Angus Gold: ‘You Could Never Underestimate The Significance Of Baaeed’

In this week's Starfield Stud-sponsored Q&A, Brian Sheerin speaks to the long-standing Shadwell racing manager Angus Gold, who explains why Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), recently crowned the highest-rated turf horse in the world, came along at a hugely important time for the operation and much more.

 

Brian Sheerin: To what degree do you think Baaeed (GB) helped to secure the future of Shadwell given he reached his pomp during a difficult time for the operation?

Angus Gold: I don't think it could be overstated how important Baaeed coming along–and the timing of it–was. It was extraordinary, really, as Sheikh Hamdan spent a lifetime in this business and had been trying to breed these top horses. He sadly died in March but then Baaeed came along in June and turned out to be a real champion. I was quoted on this before and I appreciate it might sound weird to some people but it was almost as if Baaeed had been sent to help his family to take on the mantle and show them what could happen when you get lucky and get a top horse in this sport. The timing of it was extraordinary and very relevant.

Obviously Sheikha Hissa is fascinated and very interested in the business but I'm not sure the rest of her family were as interested as she was from the outset. Racing and breeding was very much Sheikh Hamdan's thing but she was very keen to learn and get involved whereas I'm not so sure the rest of her brothers and sisters shared that enthusiasm. For them to be able to share a horse as good as Baaeed, when they are now all doing it together, I think it was extraordinarily important. To have a proper horse like Baaeed come along, it gave everyone a lift. Everyone was struggling when Sheikh Hamdan died as he was a remarkable man. To go back to it, the timing of Baaeed was hugely significant and you could never underestimate the significance of Baaeed to everyone, and particularly Sheikh Hamdan's family.

 

BS: You could say that the Aga Khan was placed with a similar dilemma when his father died so it's fantastic that Sheikha Hissa has continued the legacy.

AG: It would have been terribly sad if they decided not to continue the legacy. But, let's be realistic, it costs a lot of money to run an operation the size of Shadwell so it was understandable that they didn't want to continue with the numbers that they had before. As well as everything else, it is important that we generate a bit of income to help finance the whole show. With Minzaal (Ire) at Derrinstown, Baaeed at Nunnery, to go with Tasleet (GB), who has had an encouraging start, Eqtidaar (Ire), who we need to try and get more mares to and Mohaather (GB), who has had some nice foals, we can start to get a bit of income in which should offset some of the costs involved in running the operation. That will help them going forward.

 

BS: I saw William Haggas speaking the other day where he mentioned that he felt he ran Baaeed in the wrong race on Champions Day. What way do you look back on Baaeed's career? Is it tinged with regret, like William, or is it more closely related to thanking your lucky stars for coming across what was officially the best turf horse in the world last year.

AG: How could you be disappointed? Maybe William is looking for perfection. I wouldn't say we ran him in the wrong race at all. To me, it was the ground that was against him in the Champion S. Pure and simple. Other people might have different theories but it was very obvious early in the straight at Ascot that it wasn't going to happen. He was struggling and couldn't pick up on that ground.

It's very rare in my experience to find a horse who is as effective on heavy ground as he is on top of the ground. Obviously, Frankel (GB) won on very bad ground, which shows how remarkable he was. But, for me, I would never say it was the wrong race to have run him in. I would have loved to have run him in the Arc because it's the greatest race in the world. But that would have been completely the wrong race to run him in as it turned out with the way the ground came up. I think we ran him in the right race but the conditions went against us.

I always wanted to step this horse up in trip because that is what his pedigree suggested but we didn't get to do it because he kept winning top-class races over a mile. It was his class and his speed that made us keep him over a mile for as long as we did. It wasn't until York until we got the chance to step him up in trip and everyone saw how brilliant he was that day. I was disappointed for the horse. I would have loved had he gone to stud unbeaten. But how could anyone be disappointed with a horse who had done so much for us, the operation and the general public? He won 10 out of 10 before [his] first and only defeat. Not many do that.

 

BS: John Oxx took part in this Q&A at the beginning of the season where he explained how happy he was for Sea The Stars (Ire) to have a top-class miler. I know you are quoted as saying you were surprised by the speed Baaeed possessed given his pedigree. With all of that in mind, what do you think the overriding influence Baaeed will have at stud and what type of mares have been booked in to see him this year?

AG: His pedigree is more middle-distance but, as John said, Sea The Stars had the class to win the 2000 Guineas. Slow horses can't do that. He was an extraordinarily classy horse who was able to carry his speed over a-mile-and-a-half. I was purely surprised by how much speed Baaeed had for his pedigree but, then again, he looked a sharper horse. Physically, he's a strong, powerful horse who looked like he might be more of a shorter runner but then his full-brother [Hukum (Ire)] stays a-mile-and-a-half well. I'm not clever enough to tell you but I would imagine he will breed plenty of middle-distance horses but, equally, if he breeds them like himself, obviously he's going to put a bit of speed into them. I would imagine he will get a selection but I have learned over the years that you should never ignore pedigree and he's by a horse who had the class and speed to win a Guineas but also won a Derby and an Arc and is from a staying female line. I would expect him to get a lot of high-class middle-distance horses, like Frankel and Sea The Stars. If he is half as good as they are, I think we'll be doing alright.

