The past 12 months are not going to be remembered with any great fondness by history.
Hindsight tells us that racing got off lightly as Covid-19 descended, in particular the breeding industry, which was able to push through the covering season uninterrupted. But then neither was the sport spared any suffering, with its calendar of events forced to undergo much upheaval.
Like every other stud farm around the world, Juddmonte Farms spent the spring of 2020 adapting to the difficulties inflicted by the pandemic. Yet what started off for them as a challenging period ultimately wound up as a rollercoaster of a year, one that to was hit a sad low with the death of its owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah.
Abdullah passed away in January at the age of 85. A man who preferred to let his horses do the talking, his interest in racing was ignited during the 1950s by a visit to Longchamp and, two decades later, he unleashed a long-held vision to launch a racing stable of his own.
Such was the power of a collection of early, significant purchases, many made through Humphrey Cottrill and James Delahooke, that within little time Juddmonte Farms was a self sufficient entity, producing the likes of Dancing Brave, Zafonic, Warning, Kingman, Commander In Chief, Workforce, Enable and, of course, Frankel.
Indeed, 2020 also featured a landmark success of its first sixth-generation homebred, Lucid Dreamer, when successful in a Kempton novice.
Abdullah was a loyal man and also passionate about the animal and its bloodlines; ultimately, it was that ethos that served as the backbone of Juddmonte’s long-standing success.
In turn, one of the operation’s key strengths has been its long-serving team, many of whom have been on the staff for multiple decades. The firm’s UK Stud Director, Simon Mockridge (pictured left), is a case in point, having been an integral part of the team at Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket since 1987. He has been witness to the rise and sustained success of Juddmonte, starting with the days of Rainbow Quest and his triumph as the sire of the Prince’s first homebred Derby winner, Quest For Fame, to the current era that is underpinned by Frankel and Kingman.
“First and foremost HH Prince Khalid was the architect, soul and heartbeat of Juddmonte – going forward his visits will be greatly missed by us all,” says Mockridge. “His early vision of concentrating on purchasing the very best bloodstock and farms in the UK, USA and Ireland quickly established him as one of the world’s leading owner breeders. His passion was racing, but he recognised the importance of breeding and never lost sight of the fact that the broodmares were paramount to the success of Juddmonte.
“He loved nothing better than to come to the farm after racing and see the stallions, mares and foals, and in the early years on a summer's evening he would even come unannounced, park the car and stroll through the farm.”
A new era for Juddmonte opens as it celebrates its 40th year of operation. Its Newmarket-based stallion roster is one of the deepest in the world, headlined by Frankel and Kingman and ably assisted by stalwart Oasis Dream and popular Bated Breath alongside the unproven Expert Eye.
Another exceptional year on the track for those established members of the roster in 2020 mitigated the ramifications of Covid, but against that the American arm was dealt a major blow with the unexpected death of it young champion incumbent Arrogate.
As with any bloodstock operation, Juddmonte is well versed with the peaks and troughs that come in dealing with livestock. Yet even so, his loss at the age of 7 last June was a terrible pill to swallow.
‘Extraordinarily lucky’
Last March, as the spectre of Covid swung ever closer, it became increasingly apparent that the breeding season was under threat.
Barely six weeks of the European season had passed before Britain and Ireland went into a national lockdown to leave the industry briefly in limbo; thankfully, in no small part to the efforts of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association (TBA), the season was deemed to be essential business and was able to continue uninterrupted.
In return, every aspect of the business was suddenly made much harder. The TBA published a set of Covid-19 protocols by which to operate, meaning that studs understandably had to alter their working behaviour - adhering to social distancing measures, the use of face coverings and exchange of paperwork electronically were just some of the stipulations introduced.
Juddmonte stands a select roster of five stallions in Newmarket, but each is extremely popular - and the recipient of some of the world’s best mares. That is particularly true of Frankel and Kingman, whose 2020 books consisted of 130 Group winners between them.
In all, over 700 mares visited the roster last year.
“We were extraordinarily lucky that the breeding season went ahead uninterrupted and for that, we have to thank the TBA for all their hard work,” says Mockridge. “All along we have tried to limit contact between people and the number that we have on the place. The vast majority of the office staff are working from home. The vets work in a very small team. The lorry drivers stay in their box when they bring the mare and all the paperwork is now sent in ahead of time. It’s all about limited contact and so far, it has worked tremendously well.”
He adds, “Having to work in the covering shed with a mask is not easy. It makes everything that bit more cumbersome and I have a new appreciation for what doctors and nurses go through.”
As Covid rumbled on, it also became apparent that the marketing team, led by Kate Hannam, would have to seek alternative ways to reach out to people.
