Cover image courtesy of Juddmonte Farm
On Friday morning, industry participants, racing enthusiasts and breeding aficionados were thrilled by the exciting announcement from New Zealand's esteemed Cambridge Stud. The historic nursery revealed that Juddmonte Farms' exceptional son of Frankel (GB), Chaldean (GB), will join its roster for the 2024 breeding season.
As the victor of the prestigious G1 2000 Guineas, Chaldean will stand for a fee of NZ$35,000 (plus GST) and will be limited to a book 120 mares. Notably, Chaldean is the first son of Frankel to stand alongside him at Juddmonte Farm's Banstead Manor Stud, having recently completed his inaugural season with immense popularity.
Frankel, arguably the greatest racehorse to ever grace a track, has seamlessly transitioned into his stud duties. In 2023 alone, this son of the legendary Galileo (Ire) sired an impressive 11 Group 1 winners, 27 Group winners, and 42 stakes winners, establishing himself as the leading stallion worldwide.
With a total of 138 stakes winners and 34 individual Group 1 winners globally, Frankel's influence extends far and wide, including in Australasia. Down under, Frankel has produced 90 runners, with 25 (28 per cent) becoming stakes horses, 17 (19 per cent) securing stakes victories, and 12 (13 per cent) attaining Group wins.
Frankel (GB) | Standing at Juddmonte Farm
Furthermore, mares in foal to Frankel have been highly sought after, with 12 sold in 2023 at an average price of $807,083.
For Juddmonte Farms, the decision to shuttle such a distinguished and accomplished son of Frankel to the Southern Hemisphere presented an ideal opportunity. Cambridge Stud eagerly embraced this partnership, welcoming Chaldean with open arms.
Juddmonte’s General Manager UK, Simon Mockridge said, “The exceptionally talented, good-looking Chaldean has been immensely popular during his first season at Banstead Manor Stud.
Simon Mockridge | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
“With the ongoing support for Frankel and his incomparable statistics as they stand, Cambridge Stud have given us the perfect opportunity to send Chaldean to the Southern Hemisphere where we feel his precociousness and physical type will appeal. We look forward to working with the team at the internationally renowned Cambridge Stud ahead of the Southern Hemisphere season.”
Cambridge Stud’s owner Brendan Lindsay added, “Jo (Lindsay) and I are very proud of the Cambridge Stud brand and welcome the opportunity of joining forces with a global brand like Juddmonte.
“We thank Juddmonte and their team for affording us the opportunity. We are excited to be able to offer an exceptional horse like Chaldean to our client base.”
“Cambridge Stud have given us the perfect opportunity to send Chaldean to the Southern Hemisphere where we feel his precociousness and physical type will appeal.” - Simon Mockridge
Like Father like Son
Despite Chaldean's chestnut coat, which differs from his father's bay colouring, the duo shares a rare distinction as the only father-son pair to achieve the G1 Dewhurst S. and the G1 2000 Guineas double. Furthermore, Chaldean joins the ranks of only the ninth colt in the last 50 years to accomplish this remarkable feat.
Retiring to Banstead Manor Stud with a Timeform rating of 122 and with an impressive record of five victories, four of which were secured as a juvenile, Chaldean's notable triumphs include the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket, the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster, and the G3 Acomb S. at York.
Displaying his class as a 3-year-old, Chaldean returned to Newmarket to claim victory in the prestigious G1 2000 Guineas. He also showcased his talent with a commendable performance, placing in the G1 St James’ Palace S. at Royal Ascot.
Chaldean (GB) will stand for NZ$35,000 plus GST in 2024 | Image courtesy of Juddmonte Farms
Under the guidance of trainer Andrew Balding, Chaldean emerged as the leading British-trained 2-year-old of 2022. As the only G1-winning son of Frankel at stud in Europe, this fact has extended to Australasia.
Cambridge Stud CEO Henry Plumptre said, “It’s like having all your Christmas presents under the tree. You can’t wait to open them. It’s one of those moments.
Plumptre acknowledges that Chaldean's exceptional performances as a juvenile played a significant role in his appeal to stand in the Southern Hemisphere, and particular appeal to the Australian market.
Henry Plumptre | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
He continued, “Brendan (Lindsay) and I went to see the horse in Newmarket at the end of March. We sat down with the team at Juddmonte for a couple of days, and had a couple of really productive meetings to talk about how it might work. Fortunately five weeks late, we’ve managed to get it over the line.
“For us, I think there’s probably two key things that really stood out for us. One is the fact that we can bring a dual Group 1-winning son of Frankel into New Zealand, who will be available to local and Australian breeders.
“But the other thing for us is really encouraging is a new relationship with Juddmonte Farms. Probably the most successful breeders in the world. It is truly a fantastic thing for us to be going into an arrangement with a horse like this.
“Chaldean's exceptional performances as a juvenile played a significant role in his appeal to stand in the Southern Hemisphere, and particular appeal to the Australian market.”
“The people at Juddmonte are terrific. We had a wonderful couple days up there. They’ve been great to deal with and I think they were genuinely excited to have Chaldean come to New Zealand.”
Plumptre hopes the trust shown by Juddmonte to shuttle Chaldean to Cambridge Stud is a reflection of the brand the Lindsays have grown and the respect of the Southern Hemisphere breeders.
“I think when you go into these arrangements with shuttling stallions halfway around the world, it has to be built on trust and I’m sure Juddmonte had a good look at us.
Cambridge Stud | Image courtesy of Cambridge Stud
“We didn’t need to have a good look at them because they’re a global operation and their results are everywhere for everyone to see but they obviously needed to have a good look at us, and we hope it was an endorsement of what we’ve been doing for the last five or six years.”
Class act
Testament to Chaldean’s quality, Juddmonte paid 550,000gns (AU$1.1 million) to acquire him from the draft of Whitsbury Manor Stud at the 2020 Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
He is the sixth foal from Suelita (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}). Suelita won four races, and remarkably, all six of her foals have gone on to achieve success on the track. Chaldean stands out as the most accomplished runner among them, showcasing his exceptional talent.
However, Suelita's impressive record as a producer extends beyond Chaldean. She is also the dam of notable winners such as Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who clinched victory in the G2 Mill Reef S., as well as his Listed-winning full sister Get Ahead (GB) and The Broghie Man (GB) (Cityscape {GB}), who triumphed in the Listed Committed S.
With a broodmare band of 150 mares, many of which are stakes winners or dams stakes winners, Cambridge Stud has the broodmare quality to support Chaldean. However, Plumptre is hopeful the son of Frankel’s global appeal will see Australasian breeders lining up to secure their mare a spot in Chaldean’s 120 book.
“We have 150 mares, maybe 50 or 60 are stakes winners or the dams of stakes winners. So, Chaldean will get a decent percentage of them. We’ll probably look at sending between 35 and 40 in the first year.
“Simon Mockridge, the General Manager of Juddmonte said the most important thing for Chaldean is his welfare and for him to get the best possible opportunity. That’s vastly in our hands but it’s more importantly in the hands of our supporters, who supported us through the years with Almanzor and Hello Youmzain.
“Plumptre is hopeful the son of Frankel’s global appeal will see Australasian breeders lining up to secure their mare a spot in Chaldean’s 120 book.
“We are hoping for some Australian mares, because he’s such a good outcross for some of their lines as he is for ours. It’ll be an interesting few days getting on the phone and talking to a few breeders in Australia.”
“Chaldean has got global currency and we’d be disappointed if we didn’t get some support from the Australians.”
