Chaldean

There can be few crueller blows than Classic dreams being dashed after a winter fuelled by expectation and excitement.  This was sadly the case for all those connected with last year's champion two-year-old Gewan (Night Of Thunder), who suffered a fatal injury in April while being prepared for the 2,000 Guineas. Trained by Andrew Balding for Forz Europe, the colt would have been an obvious prospect for that same owner's fledgling stallion operation at Ace Stud. Gewan's breeders, Charlie Wyatt of Dukes Stud and Simon Sweeting of Overbury Stud, were...

Star miler Charyn will shuttle to Cambridge Stud in New Zealand in partnership with Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe, for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere season. Based at Haras de Montfort et Preaux in the Northern Hemisphere under the Sumbe banner, the son of Dark Angel's fee will be NZ$35,000.  The 2024 World Champion Miler and Cartier Champion Older Horse's first foals arrived this year. "The acquisition of Charyn for the Cambridge Stud stallion roster is the beginning of another exciting chapter for the stud and a very important relationship with Nurlan Bizakov's...

Nobody wants to be late to the party. That statement applies to just about every aspect in business and is especially pertinent with a view towards breeding.  Everyone would love to send mares to Mehmas and Starman but, the reality of the situation is that many breeders' mating plans are dictated just as much by their pockets as it is by their head. The trick is cottoning on to the next Mehmas and the next Starman before they go north - and that can be easier said than done.  Luckily...

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...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Monday's Observations features a sibling to a Classic winner. 14.32 Windsor, £6,800, Nov, 2yo, 6f 12yT Oliver Cole trainee GENEROUS RASCAL (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who was knocked down for 260,000gns at Tattersalls' December Foal and October Book 1 sales, is a half-brother to five black-type performers headed by G1...

A special aspect of British racing is the existence of some spectacular country estates devoted solely to the purpose of breeding and training racehorses. For anyone with a love of the turf, names such as Kingsclere, Manton and Beckhampton have resonated down the years.  We owe a debt of gratitude to those who ensure that they continue in this modern era, with their swathes of land so attractive to developers and their historic buildings so expensive to maintain. Andrew Balding's base at Park House Stables has subsumed its village's name...

Few breeding operations can boast two Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners among the broodmare band but Juddmonte Farms has both Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}), with the former set for a trip to France to be covered by Siyouni (Fr) this season. Bluestocking, the champion older mare in Europe last year, will stay closer to home to visit Dubawi (Ire), while her dam Emulous (GB) (Dansili {GB}) will return to Camelot.  Among Juddmonte's newly retired mares set to visit Frankel are Whitebeam (GB) (Caravaggio), twice...

As poster boys and girls go, the Group 1-winning three-year-olds Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) aren't too bad at all. It's a truism that plenty of top-flight winners in Europe are owned by their breeders, but it also the case that all breeders have to sell some of their young stock, and plenty of hard graft at the foal sales can unearth a good one.  The Classic winner You Got To Me returns to the December Mares Sale next week in...

Whitsbury Manor Stud will offer a Frankel sister to 2,000 Guineas winner and joint Champion Two-Year-Old Chaldean at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. Chaldean himself was purchased for 550,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale by Juddmonte Farms, where he now stands following a glittering career on the racetrack.  Whitsbury Manor Stud's Ed Harper commented, "The Frankel filly out of Suelita is very similar to her brother Chaldean in both shape and quality. She's slightly more forward than he was at the same time as she was born a month...

Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) is set to visit Dubawi (Ire) for the third year in a row,  according to plans released by Juddmonte for its European broodmare band. The 11-time Group 1 winner's dam Concentric (GB) (Sadler's Wells) will be covered by Frankel (GB) after foaling to Dubawi. Enable's first foal, the two-year-old colt by Kingman (GB) named Encompass (GB), will be trained by John and Thady Gosden at Clarehaven Stables, the former home of both his sire and dam. Enable's two-year-old full-brother Concert Tour (GB) has not yet been...

Outside the boxes of the foaling unit at Banstead Manor Stud are Juddmonte's versions of the blue plaques one sees across Britain on the former homes of famous people. Here, of course, the plaques are a subtle green, but when it comes to equine celebrities there can be no bigger name than Frankel (GB).  He was born in one of the old brick boxes which should be granted special sporting heritage status on February 11, 2008. It is hard to believe that his 16th birthday is looming. Backing on to...

When Michelangelo sculpted David, you'd imagine he took the time to stand back, blow the dust off of his brow and marvel at his masterpiece, wouldn't you? Like David, Tally-Ho Stud has taken years of hard chiseling but you must be living in Lalaland if you think Tony O'Callaghan is a man for slowing down and taking in all that has been achieved.  If there's one thing O'Callaghan hates more than arrogance it's idleness. With 200 mares on the farm, considerably more yearlings and foals coming through the system, a...