Traditionally, Juddmonte hosts a luscious marquee at the Tattersalls December Sale, upon which the great and good of the industry descend. Obviously, staging such an event last winter was out of the question. Nor was opening the stud’s doors to the many visitors that same week a possibility.
“From Juddmonte’s point of view, the December Sales is one of our marquee events,” says Mockridge. “It enables us to chat to a lot of clients and a lot of business gets done. Yes, it was a struggle not to be able to see anyone, and a lot of work was done on the phone - Shane Horan [nominations manager] and the noms team did a tremendous job on that front.”
In the company’s annual brochure, however, Hannam and her team found a rich avenue to advertise the Juddmonte product. With the operation celebrating 40 years, a hardback commemoration was commissioned and something of a keepsake produced, with a group of celebratory articles offering a historical insight into the farm sitting alongside the more traditional stallion brochure format. A digital walk-through of the roster was also produced.
“We all realised that the time had come to communicate in other ways,” says Mockridge. “Producing that film was quite a difficult given that it was made at the wrong time of year - the stallions were just starting to break in their coats. But it worked well and Kate Hannam and her team did a fantastic job.”
Frankel in front
Juddmonte did at least have plenty to celebrate on the track.
Frankel became the fastest stallion to reach 40 Northern Hemisphere Group winners in the history of the Pattern when 2-year-old Kalahara captured the G3 Prix d’Arenberg at Longchamp. The sire of ten percent Group winners to runners and 14 percent black-type winners to runners to date, he ended 2020 having sired 18 stakes winners worldwide, among them the G1 winners Grenadier Guards, Mirage Dancer and Mozu Ascot. As ever, it was also a remarkably international list, consisting of high-profile performers in Europe, Japan, North America and Australia.
Kingman, meanwhile, consolidated his position as one of the world’s most exciting young sires thanks to a roll call led by the brilliant Palace Pier, who strengthened his claims to be considered the outstanding miler in Europe with an impressive success in the G1 Lockinge at Newbury on Saturday.
Both stallions have hit the ground running this season - Frankel has Australian star Hungry Heart and Classic trial winners Hurricane Lane, Mohaafeth, Rumi and Petricor to his credit while Kingman hit an early seasonal high point when Palace Pier and Waldkonig landed the Sandown Mile and Gordon Richards Stakes within an hour of each other at Sandown. And a week ago he was responsible for G1 NHLK Mile winner Schnell Meister at Tokyo.
“Frankel’s initial results with his first two crops were outstanding,” says Mockridge. “Then he went through that period where people learned how to gauge his stock - he doesn’t stamp his stock in the way that the commercial market expected.
“But his progeny on the track have been outstanding and they’ve helped him be able to get through that. Now the bigger crops are coming through and we should see him continue to go from strength to strength.
“None of this would have been achievable without the support of breeders. He has obviously had some of the best opportunities a stallion could have but, by the same token, he’s made the most of them as well. A lot of his foals get to the racecourse - he has a very high percentage of runners to foals - so they’re sound horses.
“We also see a mental toughness to them. There was perhaps some talk initially from trainers that they could be quite wilful. But it’s clear now that trainers are understanding them a lot better now.”
Frankel’s imprint on the breed is striking international, his 13 G1 winners ranging from British Classic scorers Anapurna and Logician to Japanese stars Soul Stirring, Mozu Ascot and Grenadier Guards and current Australian star Hungry Heart. In a rare show of versatility, the latter’s victories range from the 6f G2 Sweet Embrace Stakes as a 2-year-old to the G1 Australian Oaks over 1m4f at 3.
“When you have a horse that sires an Oaks winner in Japan [Soul Stirring], an Oaks winner in England [Anapurna] and then an Oaks winner in Australia [Hungry Heart], you really have to stand up and take notice of him on the global stage,” says Mockridge.
“His statistics in Australia are phenomenal. He has had significant support from people like John Singleton [breeder of the G1-placed Miss Fabulass], John Camilleri and Mr Yhang [Yuesheng Zhang of Yulong Investments bred Hungry Heart]. It takes a lot to ship a mare up here. You have to place a lot of trust in Frankel to do that and it’s been great to see them rewarded.”
Similarly, Kingman continues to reward home and outside support.
The sire of 35 stakes winners, he is well known for his ability to throw his potent turn of foot to many of his better runners, and is an extremely hot commodity as a result.
“He has made a phenomenal start,” says Mockridge. “He does stamp his stock - he’s a pure-breeding bay, which breeders like. He puts this willingness and speed into them, and it’s Classic speed. I was asked why we sent Enable to him. Well, she has got this great Classic family behind her but they’re mostly 10-12 furlong horses and by injecting his speed into that, you could get anything, perhaps something quite special.”
Further down the line, the team at Juddmonte are also hopeful of another advantage to the powerful dual presence of Frankel and Kingman, as Mockridge outlines.
