Mutasaabeq: So Good They Named Him Twice

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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Stradivarius Begins Stud Career at £10,000

The latest addition to the National Stud roster, seven-time Group 1-winning stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), will stand for an opening fee of £10,000.

He joins Time Test (GB), whose fee is unchanged at £15,000, while Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) will also remain at his fee of £8,500 as he embarks on his second season at stud.

Rajasinghe (Ire), who has a strike-rate of 67% winners to runners from his first crop of juveniles this year, is also unchanged at £3,000.

“Time Test has had a steady stream of high-quality winners throughout the year, his biggest and best quality books are still to come and we are very excited about what the future for him,” said the National Stud's head of bloodstock Joe Bradley.

“Lope Y Fernandez was very well received by breeders covering a stellar first book of 134 mares in his first season. As the only son of Lope De Vega standing in the UK, he provides access to one of the best international sire lines at a very attractive price. The partnership involved has such faith in the horse and we are now very excited to see his first foals in 2023.”

He added, “It is a privilege to welcome Stradivarius to The National Stud's roster for 2023. His exhilarating turn of foot, soundness and will to win all combined to make him a true icon of the modern racing era.”

 

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Breeding Right To Time Test Sells For 115,000gns

A breeding right to Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who sired four stakes winners last year in his first season with runners, was purchased by Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock on the Tattersalls Online platform on Wednesday for 115,000gns. The breeding right entitles the buyer, an unnamed client of the Doyles', to breed one mare to Time Test each season that he stands at The National Stud.

Time Test, who was himself a dual Group 2 winner and multiple Group 1-placed, sired black-type winners at a rate of 9.3% last year. He stands at The National Stud for £15,000. He stood for £8,500 his first four seasons.

Ross Doyle said, “He's a young sire going places, by a top sire in Dubawi out of a well-bred Dansili mare, which we love. It sounds like he's got a serious book of mares lined up for this season on the back of his stats and the physicals of his foals and yearlings on show at the recent sales. The team at the National Stud continue to do a great job with him. We have bought it for a client who will support him with a very nice mare.”

A breeding right to Time Test's National Stud barnmate Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), who enters stud in 2022, was sold to Dwayne Woods of Brook Stud for 24,000gns. The Lope Y Fernandez breeding right entitles the owner to one mare per year, plus an additional mare in 2023, 2024 or 2025.

“I had the pleasure of seeing Lope Y Fernandez recently and thought he had let down into a lovely stallion,” said Woods. “He is a great walker and lovely type and an exciting young stallion, and Brook Stud are looking forward to supporting him.”

A breeding right to A'Ali (Ire), who enters stud next year at Newsells Park Stud, was sold to Laurence Gleeson of Aughamore Stud for 22,000gns. It entitles the owner to breed one mare per year plus an additional mare each year from 2022 through 2025.

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National Stud New Boy Is Poetry In Motion 

The real Lope de Vega, dubbed the Spanish Shakespeare, was as prolific a playwright and poet as he was a lover, and is believed to have fathered about 15 children, some legitimate, others not so. 

That's small fry for a stallion, of course, and the horse who has carried his name with such distinction, both on the racecourse and at stud, could well end up with at least that many sons following him to stud. So far, in Ireland, he is represented by Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) and Lucky Vega (Ire), who has joined the former at the Irish National Stud this season, as well as Darley's Belardo (Ire), the stand-out member of his sire's first crop. In Newmarket, the National Stud has welcomed its own son of Lope De Vega (Ire) in Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), who drew plenty of praise when shown to the public during last year's December Sales. 

In fact, it is fair to say that Lope Y Fernandez had his fair share of admirers almost from the start, for he commanded a price of €900,000 as a yearling when offered by Ballylinch Stud on behalf of breeder SF Bloodstock at the Arqana August Yearling Sale. MV Magnier was the buyer, and off the handsome dark brown colt went back to Ireland to join the bluebloods at Ballydoyle. 

An easy-moving sort himself, Lope De Vega does appear to pass on this swagger to his offspring, and it was this aspect of Lope Y Fernandez, as he prowled about the National Stud's stallion unit, that had visitors talking during the early viewing rounds. 

“He does just does stand out from the crowd, and he's an amazing-looking horse,” says Jamie Jackson, who is himself also in a new role, if not completely new, at the National Stud. Previously assistant to Joe Callan, who has taken up the position of interim general manager at Market Rasen racecourse, Jackson has recently been appointed nominations manager, and his job is being made a little easier when it comes to selling the stud's new recruit. 

