Vandeek the 'silver bullet' to stand at Arrowfield Stud for $22,000

Cover image courtesy of Cheveley Park Stud

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Arrowfield Stud have announced the addition of Vandeek (GB), the Group 1-winning son of red-hot European stallion Havana Grey (GB), to their roster. The G1 Prix Morny winner and French Champion 2YO Colt will shuttle from Cheveley Park Stud to the Hunter Valley later this year for the 2025 breeding season.

Arrowfield Stud’s Bloodstock Manager Jon Freyer shared that the team had been watching Vandeek’s career with keen interest since the middle of last year, and that all the pieces have fallen into place to make the 4-year-old a valuable addition to the Arrowfield roster.

An admirable sireline

“We are huge admirers of his sire, Havana Grey, and he has obviously been a very prepotent horse,” Freyer said. “He gets very precocious horses, and he was a very fast horse himself.

“We think he’s a very good stallion, and that is evidenced by the fact that his service fee has increased 10-fold since he went to stud, in a relatively short amount of time. Vandeek would be his best offspring so far.”

From the first crop of G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Havana Gold (Ire), Havana Grey was a three-time stakes winner as a juvenile, including the G3 Molecomb Stakes, and was second in the Prix Morny at Deauville. As a 3-year-old, he secured his future at stud with a stunning victory in the G1 Flying Five Stakes and added the G2 Sapphire Stakes to his flourishing record. Vandeek is his most elite offspring from 22 stakes winners - including 11 individual stakes winners in 2024 - and 15 stakes performers.

A member of the great Sadler’s Wells (USA) sireline, Havana Grey is a great-grandson of Galileo (Ire), which is familiar to and compatible with the Southern Hemisphere broodmare population.

Freyer called the Leading European First, Second, and Third Crop Sire, who stands at Whitsbury Manor Stud for a private fee, a horse that “one had to admire”.

“He has really good, fast blood, so it’s no surprise that he has done well, but he has done remarkably well so far.”

The thoughts on Havana Grey were backed up by bloodstock agent Hubie de Burgh, a familiar name to the Australian breeding industry.

“He was fast, fast, and very fast,” said de Burgh. “And being in the hands of (stud director) Ed Harper at Whitsbury, who specialises in that kind of horse, he was sent a lot of fast mares as well. And it has worked, the horse is unbelievable. He just keeps getting better and better.

“Ed has kept sprinters going to the sprinter, and he’s producing top sprinters. We have sent him some very good mares this year for clients, and they are speed mares from speed families.”

Havana Grey boasts the British Champion Sire Dark Angel (Ire) as his damsire, and his second damsire is the influential Green Desert (USA), from whom descends the Invincible Spirit (Ire) sireline that has done so well in Australasia already. It’s a family that features stakes winners across three continents, including G2 Hungerford Stakes winner Richard Pankhurst (GB) (Raven’s Pass {USA}).

“Havana Grey started out with the cheap speed mares and he has managed them beautifully," de Burgh continued.

“And so he is getting better and better mares, (his yearlings) are making better and better money at the sales, and getting into the hands of the biggest trainers. If you look at the list of people buying Havana Greys this year, you will see a lot of very astute people.”

The page of a champion

“Vandeek was a brilliant 2-year-old,” Freyer said. “He won the Prix Morny, he won the Middle Park Stakes in spectacular fashion. He won some of the races that very successful sires out here have won over the years, and they are the types of horses that you would like to have on the roster.”

The pedigree on Vandeek is already impressive; his damsire Exceed And Excel needs no introduction for his accomplishments across Australasia and Vandeek’s second dam is Baldemosa (Fr) (Lead On Time {USA}), whose half-sister Group 1 winner Balbonella (Fr) (Gay Mecene {USA}) is the dam of Champion Sprinter and leading dual hemisphere sire Anabaa (USA), as well as G1 French 1000 Guineas winner Always Loyal (USA) (Zilzal {USA}). It all builds to create an impressive specimen.

