The Unscripted Delights of Anticipation Week

Newmarket's Craven meeting could just as well be called Anticipation Week.

Anticipation is climbing the steps of a venerated football stadium for a night game to find the floodlights blazing and the grass slick and lush.

It's the bounce of the England cricket team down the pavilion steps to start an Ashes series. It's checking your tickets the day before Wimbledon tennis starts or standing just after dawn beside the first tee at an Open Championship or Masters.

It's not about what you know. It's about all the things you don't know. Or don't know yet, because there is no script. A venue, a tradition, a hum of expectation, yes, but no script. Unlike cinema or the theatre, nobody wrote what you are about to see. You scan the horizon of pleasures still to come with a preferred outcome, certainly, but no guarantees.

In books and films the whodunnit is already decided. In sport the who-will win-it is a thing of intrigue. It's the unknowable.

What I'm describing here, in racing terms, is 'Craven week,' the Newmarket fixture that ends the strange hiatus between the Lincoln meeting at Doncaster and the 'real' start of a Flat racing campaign, on the Rowley Mile course. 

It's not about what you know. It's about all the things you don't know. Or don't know yet, because there is no script.

The Grand National meeting bisects the cutting of the start-line ribbon at Donny and the unleashing of the first wave of Classic contenders at Newmarket, in a week when everything feels possible, and dreams are unbruised by reality.

And in Flat racing, anticipation week is centuries old. The Craven was first run in 1771 and evolved over two hundred years into the pre-eminent 2,000 Guineas trial. In 1869 it was reduced from 10 furlongs to eight. Eight years later it was restricted to three-year-olds. 

Modern training is a scientific, data-driven trade, so colts often go straight to the Guineas without a prep run. City of Troy and Rosallion – the first two in the market – will arrive on May 4 without form in the book as three-year-olds.

Yet the Craven is still the race that tells you spring has sprung, the Classic race scramble has begun, and that 2024's contenders are about to be reclassified as champs, nearly-horses and also-rans.

In the history of the colts' Classics, the evidence trail still starts with the Craven. Six years ago Masar beat the odds-on Roaring Lion and went on to win the Derby. Roaring Lion proceeded to win four Group 1s. Curiously the last horse to compete the Craven-2,000 Guineas double was Haafhd in 2004, an anomaly that is due correction. Eminent (2017), Native Khan (2011) and Adagio (2007) are among those for whom winning the Craven was largely an end, rather than a beginning.

No modern Craven meeting has produced a more lasting declaration than that of Dancing Brave in 1986. His defeat of Henry Cecil's pair Faraway Dancer and Mashkour was emphatic enough but the ground was too soft to offer a promise of the beauty to come: victories in the 2,000 Guineas, Eclipse, King George and Arc to earn an official rating of 141, the highest ever awarded to a horse at that time.

The first big fillies' trial of the season, the Nell Gwyn Stakes, can also be revelatory. In a mini golden era from 1984 to 1986 it was won by Pebbles (1,000 Guineas, Eclipse, Champion Stakes, Breeders' Cup Turf), Oh So Sharp (1,000 Guineas, Oaks, St Leger) and Sonic Lady (Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, Sussex Stakes, Prix du Moulin.)

The British crave spring and hints of summer delights particularly keenly. It feels as if it has been raining in the UK since November. Racing folk ask Craven week to lift the grey blanket off their heads. They want equine coats to gleam and the sun to glint off silks. Trainers, stable staff and jockeys will see hints from the gallops tested on the racecourse. Lazy types will be transformed and 'morning wonders' may flop when they step on the track.

With Craven week, there are clues and promise but no certainties. After Newmarket the auditions roll on to Newbury, to the Greenham and Fred Darling. The two Guineas races come less than three weeks after the Newmarket and Newbury trials – a timetable more compressed than you might imagine, considering that these are three-year-olds emerging from hibernation.

Everything is up for grabs, and everyone wants to grab it, especially after a gruelling, soggy winter. The not knowing is part of the thrill. There are champions on the scroll of Nell Gwyn and Craven winners but there are also winners you struggle to remember. It's not possible for a 'bad' horse to win either race, but eminently possible for the victory to lead nowhere. Twelve months ago Indestructible beat The Foxes in the Craven but has not won since.

In Anticipation Week stars will emerge, reality checks will abound, hopes will be dashed and question marks will be scattered. But the 2024 Flat season will be in full swing. It's not just the horses who burst from the stalls at Newmarket. We do too.

