Rave reviews for Rio’s foals

When Rio de la Plata returned to France – where he was crowned Champion Juvenile in 2007 – he had added a further two G1 victories and six G1 places to his tremendous record and so was understandably well supported in his first season. His first foals are now on the ground and are clearly thriving, according to reports from breeders.

Larissa Kniep of Haras de Saint Arnold said of her colt out of the winning mare Mont Marie, “This is an outstanding foal with lots of scope and expression – considering the rather average conformation of his dam, Rio de la Plata has clearly contributed a lot to this spectacular result”.

Haras de Petit Tellier’s Patrick Chedville said, “We have five foals on the farm by Rio de la Plata. They are all good-sized impressive types with size, scope and are well balanced with bone. They look like their father and they look like racehorses”.

Jean Pierre Deroubaix welcomed a colt out of the Galileo mare Bell Su River on 7 February and described him as, “a terrific foal with size, bone and a lot of quality. A super first foal for the dam.”

Another happy breeder is Con Marnane, whose half-sister to G2 winner Tax Free, Gutter Press, produced a colt last month. He said, “He is a fabulous colt with a physique just like his father – the best foal on the farm!”.

Thierry de la Herroniere’s Hard Spun mare Aasya gave birth to a chestnut at Haras de Ellon and was described by his breeder as, “everything you look for in a good foal – size, scope, bone and very well balanced”.

With his first foals clearly already taking after their talented, consistent and sound sire, 2016 could certainly be an exciting year for Rio de la Plata as they take their first steps onto the racecourse.