Frankel lights up trip to UK for Aussie travellers
“How many stallions do you think would draw a crowd like that?” asked Juddmonte’s nominations manager Shane Horan as we left the picturesque Banstead Manor at Cheveley, a quaint thoroughbred ‘village’ that hosts not only Juddmonte’s near 100-year-old stud, but also Darley’s Dalham Hall Stud and the red and white of Cheveley Park.
Identifying the traits of the world’s best stallion should perhaps be simple enough. A mere trawl through their imperious statistics stacked with Group 1 winners and an outrageous stakes-runners-to-winners ratio would be a more than adequate assessment, but for the incomparable Frankel (Galileo), it goes way beyond just numbers.
Danehill (Danzig), perhaps, had he not shuttled to Australia, was one response to Horan’s rhetorical question.
The late Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), another. “But they’d have gone here to see the legend, not to actively use him,” is the verdict.
A fair one, too. And, despite Juddmonte housing a roster of five stallions, all elite in their own right, there’s no doubt that the 20 visiting Australians, including some of the most successful breeders in the game, gathered on the pristine lawn in front of the barns at Juddmonte were here to see one stallion and one stallion only.
“Have you seen him before,” is a member of staff at Juddmonte’s first question.
For some, this was their unforgettable first time. For others, the latest of several visits to the highest-rated racehorse the world has seen. Yet he still exudes an aura that stands the hairs on the back of your neck.
Juddmonte make us wait. First comes Expert Eye (Acclamation), a high-class juvenile and winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (Gr 1, 8f) on his final racecourse start. Former shuttler Oasis Dream (Green Desert) next. A quick glance at the stylish brochure tells us that no other stallion has sired more Group 1 sprint winners in Europe over the last ten years than Oasis Dream.
Both are physically imposing and impressive, despite being at opposite ends of their stud careers.
Kingman (Invincible Spirit), who along with Frankel is available for covers to southern hemisphere time, draws a few extra inspections. Bated Breath (Dansili) is a brute.
“His stallion handler likes to keep us in suspense,” Horan jokes, as we peer over to the far side of the ‘court’, as if waiting for a tennis player to serve.
The several glances across at each other indicate he’s on his way.
We all know what he’s done on the racetrack – 14 wins from 14 starts. Some present were lucky enough to be there when he romped away in the Queen Anne (Gr 1, 1m) at Royal Ascot by 11 lengths in 2012.
He struts towards the parade area, his distinctive four white socks moving in perfect motion, his baldy face hanging majestically down from his powerful neck and shoulder.
It’s a little after 12pm and this is his third parade of the day but, as with his racing career, Frankel is a showman.
Back to numbers, and Horan reveals he’s three stakes winners away from becoming the quickest stallion to 100 individual stakes winners in history. He’s got until the end of the month to do it and surpass the feats of Danehill himself. He could add another in the US tonight, such is the global appeal of the stallion.
“He’s one of those rare commodities who seems to be able to transfer his brilliance to his progeny as well. Thank goodness for that, and long may it last,” he says.
Frankel – named after the great American trainer Bobby Frankel, and a name reserved by the recently passed Prince Khalid Abdullah for a special horse in the Juddmonte band – has earned his 97 stakes winners from 602 runners; a stakes-winners-to-runners ratio of an incredible 16.1 per cent. Nearly a quarter of them are Group/Grade 1 winners.
“It’s huge,” Horan tells me. “We’re talking about the absolute elite. That figure is worldwide and, while Danehill shuttled for many years, Frankel has never left these shores.”
Frankel is restricted to a book of 50 southern hemisphere covers and at a fee of £100,000. His northern hemisphere fee is double that.
The stallion’s popularity in Australia has soared over the last 12 months. Off the back of Group 1 wins for Mirage Dancer, Hungry Heart and two-year-old Converge, this year’s southern hemisphere fee is an increase of £30,000 on what it was in 2021. He’s oversubscribed already and Juddmonte will allocate covers on merit.
His statistics in Australia are not all that different from his European feats. He has ten individual stakes winners at a stakes-winners-to-runners ratio of 16.1 per cent. Just over a quarter of them are Group 1 winners.
What makes his success in Australia a more remarkable achievement is his seemingly inferior record when aligned with Danehill blood.
Within his 24 elite-level winners, none have Danehill in their blood. Rather than a hindrance, Horan sees his success in spite of that statistic as a potential influential factor for Australia.
“Galileo himself didn’t quite work out in Australia, so to have the Galileo blood and a successful line of it that works in Australia, that could be very important,” Horan says.
“They have a Danehill down there and are obviously looking for something a bit different.”
A question arises; “what type of mare would you look to send to Frankel?”
“Nothing plain,” is the response. But when has Frankel ever done anything plain?
The appeal in breeding to Frankel is borne out in his sale statistics. Ten mares in foal to Frankel sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in May. The average price? $880,000.
Four fetched $1 million or more, headed by the stakes-placed Irish mare Fantasy (Invincible Spirit) for $1.7 million to Yulong. The Victorian farm bought eight of the ten on offer.
He poses flawlessly for his adoring fans as one by one we ensure we come away with our collectors’ item snap with the highest rated horse since Sea-Bird (Dan Cupid) in the 1960s.
Another inspection, maybe? If nothing else to prolong his place in our presence.
“He was an undefeated champion for three seasons, ten Group 1s, one of the best we’ve seen. How can you not want to use a horse like that? There’s nothing this horse can’t do,” Horan concludes.
And as if these leading breeders in Australia weren’t convinced before, the very next day another application to Frankel was placed as Australian buyers circle for mares in the northern hemisphere.
His influence is only beginning.
Thanks to Jenny McAlpine and Tattersalls for organising the trip, as well as Juddmonte for their hospitality