Sottsass Retired to Coolmore

Peter Brant owner of Sunday’s brilliant Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass has announced his retirement to Coolmore.

“A World Champion at three and now an Arc winner at four, I have decided to retire Sottsass after what he has achieved. He has retired sound and right at the top of his game - this is important to me. I am looking forward to breeding some of my best mares to him. Coolmore purchased 50% of him earlier in the year and he will stand there for 2021.

Back in 1971 I was working on a film in Paris and was lucky enough to witness Mill Reef win his Arc. I think it is the ultimate race to win and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have fulfilled a lifelong dream. Sottsass has an incredible turn of foot as he showed when readily disposing of Persian King in the Prix du Jockey Club. He smashed the race record time and knocked nearly a second off the 1m2½f track record at Chantilly previously held by dual Arc winner Treve. We were concerned that the testing conditions on Sunday might blunt his speed but he overcame them and showed his true greatness.

Being a half-brother to Sistercharlie who had run second for us in the Prix de Diane, Sottsass was always going to be of interest to us as a yearling and we were delighted when the individual matched up to his pedigree. Being by France’s leading sire Siyouni and out of a daughter of Galileo only added to his appeal. The rest as they say is history as Sistercharlie has gone on to win seven Grade 1 races in the USA for Chad Brown and Sottsass has proved himself the ultimate champion.

Jean-Claude Rouget has done a masterful job with Sottsass and it gave me great pleasure to share in his first Arc success.” Peter Brant, White Birch Farm.