"What I really liked about Vandeek is that he is from the same family as Anabaa, who was a bloody good horse," de Burgh said. “He was a champion sprinter in Europe and that family has a lot of speed in it. So you’re bringing down a genuine sprinter.”

The absence of Danehill (USA) on the top half of his pedigree makes him an excellent outcross - something that the Australian market has started to strongly appreciate, given the reception of the likes of Wootton Bassett (GB).

“He’s a great-looking, unbeaten Champion 2-year-old by a brilliant young stallion – that all makes Vandeek an attractive prospect for us,” Arrowfield’s Chairman John Messara said. “Especially in light of the Australian market’s enthusiasm for stallions like Too Darn Hot and Wootton Bassett, with top-class European 2-year-old sprint form.”

It is on the racetrack that Vandeek cemented himself as a stallion worthy of standing at stud. Trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, he was unbeaten in four starts as a juvenile, claiming both the Prix Morny and the G1 Middle Park Stakes in dominant performances, as well as the G2 Richmond Stakes at Goodwood, all over 1200 metres. Returning for two appearances as a 3-year-old, he was gallant in defeat when third in the G1 July Cup - echoing the performance of Danehill - and the G2 Sandy Lane Stakes.

Described as “a pure ball of speed” by jockey James Doyle, the colt showed a dominant turn of foot in all six starts, regardless of where he ended up on the track.

Vandeek’s co-trainer Simon Crisford said upon his retirement, “his amazing turn of foot set him apart from the others. He had a wonderful temperament and he was such a great pleasure to train. His Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes victory was sensational and I don’t think I’ve seen a better winner of that race. (...) He was pure class.”

International blood

Arrowfield are always on the lookout for the next champion to grace their stallion ranks; their success over the years with international stallions such as Danehill, Hussonet (Arg), and Maurice (Jpn) is proof that of their capabilities to unearth something truly special. Freyer believes that Vandeek serves as the perfect complement to their broodmare band, and for the larger Australian mare population.

“He's an outstanding physical,” Freyer said, who flew over to inspect the stallion at Cheveley Park as he stood his first season at stud, describing him as a “silver bullet”. “I was really impressed with him. He's a bigger horse than what you would imagine, and has got a good leg to him, has a wonderful shoulder and a really sharp hind leg. Just a lovely, lovely horse.

“So I think physically, he is going to suit nearly any mare we've got in our broodmare band. He's just that perfect size and physique. He'll suit bigger mares and smaller mares, and as far as his bloodlines go, there's some lovely crosses there. We know that the Galileo line nicks so well with Danehill, and Dark Angel blood has done very well with Redoute’s Choice.”

De Burgh was also impressed by the stallion's physical type; “I went to see him at Cheveley Park in December. He’s a bigger horse, and one good walking horse. I would say he has more scope to him than Havana Grey."

Freyer points to Vandeek’s female family as a potential source of replication; “we have a number of these sorts of mares. I think he’s going to suit a lot of them, and also a lot of the bloodlines in this country.”

Vandeek will stand for $22,000 (inc GST); a price point that Freyer believes is appealing, given the stallion’s pedigree and race performance.

“I think it’s a very competitive fee for a horse of his calibre and his credentials,” he added.

All reports on Vandeek’s progress during his first breeding season so far have been very positive; he has been well patronised with top mares visiting him, including the likes of dual Group 1 winner Integral (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and Group 1 producer Zykina (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), dam of G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess (GB), who now stands at Tally Ho Stud.

Cheveley Park Stud’s Managing Director Chris Richardson said, “joint owners KHK Racing and Cheveley Park Stud are delighted Vandeek is to be made available to breeders in the Southern Hemisphere and will be standing at one of Australia’s leading thoroughbred stud farms.

"Vandeek is being the ultimate professional this season and I am truly excited by the quality of his first book of northern hemisphere mares.”