Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
As far as the breeding-stock sales go, it’s all quiet on the western front. Tattersalls, Goffs and Arqana have wrapped up, as have their North American counterparts, and they’ve left a few obvious patterns in their wake.
One of the most obvious is the sustained Australian interest in the Juddmonte stallion Frankel. It’s hardly surprising, given the son of Galileo (Ire) has kicked just about every goal since his life began in the European spring of 2008. However, in the last 12 months from an Australian perspective, it’s climbed to another level.
At the recent Tattersalls December Mare Sale, the banner transaction was the purchase of sprinting mare Alcohol Free (Ire), a daughter of No Nay Never (USA) who reached an eye-watering $10.1 million when bought by Yulong for Australia.
Alcohol Free (Ire) | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
In the shadow of that event, it was revealed by Yulong that Alcohol Free would race on in Australia, but her likely stud debut would be a return to Europe to visit Frankel at Banstead Manor.
And that wasn’t the only story of that ilk.
At the same sale, Jim Clarke of Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) bought Romantic Rival (Ire) (Shamardal {USA}) for a tick under $550,000, revealing after the purchase that the mare would be covered by Frankel on Southern Hemisphere time.
A month earlier, at the Keeneland November Breeding Sale, Clarke went to the same level of money for Group 3 winner Chardy Party (Ire), a daughter of Dark Angel (Ire), and she also is destined for a Southern Hemisphere cover at Banstead Manor.
Chardy Party (Ire) | Image courtesy of Keeneland
Frankel first stood to Southern Hemisphere time in 2013, which was very early in his stud career. However, his outstanding merit on the racetrack meant that his debut Southern Hemisphere book of 21 included the likes of More Joyous (NZ) (More Than Ready {USA}).
The following year, Samantha Miss (Redoute’s Choice) visited the horse and the result of that early union was the G2 Tea Rose S. winner Miss Fabulass.
Since then, Frankel’s Australian successes number seven stakes winners (five of which are Group winners), including Group 1 winner Converge, John Camilleri’s Argentia, dual Group 1 winner Hungry Heart and the G1 Metropolitan H. winner Mirage Dancer (GB). There’s also the triple Group 3 winner My Whisper.
Hungry Heart | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
These horses are among just 42 Australian runners for Frankel for 27 winners. It’s a pretty sharp strike rate.
Rising tide of interest
At Banstead Manor in Newmarket, Shane Horan is the Juddmonte nominations manager. As the breeding-stock sales were ongoing the last two months, he noticed a significant spike in Frankel interest from Australasian breeders, and it was a lot earlier than usual.
“Normally, a few seasons ago, we would start receiving interest in May for the forthcoming Southern Hemisphere season,” Horan said, speaking this week to TDN AusNZ. “But at the beginning of 2022, they started coming in January, which was significantly earlier, and now, ahead of the 2023 Southern Hemisphere season, we’ve already started receiving interest.”
“Normally, a few seasons ago, we would start receiving interest in May for the forthcoming Southern Hemisphere season. But at the beginning of 2022, they started coming in January...” - Shane Horan
Horan was in Kentucky in November, running into Australians like Jim Clarke who were sourcing mares to send to Frankel. It was the same story at Tattersalls.
“It’s almost like a year-and-a-half in advance again,” Horan said. “People were just running mares by me, asking me if they bought a certain one would it get into Frankel. So it’s working well in that we have these good relationships with breeders who are specifically sourcing mares to send to the horse.”
The sustained interest in Frankel from Australia and New Zealand doesn’t surprise Horan. On statistics alone, the stallion is touching a 30 per cent strike rate of black-type winners to runners.
Shane Horan | Image courtesy of Juddmonte Farms
“Anything Frankel does shouldn’t surprise us because he’s been a phenomenal racehorse and phenomenal stallion,” Horan said. “So we shouldn’t be surprised, but it is continually fantastic to see the interest.
“As a good example, during the Tattersalls July Sale, we had incredible interest from Australians who were up for the sale, again to buy mares for him. There were so many coming that we had to organise a busload to bring them to the farm to see the horses.”
“Anything Frankel does shouldn’t surprise us because he’s been a phenomenal racehorse and phenomenal stallion. So we shouldn’t be surprised, but it is continually fantastic to see the interest.” - Shane Horan
For the team at Juddmonte, Frankel’s upward trajectory has been extraordinary, even if it hasn’t been surprising.
“You couldn’t ask for anything more,” Horan said. “I don’t think we could have envisaged him being so busy during Southern Hemisphere time, and that for a horse that doesn’t travel. It shows you the draw of the stallion.”