 

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Dettori and Dancing Brave Inducted Into QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame

Charismatic international jockey Frankie Dettori and 1980s legend Dancing Brave (Lyphard) are the two newest members of the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. Launched in 2021, the Hall of Fame is specifically for UK Flat racing, and both inductees will be honoured through a special presentation moment ahead of the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse on Saturday, Apr. 30.

Dettori, 51, is the third jockey to be inducted after Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery. He has ridden almost 3,300 British winners, third to Piggott and Willie Carson, as well as celebrated major victories in at least 24 countries. The Italian holds the record for scores in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Tromphe, with six. One of Dettori's greatest triumphs in the saddle was riding all seven winners on a card at Ascot on Sept. 28, 1996. Dubbed the 'Magnificent Seven', the feat's cumulative odds were 25,051-1.

“Winning every race on a card was something that I didn't think was possible, not in my lifetime anyway,” Dettori recalled. “It's the biggest achievement of my career, without question.”

The reinsman also has 270 wins at the Group 1 level to date. In Britain, he has booted home the winners of 21 Classics, among them triumphs in the G1 Derby aboard Authorized (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) in 2008 and Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in 2015. At Royal Ascot, he has 76 winners to his credit, second only to Piggott. Dettori has been named the top jockey at the Royal Meeting eight times.

Dettori said, “Joining the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame gives me an immense feeling of pride and I'm honoured for my career to be recognised in this way, placing me alongside others who I have looked up to my whole life. Lester was my idol when I came over from Italy and I was lucky to ride against him on a few occasions, while Pat was the most gifted horseman I have ever seen.

“When I first started out, my ambition was to be a mid-division jockey. This spiralled out of control early on; I quickly became Champion Jockey, I got an awesome job with Luca [Cumani], and the dream came alive. When I first set out on this path, I didn't quite believe in myself but, as things snowballed, I realised I could make it to become the jockey I am today.”

Trained by Guy Harwood for the late Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte operation, Dancing Brave is the sixth horse to enter the Hall of Fame, 36 years after his G1 2000 Guineas victory. Bred by Glen Oak Farm and Gainesway Farm in Kentucky, Dancing Brave was a $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Summer Yearling Sale graduate and won both starts at two. The bay colt returned at three to take six races in 1986, including the G1 2000 Guineas, G1 Eclipse S., G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. and a strong renewal of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. His only losses were an unlucky second in the G1 Derby to Shahrastani (Nijinsky II) whom he beat in the Arc, and a fourth to Manila (Lyphard) in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita in November of 1986. The colt was so highly thought of that since the International Classifications began in 1977, only Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), a Juddmonte homebred and fellow Hall of Famer, has been rated higher.

“On behalf of Prince Khalid's family, for Dancing Brave to be the second horse owned by him, after Frankel (GB), to be inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame is testament to Prince Khalid's passion and vision for the Thoroughbred,” said Douglas Erskine Crum, Chief Executive of Juddmonte. “It is another significant landmark in Prince Khalid's legacy which endures into the future. Everyone at Juddmonte is delighted that Dancing Brave has received this prestigious accolade.”

Added Harwood, “He was definitely the horse of the decade (1980s), if not amongst the top two or three in the last 40 years. What made him different to others was that most horses were specialists–either specialist milers, mile and a quarter or mile and a half–but Dancing Brave would have been a champion over any distance.

“My absolute standout memory of Dancing Brave has to be winning the Arc de Triomphe; it was one of the occasions where I had complete confidence that the horse was going to win. I was never in any doubt that he was at his best and at his best, he was unbeatable.”

The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket has also established an official display for the Hall of Fame, providing visitors with an opportunity to find out more about some of the most adored and important stars of British Flat racing in person. To view videos of the inductees, please go to the Hall of Fame's website.

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Pat Eddery Inducted into QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame

The late Pat Eddery has been inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. Eddery, who died in 2015, was named champion jockey on 11 occasions from 1974-1996 and booted home more than 6,000 winners. A total of 4,632 were in Great Britain, a figure exceeded only by the legendary Sir Gordon Richards, who had 4,870. Eddery won 14 British Classics, including three Derbys with Grundy (GB) (Great Nephew {GB}), Golden Fleece (Nijinsky II) and Quest For Fame (GB) (Rainbow Quest). It was aboard Grundy that Eddery rode in the 'Race of the Century' where his mount triumphed over St Leger winner Bustino (GB) (Busted {GB}) in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. in 1975.

His daughter Natasha Eddery-Dunsdon, a competitive showjumper said, “He was, and always will be, one of the all-time greats. When I think about what he was like as a jockey, I think about his quiet concentration, his focus, the determination to win. That's what set him apart, his desire to win and to beat his comrades–winning was everything to him, second best just wasn't an option.

