When the world lost DA Valentino nearly a decade ago, the entire international Arabian horse community mourned. Now, it’s beginning to seem apparent to many that one very special young stallion, with DA Valentino on both his sire and dam side, could be the one to carry the torch of his grandsire’s legacy.

Garavani AN (Polidoro FC x Maria PCF), owned by Anivia Equine, LLC, captured the Arabian horse community’s attention with his championship titles of 2019 Gold Champion Colt at the Arabian National Breeder Finals and 2020 Scottsdale Junior Champion Colt, winning the hearts of many with his stunning and striking resemblance to DA Valentino. David Boggs, who is enamored with the young star, led Garavani to his victories, and says the Scottsdale win in particular was a rocket launch and a thrill.

“Garavani has a great attitude, is very charismatic and reminds me so much of DA Valentino, it’s actually spooky,” says David.

Breeder Sam Peacemaker was on the sidelines at the show and recalls, “The quality he exhibited, his scope, cleanness of throat and elegant standup were unmistakable. I was very happy with how well he showed and as the breeder, of course I was thrilled to see him win unanimously.”

David says the young stallion is following in his grandsire’s footsteps and predicts Garavani will reach the same popularity as DA Valentino both in the show ring and in the breeding barn.

“DA Valentino had an incredible international fan club during his lifetime,” recalls David. “Not only did he have show ring presence that was unparalleled, but he also became a very popular sire and his offspring, including Garavani, are representing him well.”

Sam Peacemaker had that in mind when he decided to breed Polidoro FC (DA Valentino x Abha Palma) to Maria PCF (DA Valentino x MCA Afire Beylee). “As I evaluated the phenotype of the individuals combined with the known pre-potency of the pedigrees, I felt I had a good chance of getting a long elegant neck, well set into a deep laid back shoulder with a smooth and balanced body.”

Anivia Equine’s Stacy Sachen, a life-long horsewoman and Arabian breeder, felt the same and purchased Maria PCF while she was carrying Garavani in utero and she couldn’t be more pleased with the end result. “Fixing the throatlatch, neck set and balance of body is very difficult to achieve as a breeder,” she says. “For these reasons, Valentino always stood out to me as not only a great show horse, but the top choice for a breeder. I feel Garavani is positioned to bring back to life that answer for the Arabian industry.”

Looking to the future, the Garavani team plans to provide the support necessary to make him as much of a legacy to the breed as his grandsire. Stacy plans to breed him to a select group of mares herself, and there are already significant breeders lining up with their best mares to capitalize on the stallion’s unique ancestry.

Peacemaker predicts Garavani will pass along great attributes to his progeny. “The qualities of the individuals in his pedigree are very similar to their phenotype and consistent deep into the pedigree,” he says. “I think the key features he will contribute will be a well-set long neck with a clean throat, tight well-shaped ears, a deep laid-back shoulder, balance through the body with smooth coupling through the hip and a well-set tail.”