Transatlantic travellers will have to mind their suffixes when the first foals and yearlings of Mutasaabeq start appearing. 'Our' Mutasaabeq – note his (GB) suffix – is a son of the Irish National Stud's long-serving and influential Invincible Sprit (Ire) and has just retired to the National Stud in Newmarket.
In America, the other Mutasaabeq of the same vintage was bought by Shadwell for $425,000 and is by Into Mischief. Winner of the GII Bourbon S. and placed in the GI Hopeful S., he is about to embark on his first season at stud at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida.
But let's return to Shadwell's homebred Mutasaabeq (GB). His seven wins, including three Group 2s, from 17 starts tell of an honourable racing career for Charlie Hills. Not one at the absolute highest echelon, but admirable and consistent nonetheless, conducted over four seasons, during which he showed a distinctive love of Newmarket's Rowley Mile. Perhaps that was ingrained in his DNA, because Mutasaabeq is out of the record-breaking 1,000 Guineas winner Ghanaati (Giant's Causeway). Her half-sister Rumoush (Rahy) won the Listed Feilden S. at the track before running third in the Oaks, and half-brother Mawatheeq (Danzig) was beaten only half a length by Twice Over (GB) in the G1 Champion S. when it was still run at its rightful home of Newmarket.
It doesn't stop there, of course, because this is Shadwell's signature family, which blossomed for Sheikh Hamdan after his purchase of Ghanaati's granddam Height Of Fashion (Fr) (Bustino {GB}) from the late Queen more than 40 years ago.
Height Of Fashion's celebrated offspring include the stallions Nashwan, Unfuwain and Nayef, as well as Ghanaati's dam Sarayir (Mr Prospector), who also had a fondness for the Rowley Mile, where she won the Oh So Sharp S. Go back another generation from the multiple group winner Height Of Fashion and you find another 1,000 Guineas winner, Queen Elizabeth II's Highclere (GB) (Queen's Hussar {GB}). There is yet another one, King George VI's Hypericum (GB) (Hyperion {GB}), two generations back again.
Recent recruits to the global stallions ranks who share this family are the brothers Baaeed (GB) and Hukum (Ire). In short, Mutasaabeq is regally bred in every sense of the word.
“Mutasaabeq was raced by Shadwell, so we're very grateful to Sheikha Hissa to be able to have the opportunity to purchase a horse of his calibre,” says the National Stud's head of bloodstock Joe Bradley. “He was incredibly well performed, has a sensational pedigree, and for us, placing him at the right price point was was key to everything.”
That price is £6,500, and Mutasaabeq joins the stud at a time when expectations are high. Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), who had 40 of first foals sell for an average just shy of £22,000, roughly two and a half times his fee, has his first yearlings on show next year, while the first foals of Stradivarius (Ire) will start to appear from next month.
Mutasaabeq, who is rising six, did all of his racing between 7f and 8.5f, winning his only start at two – at Newmarket, where else? – and then landing a conditions race on his three-year-old debut before bouncing straight into the 2,000 Guineas, in which he finished midfield. His four-year-old season was speckled with group placings until he landed the G2 Al Basti Equiworld Joel S., a race he returned to win this year for the second time, having kicked off his final season in training with victory over Goldolphin's Classic winner Native Trail (GB) in the G2 Bet365 Mile.
Bradley says, “I think his record really speaks volumes for the horse. Invincible Spirit is such a sensational stallion that gets plenty of two-year-old winners. But really, I think if you look at profiles of his progeny, they always train on and that's vital to what we're doing here, and to the industry as a whole, to have that longevity. “He was a two-year-old winner who really came to the fore as an older horse. At four in the Joel Stakes, he made all that day, which became a trend in his races this year. On a seasonal debut in the Bet365 Mile Group, he beat Group 1 performers that day by three lengths. That was a sensational performance, if you look back on it.
“And to be able to finish his racing career with a group victory is something that that really stood out to us. His highest rating this year is 120, so he's really proved that he's one of the best colts of his generation.”