“He had the best hands of any jockey, he was a kind rider, intuitive, he just connected with horses. If he were riding a puller, he'd simply give the horse the rein and drop his hands on the neck–I've personally tried this and I always get run away with–but they never did that with dad, they just stayed totally relaxed.

“Entering the Hall of Fame would have made him so proud; I only wish he were still here to experience this special moment. It's one myself and my family will cherish.”

Jockey Frankie Dettori said, “We used to call him 'God' because he was like God.”

Four-time champion trainer Richard Hannon, Sr., who Eddery rode for many years, added, “I'm sure Pat would have loved to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. It's nice to be remembered. He was a very good jockey, he was very good with horses and he had a great memory of them too. If he rode one 18 months before, he'd know exactly all about the horse. He had a great brain.

“You didn't have to tell Pat anything really. He just went out and did his job. As a trainer you do the job to ensure the horse is fit and everything is fine, but he used to go out and do his own thing, however the race worked out. That makes a jockey for me–if the race doesn't go right for you, you think of another way round it.”

Other champions associated with the late jockey included El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer), Zafonic (Gone West), Danehill (Danzig), Sadler's Wells (Northern Dancer) and Warning (GB) (Known Fact). Among his quartet of Arc winners was Dancing Brave (Lyphard) in 1986. He also rode Pebbles (GB) (Sharpen Up {GB}) to victory in the 1985 GI Breeders' Cup Turf and the 1986 Japan Cup winner Jupiter Island (GB) (St. Paddy {GB}), both for trainer Clive Brittain.

His family will be presented with a commissioned medal, designed by Asprey and unique within British racing, which will be displayed as part of a special Hall of Fame exhibition at QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Oct. 16.

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Juddmonte Doyen Prince Khalid Bin Abdullah Dead

His Highness Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, one of the most successful owner/breeders in the history of the sport through his Juddmonte Farms dynasty, died on Jan. 12 in his 84th year.

Prince Khalid’s famous green, pink and white silks have been immortalized in the annals of the sport, having been carried transatlantically by 118 Grade/Group 1 winners headed by champions like Frankel (GB), Dancing Brave (GB), Enable (GB) and Arrogate among many others. He campaigned over 500 stakes winners, of which he bred over 440.

Douglas Erskine Crum, chief executive officer of Juddmonte, said on Tuesday, “The whole of Juddmonte feels a huge sense of loss. Prince Khalid will always be remembered as a quiet, dignified, benevolent family man, whose horses spoke for him. He leaves a legacy that will stand the test of time. His contribution to the development of the Thoroughbred will have long-lasting effects.”

Prince Khalid bin Abdullah was born in 1937 in Saudi Arabia and was a member of the House Of Saud, the Saudi Royal family, his father Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman being a younger half-brother to King Abdulaziz, the founder and first monarch of Saudi Arabia. Prince Khalid studied in both Riyadh and the U.S. before going on to be an extremely successful businessman, chief among his accomplishments in that realm being the development of the private investment company Mawarid Holding, which has diverse portfolios in financial services, manufacturing, construction, medical supplies, telecommunications, the media and more.

Despite Prince Khalid’s extensive business successes, he will perhaps be best remembered for his profound contributions to the Thoroughbred breed. The foundation for the quality that has reverberated unrelentingly throughout the Juddmonte genes over the past 40-plus years was laid right from the outset. Prince Khalid bought his first yearlings in 1978 and the following year, his advisors Humphrey Cottrill and James Delahooke signed for the two most expensive yearlings at the Tattersalls Houghton Sale, including the record-priced Sand Hawk (GB) (Grundy {GB}) at 264,000gns. While Sand Hawk would fail to truly build on his promise, an In Reality colt selected at Keeneland the same year certainly did not: Known Fact would, in 1980, became Prince Khalid’s first Classic winner in the G1 2000 Guineas less than a year after his silks had graced a winner’s enclosure for the first time atop Charming Native (Princely Native) in a Windsor maiden race. In the interim, Prince Khalid had also notched a first Royal Ascot win with Abeer (Dewan) in the G3 Queen Mary S. in addition to Known Fact’s scores at two in the Mill Reef S. and Middle Park S. On the occasion of Known Fact’s Guineas victory, Prince Khalid became the first Arab owner to win a British Classic, a realm in which he went on to garner plenty of competition, with the Maktoum family making their entrance to the sport only a short time later.

