Banstead Manor Stud

Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's G1 St Leger runner-up Rahiebb (Frankel) justified his entry in, and booked his ticket to, next month's G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot with a belated first black-type victory in Friday's 14-furlong G2 Boodles Yorkshire Cup on the Knavesmire. "That was lovely to watch, it was very smooth and he's a lovely horse," said Roger Varian. "He had a long year and was learning on the job all season really. He made his debut at Newcastle in February and finished up in the St Leger. He...

Wathnan Racing's Tornado Tower (Frankel), an 850,000gns Book 1 full-brother to G1 Irish Derby, G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 St Leger hero Hurricane Lane, made his second start a winning one in Wednesday's TMT Group Maiden Stakes at Chester. "We had the option of going a mile-and-a-half or a mile-and-a-quarter here, but decided he'd shown enough zip in his last piece of work to go a mile-and-a-quarter," explained James Doyle. "He was learning on the job early, we got rolling a little way from home and it set...

Juddmonte's Gilded Prize (Frankel) followed up a debut score at Chantilly in November with a TDN Rising Star effort back there on sophomore return last month and continued her rise through the ranks with an impressive pillar-to-post performance in Friday's G3 Prix Cleopatre at Saint-Cloud. "She's definitely taken a step forward there," commented rider Colin Keane. "She's very big and still learning on the job. She's a filly with a big future and hopefully building towards Group 1 level." Francis Graffard added, "She's a very good filly and she answered...

The King and Queen's hitherto unraced Portcullis (Frankel) was weak in the betting market prior to Thursday's Betway Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes at Newmarket and made a mockery of his 7-1 odds by delivering a stunning performance to earn TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard, status in the storied one-mile contest. "He was a little lost leaving the gate, but he picked up and travelled well," said John Gosden. "Ryan [Moore] said he found a nice rhythm and he left him alone. It's obviously pleasing to win like that and...

Juddmonte newcomer Lead Artist has had his first mares scanned in foal, including the Listed winner Classical Times (Lawman), a half-sister to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Newspaperofrecord (Lope De Vega). The unraced Whispering Dawn, a Mehmas mare from the family of the Group 1-winning sire Zoffany, is also among the mares confirmed in foal to the son of Dubawi, along with Tiptoe (Lightning Spear), a half-sister to multiple black-type performers, including the G2 Al Maktoum Classic winner Military Law (Dubawi). Lead Artist, who counted the G1...

Juddmonte's Serenetta (Kingman), a half-sister to Arc heroine Bluestocking (Camelot) and this term's Sussex Stakes hero Qirat (Showcasing), backed up a debut third at Newmarket last month with a decisive victory in Wednesday's Racing TV Fillies' Novice Stakes at Kempton. The Ralph Beckett trainee justified odds-on favouritism and made most of the running to defeat Godolphin's Al Qaysiyya (Dubawi) by 1 1/2 lengths in the seven-furlong contest. "She had a lovely run with Hector [Crouch] the first day and she seems like a smart filly," said winning rider Colin Keane...

NEWMARKET, UK -- Britain doesn't yet have its own equivalent of the Irish Stallion Trail or La Route des Etalons, but credit must go to the seven farms in and around Newmarket that have thrown open their doors to breeders for an extended run to coincide with the concluding sessions of the Tattersalls December Sale. Opening times over the next few days vary for each farm but, on Sunday, it was possible to view 26 stallions parading within a 30-mile radius of British Flat racing's headquarters. Spared the fuss of...

Several of Newmarket's notable studs will open their doors to the public during the period of Friday, November 28 through Wednesday, December 3. Breeders will have the opportunity to inspect a large number of Britain's top stallions and several new kids on the block. The studs and their schedules are as follows: Ace Stud will be open from Saturday, November 29 to Tuesday, December 2 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., on the hour, every hour: +44 (0) 1638 555059 Darley's Dalham Hall Stud will open its doors from Saturday, November 29-Wednesday,...

Marcstown Ltd and Andrew Rosen's 550,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate Sacred Ground (Kingman), a John and Thady Gosden-trained daughter of G1 Oaks and G1 Prix de Royallieu heroine Anapurna (Frankel), made a winning debut with a last-to-first effort in Monday's bettingsites.co.uk Betting Sites Fillies' Novice Stakes at Great Yarmouth. "It was a very pleasing debut and I thought there was plenty to like and plenty to build on," said William Buick. "She was quite professional and knew her job pretty well. She's a beautifully bred filly and is only...

One of the concerns of the most recent breeding season was the relative dearth of stallions retired to stud, particularly in Britain, for 2025. That should not be a concern for the forthcoming year, with a number of retirements already announced and more likely to follow. Leading the charge, appropriately, is Juddmonte's Lead Artist, who arrived at Banstead Manor Stud last week and is available for breeders to view during the October Sales. In a year in which Night Of Thunder has surged ahead of his own sire to head...

The victory on Monday of Royal Chapel in the Listed Criterium de Bordeaux brought up the 100th stakes winner for the filly's sire Kingman. His speed in reaching this landmark century since retiring to stud a decade ago has been beaten only by Kingman's fellow Banstead Manor resident, Frankel. There can be few finer tributes to the vision of the late Prince Khalid Abdullah than these two third-generation homebreds standing alongside each other and continuing to fly the flag for the Juddmonte brand through their achievements at stud. The record...

Group 1 winner Lead Artist has been retired and will stand at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud next year. The homebred son of Dubawi won the G1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May. From the same family as Dansili, the John and Thady Gosden trainee broke his maiden over a mile at York at three, with additional victories in the G3 Thoroughbred Stakes and the G3 Darley Stakes that year. His Lockinge victory was the highlight of his four starts this term and his record stands at 11-4-3-1 and $713,878 in...