“What is exciting from Juddmonte’s perspective is how the relationship between Frankel and Kingman could work out,” he says. “They both bring something slightly different and if we can get the blend to work, it could well end up being a powerful nick going forward.”
It’s not all about the big two, however. The elder statesman Oasis Dream, the sire of 17 G1 winners and an excellent broodmare sire, remains in excellent fettle at the age of 21. “His zest for the breeding season and life in general remains undiminished,” says Mockridge.
Bated Breath remains popular with a range of breeders at a fee of £12,500, his standing reflective of a strong commercial appeal and ability to throw hardy types, many of them with their share of class.
“Last year was a bit of a breakthrough for him with his Grade 1 winner, Viadera,” says Mockridge. “He’s a great looking horse and lovely to be around.
“From Juddmonte’s point of view, it’s nice to have a good son of Dansili and he’s a good solid commercial horse who should now to go from strength to strength. Like Dansili, it’s been interesting to see how well they’ve done in America - they go on fast ground and have the natural speed to cope with the tight turns.” For that, look no further than Gift List, the recent winner of the G2 Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs for Brian Lynch.
The youngest horse on the roster is Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Expert Eye. Brilliant on his day, the son of Acclamation has first yearlings this year and his first crop of foals sold for up to €180,000 last winter.
“He’s a well made horse who showed great speed as a 2-year-old and then won the Breeders’ Cup Mile at 3,” says Mockridge. “Obviously we’re delighted with how the Acclamation line is going, and then he’s from a great family, that of Vivianna. He has a lot going for him and has every chance.”
New chapter for Enable
While the roster fired on all cylinders on the track, the stud’s homebreds followed suit.
They included Classic hero Siskin, the product of a Juddmonte-bred sire in First Defence and Juddmonte-bred dam, Bird Flown, who captured the Irish 2000 Guineas.
Then there was Enable. Returning for a fifth season of training as a 6-year-old, the iconic mare entered the history books with a third win in the King George to add to a momentous career further highlighted by two Arcs, two Yorkshire Oaks, a Breeders’ Cup Turf, an Epsom Oaks, Eclipse Stakes and Irish Oaks.
Enable was retired to start the next chapter of her life in October and was recently confirmed in foal to Kingman.
“She is thankfully over 60 days in foal,” says Mockridge. “We’ve had a relatively trouble free run with her. She arrived at Banstead Manor in wonderful condition from John Gosden. She was very relaxed when she came, she was ready for retirement, and when we turned her out, she just put her head down and grazed.”
On the other side of the coin, there was immense sadness in March with the death of the farm’s blue hen Kind after foaling a Kingman colt. Remembered as a ‘tough mare but also very compliant and nice natured’, Kind is best known as the dam of Frankel yet also left behind fellow G1 winner Noble Mission, G3 scorer Bullet Train and Listed winner Joyeuse, already herself dam of the G1-placed Jubiloso.
Each of Kind’s five sons - Frankel, Noble Mission, Bullet Train, Proconsul and Morpheus - are at stud while there is seemingly much to look forward to in her 3-year-old Galileo filly Chiasma, who ran a highly promising third on her recent debut at Sandown.
Her Kingman colt foal is described as ‘very nice’.
Such are the highs and lows. As Juddmonte worked through another Covid-restricted breeding season while mourning the loss of Kind, it celebrated another G1 high with the success of Juliet Foxtrot in the Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland and came close to Classic success with Mandaloun in the Kentucky Derby. (The colt may yet be awarded the race after it was announced at the weekend that first-past-the-post Medina Spirit had tested positive for a prohibited substance.)
In the case of Juliet Foxtrot, she is a 114th homebred G1 winner for Juddmonte and adds further to the legacy of her sire Dansili, who lives in retirement at Banstead Manor alongside his brother Cacique and Zamindar. Poignantly, it was also the first G1 win achieved since the death of Prince Khalid Abdullah.
“It's taken a lot of effort over the years and a tremendous amount of commitment from Prince Khalid and now his family and sons,” Juddmonte Farms’ Kentucky general manager Garrett O’Rourke said as he collected a commemorative pitcher from Keeneland in recognition of it being the operation’s 16th Graded stakes victory at the track. “It's a great tribute for the effort and planning and perseverance of the whole operation. And it's been a fun ride.”
Planning, perseverance, belief, loyalty and understanding are just some of the core values that have stood Juddmonte in such good stead over its 40 years of history. For all the sadness and challenges of the past year, the operation remains in a position of great strength and deserves to be regarded as an asset for Prince Khalid’s family to enjoy and look forward to.
As Mockridge says, “Prince Khalid’s family will now have the opportunity to move Juddmonte into a new era through a thriving broodmare band and enviable stallion roster.”
No one can ask for anything more than that.