Known Fact went on to win the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. and earn champion miler honors for trainer Jeremy Tree before retiring as a foundation sire to Juddmonte’s nursery in Wargrave-upon-Thames in Berkshire. He relocated in 1987 to Juddmonte’s American division at the former Belair Farm south of Lexington, which Prince Khalid had purchased in 1982. Known Fact’s stud career was highlighted by Gerald Leigh’s champion miler Markofdistinction (GB) and Warning (GB), a top 2-year-old who went on to win the G1 Sussex S. and Queen Elizabeth II S. for Prince Khalid and sire five Group 1 winners from Banstead Manor Stud.

In the meantime, the fillies recruited during Prince Khalid’s formative years as an owner were sowing the seeds of a broodmare band of nearly unprecedented proportions. Prince Khalid’s first homebred winner came in the form of Fine Edge (GB) at Newmarket in 1982. The prior year, Prince Khalid had privately purchased Slightly Dangerous (Roberto) after she had won the G3 Fred Darling S. at two for trainer Barry Hills, and she became the dam of Prince Khalid’s dual Group 1 winner Warning as well as Prince Khalid’s 1993 Derby winner Commander In Chief (GB), by his great G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Dancing Brave (Lyphard). Slightly Dangerous also left behind the Group 2 winner and sire Dushyantor (Sadler’s Wells) and the GI Flower Bowl scorer and multiple Classic-placed Yashmak (Danzig), herself the dam of G1 Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Full Mast (Mizzen Mast).

Other fillies accrued during this era whose names still feature in the pedigrees of Juddmonte-bred luminaries today include Monroe (Sir Ivor, out of Best In Show), whose descendants include Prince Khalid’s Logician (GB), Xaar (GB), Bated Breath (GB), Cityscape (GB) and Close Hatches; and Sookera (Roberto), who among many other notable stakes winners is the second dam of Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}), who produced a remarkable five homebred Grade/Group 1 winners for Prince Khalid-Champs Elysees (GB), Intercontinential (GB), Banks Hill (GB), Cacique (Ire) and Heat Haze (GB). All bar Heat Haze (Green Desert) were by another Prince Khalid homebred, Danehill (Danzig). Champs Elysees and Cacique both stood at Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor Stud alongside their full-brother Dansili (GB). Frankel (GB) is a great-grandson of Rockfest (Stage Door Johnny), who was purchased from Jock Whitney, while Enable’s fourth dam Fleet Girl (Ire) (Habitat) was part of a handful of mares that were included in the Belair Farm deal. Prince Khalid purchased Mofida (GB) (Right Tack {GB}) in foal to The Minstrel from Robert Sangster in 1981. The resulting filly was Zaizafon, who would produce the sires Zafonic and Zamindar. The stakes-winning Bahamian (Ire) (Mill Reef) was a 310,000gns yearling purchase in 1986, and she went on to produce the G1 Irish Oaks winner Wemyss Bight (GB) (Dancing Brave) and is the ancestress of two of Juddmonte’s best sires, Oasis Dream (GB) and Kingman (GB).

All the while as his homebred stock began to step out, Prince Khalid continued to supplement his program with yearlings purchased at the sales. Pivotal among those was Rainbow Quest (Blushing Groom {Fr}), from the family of Slightly Dangerous and bought by James Delahooke for $950,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s July Yearling Sale in 1982. Rainbow Quest was good for Jeremy Tree at two and three but blossomed into a champion at four to win the G1 Coronation Cup and the Arc. Rainbow Quest was honored by Timeform as the first horse since Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard (GB) to earn a rating of at least 130 at ages two, three and four.

Prince Khalid had purchased Banstead Manor Stud near Newmarket in 1987, and thus Rainbow Quest was the perfect candidate to be its foundation sire. Rainbow Quest was an immediate hit, siring three Group 1 winners from his first crop including Quest For Fame (GB), who won the 1990 Derby for Khalid Abdullah and Roger Charlton and was the first of three winners of the blue riband for his owner, later joined by Commander In Chief (GB) (Dancing Brave) for Sir Henry Cecil in 1993 and Workforce (GB) (King’s Best) in 2010 for Sir Michael Stoute.

As Rainbow Quest was fulfilling his prophecy on the racecourse, Delahooke ventured back to Kentucky for the Keeneland July Sale in 1984, where he selected a bay son of Lyphard for $200,000. Put into training at two with Guy Harwood, the colt named Dancing Brave won a pair of conditions races at two, and while Prince Khalid also campaigned that year’s G1 William Hill Futurity winner Bakharoff (The Minstrel), it was no secret who was regarded as the better. Dancing Brave fulfilled all the hopes and expectations placed on him at three, taking the 2000 Guineas, Eclipse S., King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. and the Arc. His only losses came in the Derby after a luckless run and the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf. Dancing Brave was unanimously voted the 1986 Horse of the Year.

