Sometimes, a chance encounter can change your life forever. This is what happened to Francesco and Serenella Santoro about 20 years ago, when they saw Satir (Arafa x Set), a two-years-old Egyptian related stallion, for the first time. He would soon become their first purebred Arabian. The stallion’s beauty charm convinced the entire Santoro family to devote themselves to breeding purebred Arabians and paved the way for setting up LA FRASERA Stud in the outskirts of Rome (the name “Frasera” comes from the name of Francesco, Serenella and Raffaele). The breeding started with the purchase of two Russian mares, Klarinzia della Rocca and Tatjana el Gaughof. After a few years spent deepening their knowledge trough textbooks and specialist press, the Santoro family started travelling and visiting famous studs. During one of these trips, which led them to the historical Egyptian State-run El Zahraa stud, they were struck by the extraordinary type of the horses bred in Cairo. So they decided to widen the basis of their breeding and focus on selected straight Egyptian purebred Arabians, buying the first mares of this bloodline in the USA, BF Sharika (one of the daughters of The Egyptian Prince) and BF Hadiya Sharaf (out of Moniet el Sharaf).At the same time, they imported a straight Egyptian stallion from the Netherlands called AK Khattar Moniet. Unfortunately, he died prematurely a few months after arriving at the stud and did not produce any offspring.

Despite being sad for the death of the important stallion, the Santoro family persevered in their search for Straight Egyptian purebred Arabians with a reliable pedigree and a predominantly Arabian type. During a visit to the Maiworn family in Germany, while they were looking for quality mares, they had the second encounter that would once again leave a permanent mark on the breeding program of La Frasera. It was one-month-old, elegant, strong colt with a pitch-black coat and, considering his sex and tender age, a wonderful head. It was the proverbial love at first sight. “I spent all night studying his pedigree and the morning after we decided to buy him” says Serenella. That is now Shahil moved to Italy and became, over the years, the main stallion of La Frasera stud. His arrival boosted their desire to continue with their selection of Straight Egyptian purebred Arabians because the beauty and the docile nature that Shahil regularly passes on to his offspring have always been the most sought-after traits for the Santoro family. As the breeding program was based on a group of mares of various bloodline and belonging to different families, they decided to make the most of Shahil and set a high breeding standard, in order to obtain horses that combined the type and head of a typical Arabian with the fine neck, athletic build, powerful legs and movement of a typical purebred Arabians. As the breeding program was based on a group of mares of various bloodline and belonging to different families, they decided to make the most of Shahil and set a high breeding standard, in order to obtain horses that combined the type and head of a typical Arabian with the fine neck, athletic build, powerful legs and movement of a typical purebred Arabians.

The base group of mare consisted of BF Hadiya Sharaf and Frasera Halina (Madkour x BF Sharika out of The Egyptian Prince) of the Saqlawi family; Imperial Safeekah (Ibn Safinaz x Abas Marrekha) from the Kohalian Ajuz Stock; Frasera Nefisa (Imperial Al Kamar x Imperial Maddayah out of Imperial Madheen) of the Hadban Enzahi family and MB Madora Imperial Madheen x SRA Jahara out of Ansata Abu Sudan) from the Dahman Shawan family. The outstanding outcome of these breeding choices was Frasera Futura (Shahil x Ansata Nefer Isis), Frasera Shahilla (Shahil x BF Hadiya Sharaf), Frasera Shaghira (Shahil x Frasera Madkoura) and her full sister Frasera Madsha, Frasera Mashara (Shahil x MB Madora). Currently there are 5 stallions and future stallions, 14 mares, 5 colts and 6 fillies at the stud. “The cross-breed of our mares with Shahil and Frasera Ibn Shahil gave good quality results. Their offspring is not only beautiful but also athletic, as proven by titles won by some of them: World Endurance Champion – 120 Km Junior Class, European Western-style Riding Champion and some excellent positions at races. Frasera Ramses Shah (son of Shahil and of the gorgeous Ansata Nefer Isis, who is currently enriching the collection of the Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Thani of Qatar) and Majd Al Rayyan out of Safir and Ansata Nawarra (a product of the stud of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Thani of Qatar), gave the expected results.

As the breeding program was based on a group of mares of various bloodline and belonging to different families, they decided to make the most of Shahil and set a high breeding standard, in order to obtain horses that combined the type and head of a typical Arabian with the fine neck, athletic build, powerful legs and movement of a typical purebred Arabians. The base group of mare consisted of BF Hadiya Sharaf and Frasera Halina (Madkour x BF Sharika out of The Egyptian Prince) of the Saqlawi family; Imperial Safeekah (Ibn Safinaz x Abas Marrekha) from the Kohalian Ajuz Stock; Frasera Nefisa (Imperial Al Kamar x Imperial Maddayah out of Imperial Madheen) of the Hadban Enzahi family and MB Madora Imperial Madheen x SRA Jahara out of Ansata Abu Sudan) from the Dahman Shawan family. The outstanding outcome of these breeding choices was Frasera Futura (Shahil x Ansata Nefer Isis), Frasera Shahilla (Shahil x BF Hadiya Sharaf), Frasera Shaghira (Shahil x Frasera Madkoura) and her full sister Frasera Madsha, Frasera Mashara (Shahil x MB Madora). Currently there are 5 stallions and future stallions, 14 mares, 5 colts and 6 fillies at the stud. “The cross-breed of our mares with Shahil and Frasera Ibn Shahil gave good quality results. Their offspring is not only beautiful but also athletic, as proven by titles won by some of them: World Endurance Champion – 120 Km Junior Class, European Western-style Riding Champion and some excellent positions at races. Frasera Ramses Shah (son of Shahil and of the gorgeous Ansata Nefer Isis, who is currently enriching the collection of the Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Thani of Qatar) and Majd Al Rayyan out of Safir and Ansata Nawarra (a product of the stud of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Thani of Qatar), gave the expected results.

Just a look at this year’s newborn and you will realize that our breeding program keeps on grooving. Results at shows have also been excellent over these years. We can mention that Shahil won the title of Unanimous Reserve Champion at the Egyptian Event, Frasera Ramses Shah was Italian National Champion Stallion and Frasera Mashara finished in second position at the World Championship in Paris. The aim is to maintain a high breeding standard introducing an exotic touch trough the presence of a different blood, mainly via the maternal line. Francesco says: ”We have many horses we are proud of: Futura, Shafina, Mashara, her full brother Mabrouk and, among the latest generation, Marreka, Majda, Akbar, Negida, all of them gifted with great Arabian type, proud bearing, a strong build, fluid movement, a distinctly snub-nosed profile and large eyes”. All this and more is La Frasera. The reliability and quality of La Frasera’s breeding program are also confirmed by the ongoing visits from the most important breeders of Arabian horses. Over the years, La Frasera has developed relationships with Arab Countries and obviously in Italy, establishing important and successful collaborations. This year, for instance, Frasera Morgana was sold to Saudi Arabia, Frasera Safeekah and Frasera Hadiyeh were purchased by the Yeguada Ferrero (Spain) and four colts, son of Shahil, Ramses Shah and Majd left for Libia. This is just one example of how carefully La Frasera’s breeding program has been developed and this is supported by the results, considering the growing presence of horses bred by La Frasera on the international scene. The passion that the Santoro family has for their horses is the most important ingredient in their recipe for success.