The National Studs of England and Ireland are both more than just stallion and boarding farms. Both are centres of excellence when it comes to providing tailored education for those wanting to work in the bloodstock industry. In Newmarket, the training courses have been reimagined of late in order to adapt to changing working practices. That includes a shift in the calendar for the 'Level 3' Stud Management and Sales Consigning course, which takes place over 26 weeks.
Anna Kerr, the chief executive officer of the National Stud, explains, “One of the biggest shifts in the last 18 to 24 months has been that we are consciously trying to make the education programme more flexible for people, because we are living in a world where there is a requirement to be more flexible. Previously our diploma students were leaving in June and would be going straight to the yearling prep and quite a few of them wouldn't have had done yearling prep before coming to us, which is quite a crucial part of the handling. So we moved the start date of the course forward to mid-September and it now runs to mid-April. The students come in, their learning curve is quite steep, but we always see that when students immerse themselves in the environment, they learn so quickly.”
She continues, “They all did paid work placements at the yearling sales or foal sales this year. Some employers were a bit nervous initially, but once they saw the calibre and the the standard that they were bringing, they were in very high demand then for December. A couple of them got offers to go to Goffs as well.
“The feedback has been really positive. When the students come in, they're not just mucking out for six months, they're immersed in that whole excitement of the sales season and seeing what the end product is and then going on and really having their skills honed during the breeding season. We're really pleased with how it's going thus far.”
There is even greater flexibility in the eight-week 'Level 2' Entry to Stud Employment Course, run in conjunction with the TBA, and after which students are guaranteed a paid placement with a stud over six to nine months.
“With Level 2, there isn't a dedicated start date for that in the same way that there was previously,” says Kerr. “So people can come in to that course any time. Again, that's working well. It's just so that if someone comes to us and wants to enrol in something you're not saying, 'Okay, that's great, come back to us in October.' You're actually saying, 'Yeah, you can start tomorrow.' We can get them in and get them going quite quickly.
“They work alongside the stud team, and there'll always be about three or four students at a time. When we had big groups of 15 to 20 coming through the attrition rate was high, but once you can get them through the training, the retention is very solid within industry. It's about 81% retention for the last five years of our graduates.”
She adds, “And all the qualifications are deliverable in the workplace. If there are employers who want to upskill their workforce, they can register with us and the training can be delivered in the workplace so they don't have to lose their staff to a residential course.
“We need people and we need to develop the workplace culture so that they're being looked after in the right way.”
Another new venture for the National Stud, or rather a return to previous ways, is its investment in a select number of broodmares.
“We want to be supporting our own stallions,”says Kerr, who recently bought the Le Havre (Ire) mare Sacred Valley (Fr) for the National Stud at Goffs for €52,000.
“We feel that we not only need to support our stallions, but we also need to be British breeders. They're not only our customers, but also our community. And with the number of British breeders contracting, we think it's ever more important that the National Stud is helping. We need active breeders.
“Last year we bought four and a half new mares, one in partnership with MyRacehorse.com. Our plan is just that each year we would buy at least one mare to support our stallions. Sacred Valley is in foal to Saxon Warrior and she'll be going to Mutasaabeq.”
The aforementioned mare owned in partnership with MyRacehorse is Blackbird Power (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who is one of the 120 mares in the first book of Stradivarius.
“She's carrying a colt and she's due reasonably early. We should have three Stradivarius foals at the stud so we're extremely excited by that,” Kerr notes.
The collective excitement building up to Blackbird Power's first foal is likely to be greater than any other imminent arrival in the country as there are 1,000 micro shareholders involved in the mare.
“The last Saturday of every month we have a My Racehorse tour. Joe does them and he loves it,” says Kerr.
Joe is likely to be very busy indeed when 1,000 owners are clamouring to see the mare's Stradivarius foal in January, but what a fantastic way to spread the excitement of breeding racehorses.
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