Dancing Brave took up residence at Darley’s Dalham Hall, where Prince Khalid supported him with great success, breeding the 1993 Derby winner Commander In Chief and the same year’s Irish Oaks victress Wemyss Bight.

While that accomplishment was excellent on its own merits, Dancing Brave’s record as a sire paled in comparison to what Prince Khalid achieved with another colt sent away from home to stand at stud: Danehill. Bred by Prince Khalid out of Razyana (His Majesty), Danehill was placed in the 2000 Guineas before winning the G3 Cork and Orrery S. (now the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot) and the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup for Jeremy Tree. Danehill was snapped up for a wildly successful transcontinental shuttle career by Coolmore; his record of 84 Group 1 winners was surpassed just last year by Galileo (Ire). Like Dancing Brave, Juddmonte patronised Danehill plenty, their many stakes winners by the sire including Frankel’s listed-winning dam Kind (Ire).

With the retirement of Jeremy Tree in the 1989, a handful of trainers came to the fore who would be pivotal in shaping the Juddmonte dynasty, including Tree’s Beckhampton successor Roger Charlton, who enjoyed immediate success with G1 Prix du Jockey Club scorer Sanglamore and Derby victor Quest For Fame in the same season; and Andre Fabre, whose standouts in the pink, white and green were headed by the Classic and four-time Group 1 winner Zafonic. But the two training titans most closely associated with Prince Khalid in the post-Tree era were Sir Henry Cecil and Bobby Frankel. And while the two men could hardly be more different by nature, they will be inextricably linked in history by the greatest horse that Prince Khalid-and, perhaps, anyone-ever produced.

A common feature of Prince Khalid’s racing program was his enjoyment and patronage of American racing, and in addition to those he bred in Kentucky, Prince Khalid sent many a European-trained runner across the Atlantic to try their hand on the American turf. John Gosden, who has now trained for Prince Khalid for nearly 40 years, was the recipient of many of those runners when based in California in the 1980s, and upon his return to Newmarket it was the New Yorker Bobby Frankel who was the main beneficiary. Incidentally, one of the most influential mares to come through Prince Khalid’s program started out in Europe with Gosden before later joining Frankel in California. Her name was Toussaud (El Gran Senor), and she won the GI Gamely H. before throwing four Grade I winners headed by GI Belmont S. winner and sire Empire Maker (Unbridled)-his 13 Grade I winners as a sire include Juddmonte’s four-time top-level winner Emollient–and Honest Lady (Seattle Slew), who is also the dam of First Defence, who in turn sired Prince Khalid’s 2020 G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Siskin as well as five-time Grade I winner Close Hatches. Other Juddmonte standouts trained by Frankel included Sightseek (Distant View), Exbourne (Explodent), Marquetry (Conquistador Cielo), Ventura (Chester House), Midships (Mizzen Mast) and Champs Elysees.

When Bobby Frankel died in 2009, Khalid Abdullah set out to select a colt of the highest quality to name in his honor. The man that would have the honor of training the colt was Sir Henry Cecil, who had already repaid Prince Khalid’s patronage with the 1993 Derby victory of Commander In Chief, the 1997 Oaks score of Reams Of Verse and the 1000 Guineas win of Wince in 1999, as well as multiple Group 1 winners like Passage Of Time (GB), Midday (GB) and Twice Over (GB) into the 21st century. But the horse for whom they will both be best remembered hadn’t yet stepped foot on a racecourse. But he was well worth the wait.

A third generation Juddmonte homebred by Galileo, Frankel (Ire) set the stage with a four-race undefeated juvenile campaign in 2010, but few likely could have predicted, or dared to dream of, what would come next. After winning the G3 Greenham S. by four lengths, Frankel took control of the 2000 Guineas from the break and sprinted the mile on a loose rein, winning by a jaw-dropping six lengths. He would go on to add the G1 St James’s Palace S., G1 Sussex S. and G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. by season’s end. After absolutely thrashing the opposition in the G1 Lockinge S., G1 Queen Anne S. and the Sussex the following summer, he stepped up in trip to similarly dominate the G1 Juddmonte International and the G1 Champion S. Frankel is said to have been the exact dose of medicine Sir Henry needed while battling cancer, and the beloved Newmarket trainer sadly died a year and a half after Frankel left his care on June 11, 2013. Frankel is the horse that both Cecil and Abdullah will be best remembered for. But one thing Prince Khalid will never be forgotten for among racing circles is how he stood by Cecil through thick and thin, including his well documented personal and professional struggles of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Prince Khalid’s embarrassment of success on the racecourse is the mark of his success in sport and business. His fierce belief in and loyalty to a man that had served him so well is the sign of the true honour with which he conducted himself.