“He's got an exceptional walk,” Jackson continues as he watches the dark brown stallion take a turn alongside his handler Luke Strong. “He's just such a well-balanced horse; he's an oil painting.”

A winner on debut at two, Lope Y Fernandez was then placed second and third behind Pinatubo (Ire) in his next two starts in the Chesham S. at Royal Ascot and G2 Vintage S. at Glorious Goodwood. The Vintage S. had been won the previous year by his half-brother Dark Vision (Ire) (Dream Ahead), and their dam, the five-time winner and listed-placed Black Dahlia (GB) (Dansili {GB}), has also produced the stakes-placed Al Hayyah (Ire), a full-brother to Lope Y Fernandez. 

The latter, who landed his own group honours in the G3 Round Tower S. as a juvenile, went on to a 3-year-old campaign which can perhaps be described as frustratingly consistent, with four Group/Grade 1 placings in the Irish 2000 Guineas, Prix Jean Prat, Prix Maurice de Gheest, and Breeders' Cup Mile. At four he returned to win the Listed Heritage S. and was second again at the highest level behind Palace Pier (GB) in the Queen Anne S.

Lope Y Fernandez demonstrated a good deal of speed and, encouragingly, for those breeders who still like to see hardiness demonstrated on the racecourse, his dam ran 42 times, while her dam, South Rock (GB), was also a multiple winner, including at listed level, and is by the similarly hardly Rock City (GB), whose name is not seen too often in pedigrees these days but won the G2 Gimcrack S. among his five group wins for Richard Hannon Sr.

Now embarking on his first season at stud, Lope Y Fernandez has an interesting four-strong syndicate behind him, with Coolmore retaining an interest, and the National Stud teaming up with Whitsbury Manor Stud and successful racing syndicator and breeder Nick Bradley to complete his diverse ownership group. 

Jackson continues, “We were looking for a new stallion off the back of a good season with Time Test (GB) and Aclaim (Ire). We need to keep the ball rolling, and obviously ride the waves. We had Lope Y Fernandez on our radar for a good while, and obviously Ed Harper had the same idea at Whitsbury Manor. We managed to acquire him together and it's great that Coolmore kept an interest, and Nick Bradley also got involved through Ed.”

He adds, “For us to compete and be involved with the game against all the competitors we have, I think it's a great idea moving forward and something we'd love to explore more. It's a great initiative and it gives him every chance to be successful and be very well supported with good mares.”

The stallion career of Lope Y Fernandez is to be structured in the same way as Time Test, who sired four stakes winners from his first crop of runners in 2021 and was one of the most sought-after young stallions at last year's sales. His book is already full, and the team at the National Stud has also been fielding plenty of interest in Lope Y Fernandez. 

“We've released 40 breeding rights for him and they have been very popular,” Jackson notes. “We've had some very good mares pencilled in already, with a half-sister to Showcasing (GB), a full-sister to the Tin Man (GB), and a half to Kodi Bear (Ire).”

Jackson, 25, already has a good relationship with Whitsbury Manor Stud, where he started working five years ago before completing the BHA Graduate Scheme.

“I had no horse-handling experience,” he recalls. “I just thought I'd go there for a summer and then off the back of that thought, 'this is exactly what I want to do'. I applied for the grad scheme and very luckily got placed here at the National Stud for eight weeks. Now, two and a half years later, I'm still here. I've seen the Time Test and Aclaim foals come all the way through to be successful racehorses. They have every chance to be 3-year-olds as well.

“The stud at the moment is on a massive upward trajectory. Time Test had an amazing season and is looking to cover his biggest and best book ever with some dams of Classic winners, and Classic winners themselves, which is unbelievable. Aclaim was one of the leading first-seasåon sires, the first foals of Advertise (GB) were very well received and have gone to some good homes. Rajasinghe (Ire) will have his first 2-year-olds and he will have every chance. He was a fantastic son of Choisir (Aus) and won the Coventry in record time.”

Clearly, confidence abounds at the National Stud, which welcomed a new chairman, Lord Grimthorpe, at the end of last year, and has, in the Juddmonte-bred Time Test, an in-demand stallion who links Grimthorpe to his predecessor, the late Duke of Roxburghe, who was insistent that the farm should stand the Juddmonte-bred son of Dubawi (Ire). The National Stud stallion unit is now named in the duke's memory, and there could be no more fitting a tribute to the passionate owner-breeder than if at least one of the current young incumbents could rise to the ranks of the elite.

For those breeders who missed the chance to see Lope Y Fernandez in December, he will be on one of 12 stallions on show at Tattersalls for the TBA Stallion Parade just ahead of the February Sale on on Thursday, Feb. 3.

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