A sireline that surpasses itself
Since Frankel opened to Southern Hemisphere time, he has been loyally used by a good number of significant Australasian breeders.
Among them are Alan Bell and John Singleton’s Strawberry Hill Farm, along with Coolmore and John Camilleri. This year, Belinda Bateman, of Capitalist fame, sent a mare for the first time, while Bromfield Park sent Cleanup (Dehere {USA}), the dam of the dual Group 1 winner Nettoyer (Sebring).
Cleanup, dam of Nettoyer | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Horan was on the Gold Coast earlier this year when Nettoyer made $1.3 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, selling to Trilogy Racing.
“I saw Nettoyer sell at that sale and we loved her,” he said. “She was a beautiful mare so it was lovely to see her dam come up to Frankel.”
Another new entity to patron the stallion this year was Cunningham Thoroughbreds, whose business came via Jim Clarke, while Godolphin sent three mares up from Australia.
As recently as Wednesday, the Essafinaat breeding operation of Sheikh Khalifa, which has frequently used Frankel, had a rare winner in Australia when 3-year-old Fretta (GB), a daughter of Frankel, won on debut for OTI Racing at Sandown.
The filly was rare because she is technically a Northern Hemisphere-bred 2-year-old and, if the facts are correct, she was Frankel’s first Northern Hemisphere-bred juvenile to win in Australia.
For OTI’s Terry Henderson, Fretta’s Sandown win was an exemplar of the success Frankel has been able to sustain not just in the Australian breeding picture, but on the Australian racetrack. Henderson has little doubt that Australians have worked out Frankel in a way that they didn’t work out his sire, Galileo.
“I think Australian trainers are a lot better-educated than they were a decade ago because of the experience they’ve now had with European horses,” he told TDN AusNZ on Wednesday. “I think you would find that if Galileo (stock) came here now, he would achieve everything he did in Europe.
“I think there is little doubt that Frankel will surpass Galileo in the same way that Galileo surpassed Sadler’s Wells, so we watch his progeny with a little bit more interest because he might produce something that is as good as himself.”
“I think there is little doubt that Frankel will surpass Galileo in the same way that Galileo surpassed Sadler’s Wells...” - Terry Henderson
On this vein, Frankel will continue to receive loyal patronage from Australia. The likes of Tony Bott’s Evergreen Stud Farm sends mares, and Trelawney Stud sent its G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas winner Loire (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice).
In many instances, as was the case with Loire, the mares are foaling down in Europe, revisiting the stallion again and flying home both in foal and with a foal at foot.
The rarest air
Frankel recently wrapped up his Southern Hemisphere duties at Banstead Manor. He covered 44 mares for 19 individual breeders.
“A very popular horse in the Northern Hemisphere that covers to Southern Hemisphere time is usually getting numbers in the 20s,” Horan said. “So in the last two seasons, Frankel has doubled that. As long as the weather is cooperative in those months, we can easily cover towards 50, but we have said that figure is probably where we’re going to close the book.”
Frankel is managing his dual-season obligations well. He’s very fertile, so from Horan’s perspective, the only thing they’re mindful of is the European winter.
Frankel (GB) | Standing at Juddmonte Farms
“The weather is a big factor,” he said. “If we get a nice, mild autumn and early winter, everything goes swimmingly. The further we get into November, the days draw in and the weather gets colder, and it becomes more difficult for those mares to cycle properly.
“That’s when it can become challenging, but we do usually get the majority of the mares covered in September.”
By all accounts, Frankel has been a dream for the Juddmonte operation and he keeps getting better. He’s in demand everywhere, a horse that has sired Group winners in 11 countries and 26 Group 1 winners around the world all up. They’ve popped up in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan.
Earlier this year, he equalled Danehill (USA) in becoming the fastest sire to ever reach 100 stakes winners worldwide, and, in 2021, he was the fastest sire to 50 Northern Hemisphere Group winners.
Earlier this year, he (Frankel) equalled Danehill in becoming the fastest sire to ever reach 100 stakes winners worldwide, and, in 2021, he was the fastest sire to 50 Northern Hemisphere Group winners.
“It’s rare enough that a horse that good on the track is a successful stallion,” Horan said. “But for Frankel, he’s not just a successful stallion up here (in Europe). For a horse that doesn’t travel, in Australia he figures highly among the leading sires from such small numbers.
“When all is said and done, we could be talking about him in the same realm eventually as Northern Dancer.”