Just like his trainer and now his owner, Frankel’s legacy lives on and continues to build; he has made an explosive start at stud and his Group 1 winners include Khalid Abdullah homebreds Logician (GB), winner of the 2019 G1 St Leger for John Gosden, and Quadrilateral (GB), the champion 2-year-old filly of 2019 trained by Roger Charlton at Beckhampton, right back where it all began.

As Frankel was quietly building up to his racecourse debut in 2010, Workforce was working his way through a memorable 3-year-old campaign for Prince Khalid from the yard of Sir Michael Stoute. In May he handed his breeder his third win in the Derby in just his third start, and he would become Prince Khalid’s fourth Arc winner, joining Rainbow Quest (1985), Dancing Brave (1986) and Rail Link (GB) (Dansili {GB}) (2006). The Prince came desperately close to getting another when Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) finished runner-up in both 2014 and 2015 in the midst of a campaign that saw him win five Grade/Group 1s in three different countries. At the same time, Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was stringing together a stellar 3-year-old campaign for John Gosden in 2014, winning the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas, G1 St James’s Palace S., G1 Sussex S. and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and earning Cartier Horse of the Year honours. Like Frankel, he has made an excellent start to his stud career, with three Group 1 winners including last year’s Cartier champion 3-year-old Palace Pier (GB).

Meanwhile, the career of another Juddmonte superstar was budding in the U.S. Following the death of Bobby Frankel, Prince Khalid spread his American-based horses mostly among Bob Baffert and Chad Brown, and in addition put in place a new business plan that saw him supplement his homebred program with a handful of colts purchased at auction and bred for the top dirt races. His team spent $560,000 at Keeneland September in 2014 on a grey colt by Unbridled’s Song that they dispatched to Baffert. After quietly building up the colt with a gradual introduction in Southern California, Baffert sent Arrogate to Saratoga for his stakes debut in the GI Travers in 2016. Arrogate absolutely demolished the opposition in track record time at 11-1, and built on that effort with sublime performances in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, GI Pegasus World Cup and GI Dubai World Cup, in the latter stumbling out of the gate and sitting last before circling the entire field. Arrogate will be represented by his first runners this year, and if he passes a modicum of his talent onto his progeny his untimely death last June at the age of seven will prove a huge blow.

By the time Arrogate’s racing career was winding down in the autumn of 2017, Prince Khalid had yet another superstar very much out in the open in Europe with Gosden. Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) had made her considerable talent well known with a five-length romp in the G1 Epsom Oaks, and by season’s end had compiled a glowing record after adding wins in the G1 Irish Oaks, G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., G1 Yorkshire Oaks and the Arc. It is a nod to just how remarkable Enable was, however, that by the time she retired from racing another three last years later last autumn, those lofty 3-year-old accomplishments seemed a distant memory. After missing most of her 4-year-old campaign due to setbacks, Enable pulled off an incredible Arc double off just one prep race before shipping to Churchill Downs to take the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf on the same card that Prince Khalid won the GI Mile with another homebred, Expert Eye (GB). A much more traditional campaign at five saw Enable take the G1 Coral-Eclipse, and a second King George and Yorkshire Oaks, but the very soft going likely contributed to her unraveling in the very late stages of her third Arc attempt and succumbing to Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

It was widely assumed that Enable would now be headed off to join Prince Khalid’s broodmare band, his decision in keeping his precious mare in training until five being such a sporting one. But in confirming that Enable would try once again for a historic third Arc in 2020, Prince Khalid laid bare his love for the sport that had been so good to him, and he it. Enable indeed did record a historic treble, but it was in the King George, with the great mare managing just sixth in another soft-ground Arc on Oct. 4. She was retired thereafter with 15 wins from 19 starts, including 11 Group 1s, and earnings of over £9.6-million. She is set to visit Kingman for her first mating this spring.

That resulting foal, the progeny of two Horses of the Year, will be incredibly anticipated by many. Such is the breadth of Prince Khalid bin Abdullah’s Juddmonte legacy, however, that he or she will be but one small bud on a towering oak that branches off in so many directions. Today, Juddmonte stands six Grade/Group 1 winners and/or sires in two countries. Its consignments of fillies and mares at Tattersalls, annually without fail, draws a vibrant international crowd ringside, all intoxicated by the notion that they may be able to capture a small piece of that Juddmonte magic for themselves. Many have.

