Frankel: A star attraction Down Under

Thoroughbred Daily News ANZ discuss Frankel's growing impact Down Under, as 13 broodmares in foal to the Juddmonte stallion are offered at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale this week.

Natalma will offer three mares this week through the Arrowfield Stud draft, including winning mare Bawaady (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) (Lot 988), who they purchased for 110,000gns (AU$205,000) at last year's Tattersalls July Sale. The regally-bred offering is out of the Elusive Quality (USA) mare Rifqah (USA), making the mare a half-sister to Gr.2 Greenlands St. winner Mustajeeb (Nayef {USA}). Rifqah herself is a half-sister to Australian Group 3 winner Great House (Galileo {Ire}) and fellow Group 3 scorer Aboulie (Exceed And Excel). Further afield the mare hails from one of the most influential families in the global stud book.

While all three mares boast typically deep European pedigrees which have proved popular in Australia in the past, another exciting and intriguing aspect to the Natalma's band of mares is that all three will be offered in-foal to Juddmonte's superstar stallion Frankel (GB).

Since 2015, 10 mares have been offered in foal to the unbeaten son of Galileo (Ire) at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and they have been well received by the buying bench.
In 2015, a pair of mares in foal to him were offered, making $1.4 million, while in 2017 four mares carrying progeny of the stallion went under the hammer and made $1.46 million and in 2018 the sole mare in foal to the stallion was sold for $400,000. Meanwhile, the following year three mares who had been covered by the stallion made $1.725 million, selling for an average of $575,000.

Frankel mania hit fever pitch once again on the Gold Coast last week, when Coolmore Stud sold a pair of weanling colts by the stallion for a total of $1.210 million and, with an extraordinary
13 mares carrying the stallion's offspring set to sell this week, Frankel fever could sweep across the Magic Millions Sale complex once again with buyers keen to get their hands on the
rare offerings.
"It is such an honour to have this many mares in foal to Frankel in any one catalogue. It is an extraordinary collection of mares," said Magic Millions' Managing Director Barry Bowditch. "I have been going round the complex and there are some outstanding individuals physically amongst them and there are some local pedigrees and some international pedigrees which
should appeal to everybody. But Frankel himself, he's a world phenomenon. He was an unbelievable racehorse and he was doing it stud and more importantly he is doing it here in Australia. What last week told us was that if you have a decent product by Frankel you are going to get paid very well and I think that should give people the confidence to bid accordingly over the coming few days."

Frankel has produced 95 stakes winners globally which fires at a stakes winners to runners strike rate of 16.2 per cent in total, while in Australia his statistics make for impressive reading, with the stallion having sired 37 winners from 59 starters and 10 of those winners are stakes scorers. Ferguson believes Frankel's ability to produce top-class horses in both hemispheres places him in the same vein as the great Danehill (USA) whose exploits in Australia changed the face of the industry.
"What Frankel is doing in Australia is similar to what he's doing in Europe in the sense that he's hitting 26 per cent black-type horses to runners here in Australia, which is on a par with Europe," Ferguson explained. "That really is incredible, there hasn't been a horse since Danehill that has been so dominant in both hemispheres. Frankel gets different types of yearlings but also they run at all different types of trips, which is very rare. He was the best racehorse I ever saw in my life. He won the Guineas in blistering fashion and the St James's Palace Stakes at three. He then went on to be the top horse at four, but he could have won any sprint race you like as well and that's probably why he's so successful down here."

Potent Cross
A headline horse for Frankel in Australia for the past few seasons has been the Chris Waller-trained Hungry Heart, who advertised the stallion=s talents when she won the G2.1 Vinery Stud St. and the Gr.1 Australian Oaks in 2021 and eagle-eyed buyers will notice that one of Natalma's offerings is bred on a similar cross to the high-class mare.

Hungry Heart is out of Pivotal (GB) mare Harlech and this has proved to be one of the most potent crosses in the book, with mares by Pivotal when crossed with Frankel producing 17 winners from 25 runners, including seven stakes winners and they are headed by four Group 1 scorers - including Hungry Heart - which fires at an extraordinary stakes winners to runners strike rate of 28 per cent. Ferguson said opting to mate Elvic--a daughter of Pivotal's brilliant sire son Siyouni--to Frankel made sense given the success of the cross.
Siyouni is by Pivotal which is why we thought that would have been a good mating for her," he explained. "She's a winning Siyouni mare and you just think to yourself that Frankel has worked well with Pivotal on the Southern Hemisphere, so that looked like a good mating."

To view the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale catalogue - click here