MARTALINE is king of the National Hunt stallions in France. Standing this year for €15,000 at Sybille Gibson’s Haras de Montaigu, it is no surprise that the 18-year-old son of Linamix has been as successful as he is.

A very impressive individual, he was a smart racehorse with a stallion’s pedigree. As a racehorse he won every season from two to five and his biggest success was in the Group 2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil. He was just short of Group 1 class and comes from the immediate family of champion sire Oasis Dream. On the level his stakes winners are headed by the dual Group 3 winner Akarlina, while recent Group 2 performer Calling Out is another of his progeny. The picture is very different when you look at his winners over jumps and his Grade 1 winners keep coming.