STALLIONS who have their first two-year-olds tend to attract a lot of scrutiny, and although Ectot does not have the massive crops that some of his cohorts do, there is reason to hope that he will be well-represented in juvenile blacktype company this season.
He was a triple stakes winner at two, culminating in the Group 1 Criterium International over a mile, and he extended his winning streak to six by adding the Group 3 Prix de Fontainebleau and Group 2 Prix Niel the following year.
The first-named is, of course, over a mile, whereas the second is over 12 furlongs, the distance over which he later trounced Flintshire by five lengths when winning the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes at Belmont Park.
Ectot is the best son of the brilliant Hurricane Run (Montjeu), who died aged 14, and he is one of two freshmen for the stallion in 2021. Danish-based prolific Group 3 and listed scorer Hurricane Red is the other one.
The Hurricane Run gelding Magic Hurricane was a Group 1 winner in Australia, the filly Wekeela a multiple top-level-placed pattern winner, and others of note include the classic-placed pattern scorer Memphis Tennessee plus Group 3 winner Future Generation, the dam of ill-fated Group 2 victor Brundtland.
Ectot is a half-brother to the Group 1-winning miler Most Improved (Lawman), who has sired winners, and out of a half-sister to the Group 1-placed pattern scorer Johnny Barnes (Acclamation). That talented miler stands at Haras de Granges and, like Ectot, is now a freshman sire.
There are many other stakes and pattern winners to be found under the first three generations of the pedigree, some of them Group 1 performers.
Ectot’s handful of yearlings offered last year included one out of Netsuke (Aragorn) sold for €55,000 at Deauville in October. The colt, named Good Too, can boast the classic-placed Group 1 Prix Morny and Group 1 Prix de la Salamandre heroine Princesse Lida as his third dam and he is in training with Jean-Claude Rouget.
Good Moon will race from the Simone Brogi yard and the daughter of a multiple blacktype earner and from the famous Group 1 family of Hellenic, Greek Dance, Mountain High and Islington, was a €30,000 yearling, also sold by Arqana.
Ectot has a £28,000 Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale graduate out of the speedy Group 1-placed mare Belliflore (Verglas), who already has a stakes winner to her name, whereas Philippe Decouz trains Tchoro, another of his Arqana graduates. That €26,000 colt is out of an unraced full sister to the juvenile Group 3 winner Vedeux (Elusive City) and related to Group 3 scorer and runaway Norsk Derby star Privilegiado (Sea The Moon).
Ectot promises to get some good autumn juveniles plus horses who fare best from a mile and upwards next year and beyond.
ECTOT (GB), Bay 2011. Won seven races, £563,234, from 7 furlongs to 1½ miles, 2 to 5 years including, Criterium International, Saint-Cloud, Gr.1, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes, Belmont Park, Gr.1, Qatar Prix Niel, Longchamp, Gr.2, Prix de Fontainebleau, Longchamp, Gr.3, Prix des Chenes, Longchamp, Gr.3, Criterium du Fonds Europeen de L’Elevage, Deauville, L, also placed third in La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte, Maisons-Laffitte, Gr.3.
Retired to Stud in 2018, first crop now two year olds.
Stands at: Haras de Bouquetot, Domaine de Bouquetot, 14130 Clarbec, France.
Contact: Jeffroy Benoit, Sebastien Desmontils, Antoine Gronfier
Telephone: +33 (0)2 31 32 28 91
Email: nominations@bouquetot.com
Web: www.alshaqabracing.com
Fee: €4,000