The enormity of the loss of His Highness Prince Khalid bin Abdullah to the global Thoroughbred industry is immeasurable. He was a sportsman who loved the game of racing and breeding and the challenge of matching up his homebreds to produce superior athletes. It is quite possible we will never again see his equal. But as many of Prince Khalid’s lines continue to grow strong after 40 years, it is likely we will be paying homage to him for many generations to come.

Charlton Leads Tributes To Prince Khalid Abdullah

Roger Charlton, who trained Quest For Fame (GB) and Sanglamore to win the Derby and Prix du Jockey Club for Juddmonte in 1990, said on Sky Sports Racing, “I think the whole of the racing industry appreciates what Prince Khalid achieved with Juddmonte Farms. Life is full of luck and being in the right place at the right time and how lucky was I? He was a wonderful owner to deal with and I owe him everything. It’s a huge loss.

“He was always a great pleasure to talk to before a race and/or after a race, and of course he was hugely knowledgeable. He had huge passion for it and I think that’s really important. Any owner/breeder goes through rough patches, bad horses, bad stallions, but his passion was always there right to the end. It was marvellous that he had horses like Arrogate, Kingman, Frankel and Enable towards the end. It was a real testament to a fantastic operation.

“Generally speaking it’s fair to say that every trainer, jockey, breeder and owner in this country had immense respect for Prince Khalid. I don’t think too many people ever found fault with what he did. He was generous, in sponsoring some great races as well as owning horses. His life was full of great credit and he was very humble.

“He was a colossal contributor to racing. I shall personally miss him a lot and I’m forever grateful that I’ve been able to train the horses that I have.”

John Gosden, trainer of Enable (GB), Kingman (GB) and Oasis Dream (GB), reflected, “He sparked an interest going racing in Paris in the 1950s and then some 15 or 20 years later decided to set up a breeding operation with Jeremy Tree as his advisor. What he created in the first 20 years, never mind 40 years, is beyond extraordinary, and to be a leading owner in Europe and America within the period he did it speaks bounds for his knowledge and his strategic approach. He knew the pedigrees of his horses inside out—you could never catch him out on pedigrees.

“He was the most charming man. He was incredibly humorous, steely, tough— you’d better be on your mettle with him—but the most amazing man to train for. We all had an awful lot of fun together because he enjoyed being with the horses. It was his passion and he always referred to it as his one great luxury.

“Prince Khalid wasn’t particularly well while Kingman was racing but he was in Deauville when he won the Jacques le Marois. He didn’t come to the races but he came to the stables a couple of hours later and we stood the horse up for him  and he stood there and looked at the horse, walked around him and patted him. He had the most wonderful affinity with horses. With Enable, he saw her in the Arc in 2018 and he enjoyed that very much but he was quite fragile by that stage and we never saw him at the races after that, but he watched every race on television.”

Dermot Weld, trainer of Emulous (GB) and Famous Name (GB), said, “I’d like to extend my sympathy firstly to his family. He is a huge loss to the racing industry because  he was one of the pillars of the breeding industry in the world for the last 50 years. He was the man who raced Frankel, Kingman, Enable, and he gave us though this brilliance these wonderful horses to enjoy.

“Two words I’d like to say: when you talk about Juddmonte you talk about excellence, and when you talk about Prince Khalid you talk about loyalty. In this changing world this was a great quality that shone out from the man.”

Bob Baffert, trainer of Breeders’ Cup Classic and Dubai World Cup winner Arrogate, told Sky Sports Racing, “He was definitely one of the titans of racing. He was such a gentleman, a really low-key kind of guy who trusted his trainers. The biggest compliment a horse trainer in America could get is if he wanted you to train his horses.”

Lady Jane Cecil, trainer of G1 Champion S. winner Noble Mission (GB), reflected on the longstanding relationship between Prince Khalid and her late husband, Sir Henry Cecil. She said, “They had a special friendship which meant a great deal to Henry. They were very different but they got on very well and I think Henry amused the Prince.

“[The Prince] was so loyal. Imagine him allowing me to train Noble Mission. He’s Frankel’s full-brother and with him allowing me to do that, and being loyal and supportive, which of course was an extension of his loyalty to Henry, it meant that Warren Place had that fantastic day at Ascot which will live with me forever.”

