan not only sold Almanzor’s dam, he also sold his grandam Darkara four years ago at Goffs. Gaurav Rampal bought her and she went to India where her yearling filly – her eighth consecutive daughter and no colts – is by Varenar and that Group 1 Prix de la Foret winning son of Rock Of Gibraltar is also an Aga Khan bred horse. She was sold in foal to Dalakhani at the time.

While she is the dam of eight foals so far, the listed winner Darkara is responsible for just a single winner. That is her first foal, Darmiana, a daughter of Lemon Drop Kid and she was sold by Newsells Park Stud last December at Tattersalls for just 22,000gns. Meanwhile over at Goffs the Aga Khan sold a three-year-old Manduro daughter of Darkara for €32,000 and she was snapped up, cleverly, by Haras d’Etreham.

Darkara is a daughter of Halling and she was the sole stakes-winning offspring of Doyoun’s daughter Daralbayda. However, her stakes-placed Zilzal daughter Darinska in turn is the dam of the outstanding runner Darjina, the champion three-year-old filly in Europe and winner of the French 1000 Guineas, Prix du Moulin and Prix d’Astarte.