Frankie Dettori: “He was a great of the sport. I had one of my early Group 1s aboard a horse he owned called Ryafan in the Prix Marcel Boussac, who was trained by John [Gosden]. He was amazing and a true giant of the sport. You could go on naming all the great horses he has owned, but you would have to say Enable, Frankel and Dancing Brave are the three that stand out.

“Enable will always be the apple of my eye and the last time I saw him was when she won her second Arc. He was a real gentleman and he loved his horses. He was very passionate and knowledgeable about them and the results speak for themselves. What he has done for the whole industry is fantastic.

“Though Enable will always stand out to me, Frankel will always be the best horse that I’ve seen and have had to race against. I went to see Dancing Brave win the 2000 Guineas in 1986–I wasn’t riding then and he was incredible. He was then beaten in that famous Derby before winning the King George and the Arc.

“I grew up in an era watching horses like Dancing Brave win and you were always very excited that one day you might get to wear those silks–ones that had been associated with such great success.”

Tom Queally, rider of Frankel: “I was very fortunate and lucky to ride dozens of pattern race winners for Prince Khalid throughout my career. He was a gentleman to ride for, his Juddmonte operation has been a huge success and leaves a legacy which will live on for a long time. I was very lucky to ride what was arguably his best horse. It was the work of years and years of breeding to produce a horse with the excellence of Frankel.

“His loyalty to Sir Henry Cecil through all the ups and downs was very admirable. That loyal patronage paid off in the best possible way you could have imagined with Frankel. He had a great understanding of horses and was very easy to deal with and very approachable. It’s a sad day and my thoughts go out to his family and friends and everyone that worked for him. I will look back with great pride that I had some involvement with him.”

Andre Fabre: “It’s a great loss for everyone. Personally he had the sort of charm that made you want to do well for him, though he was a quiet man. I was lucky enough to train a lot of great horses for him. Above all, he was a man that everyone respected and loved. It is bad news.

Chad Brown via Twitter: “Prince Khalid was the definition of class and sportsmanship. It was one of the greatest honors of my life to be asked to train horses for him…the phone call every trainer has dreamed of getting. He raised the bar to unthinkable heights, always putting the horse first. RIP.”

Statement from Breeders’ Cup: “Prince Khalid bin Abdullah was one of the world’s most passionate and influential leaders in Thoroughbred racing and breeding, and one who exemplified great dignity and class. Prince Khalid was an early advocate and staunch supporter of the Breeders’ Cup program and became one of its most ardent and successful owners. Under the banner of Juddmonte Farms, racing fans were thrilled by the magnificent performances of Arrogate and Enable, among the Prince’s seven Breeders’ Cup champions, and by the brilliance of Frankel, and many others on the international scene. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to his dedicated management and staff.”

Statement from Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson: “Thoroughbred racing and breeding icons like Prince Khalid bin Abdullah are few and far between. For decades, the Juddmonte Farms racing and breeding operation has represented top-class on an international stage thanks to the vision and dedication of Prince Khalid. His unforgettable pink, green and white silks made numerous trips to the Churchill Downs winner’s circle with regally-bred horses–from 2001 Kentucky Oaks winner Flute to 2018 Breeders’ Cup Turf champion Enable–and they are fondly remembered by the Churchill Downs family as part of his significant legacy.”

Statement from National Thoroughbred Racing Association President Alex Waldrop: “The contributions of Prince Khalid bin Abdullah to the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry over the past 40 years will be felt for generations to come. From Empire Maker to Frankel to Enable, his operation produced many of this sport’s all-time greats who carried his famous green, pink and white silks to victory in the world’s most prestigious races. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and the entire Juddmonte Farms team.”

Keeneland President and Chief Executive Officer Shannon Arvin: “Prince Khalid bin Abdullah was foremost a man of extraordinary class, and the excellence he achieved in Thoroughbred racing and breeding globally will continue to influence the breed for generations. Though he was a major presence on the international stage, we at Keeneland treasure the long friendship we enjoyed with Prince Khalid. His Juddmonte Farms is a prominent consignor and buyer at Keeneland sales, where he bought Known Fact, one of his earliest classic winners, at the 1978 July Selected Yearling Sale, and purchased his champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate at the 2014 September Yearling Sale. Juddmonte Farms has also strongly supported Keeneland’s philanthropic mission and its racing program as sponsor of the Grade I Juddmonte Spinster since 2005. Prince Khalid’s distinctive pink, green and white silks have been carried to numerous wins at Keeneland, earning for him a Keeneland Tray as part of the track’s distinguished Milestone Trophy Program. On behalf of Keeneland, we extend our deepest condolences to Prince Khalid’s family and the entire Juddmonte Farms team.”

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