 

BS: You touched on Minzaal. I was at Derrinstown for the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail where nominations manager Joe Behan spoke of the massive buzz that he has created there and how he has proved something of a tonic for the place after the passing of Sheikh Hamdan.

AG: Firstly, we all miss Sheikh Hamdan, and I spoke to him most days in my life. We also missed his guidance and nobody knew what was going to happen after he died. Also, we had to sell a lot of horses in a short space of time when he died. Again, that is not a secret. For Derrinstown, Tamayuz (GB) had just retired so they needed fresh blood and it was lovely to get a horse like Minzaal, a very good sprinter, who will hopefully attract a lot of mares and breathe new life into the place.

 

BS: Was that the thinking behind sending Minzaal to Derrinstown? Was it that there was a void that needed to be filled or did you think that he was a stallion who would do particularly well in Ireland over anywhere else?

AG: I used to say to Sheikh Hamdan that our responsibility is to feed the studs. Whether that's England, Ireland or America, although that is a bit more polarised now, it's imperative that we try and blood new stallions but everyone in the business will tell you hard it is to do that. I've done this job for 36 years now and I've seen how few good horses manage to get retired to stud. It's vital when you have an operation the size of Derrinstown, you need to be getting stallions in there. It was really important and, as Joe said, it should give them all a lift and hopefully we can get a lot of decent mares into him.

 

BS: Speaking about the stallion roster, you must have been thrilled by how Mohaather's first foals were received last year?

AG: I don't like to beef horses up because I am old-fashioned and I prefer to let them do the talking but, in my experience, Mohaather was out of the ordinary as a racehorse. What he did that day in winning the Sussex, I haven't seen a turn of foot like that since Kingman (GB) won the Sussex himself. I think he was a well above average horse. I mean no disrespect, but I think if he was trained by a John Gosden or an Aidan O'Brien, I think more people would have realised how good he was. Just because Marcus Tregoning has a smaller string, I don't think people appreciated what a good horse he was.

He's an important horse for us but you've got to see that transferred and people liking the offspring, and right throughout the year, even before the sales, I kept getting good feedback on the foals he was producing. That was a lovely thing to hear but obviously you want to get to the sales and see them for yourself. I think we saw athletic, strong-bodied foals with a good walk and attitude by him. Physically, they looked the right type, and to see some of the people who bought them was important. It has been a very encouraging start for him.

 

BS: At what point were you given the green light to go and buy yearlings again last year?

AG: There wasn't a point. Sheikha Hissa said to me that she was hoping to come to the sales and, when she did come over, she expressed how she wanted to mainly concentrate on fillies because the stud is the most important thing and we needed to get some fresh blood in. We only bought one colt, who funnily enough is by Showcasing (GB) and is closely-related to Mohaather, but the rest were all fillies. We bought two well-bred fillies for a lot of money in Book 1 and then Sheikha Hissa came back and we bought some more in Book 2. It's going to be a long and slow process building everything back up. We were so lucky last year the way everything came together but obviously we are going to miss the superstar Baaeed this year. We know we are going to be quiet for a while but it was lovely to see Sheikha Hissa's commitment to building the studs back up and hopefully we'll get the odd stallion along the way.

 

BS: You bought a good mixture of yearlings. There were Showcasings and Siyounis (Fr) but you also bought some of the progeny by the unproven stallions as well. Was there a particular type of horse you targeted?

AG: There's never a set policy. Some people say that they don't want to touch horses by unproven sires but Too Darn Hot (GB) is a beautifully-bred horse and was obviously a high-class racehorse. Look, we don't know if they can run but you've got to go with your gut instinct and there's every reason why he'll make a good stallion. We also bought a couple of fillies by Land Force (Ire) who is a beautifully-bred horse who showed plenty of speed. He probably didn't retire to stud with the race record that they would have hoped for initially but he's a very good-looking horse and I loved the stock by him. I see no reason why he won't get runners.

You have to take a chance on some of these things and hope they come off. It's very interesting, I've been in Australia for the past few weeks and I've been keeping an eye on how the Too Darn Hots and Blue Point (Ire)s have been selling. They have sold really well. In a perfect world, you would go with proven stallions, but I have found that over the years we have done well with going for unproven horses. As long as they come within budget and are within reason, you've got to give it a go.

 

BS: You've been Shadwell's racing manager for 36 years. Who would you say have been your biggest influences?

AG: I can never think of a clever answer. I got very lucky in that I started off working in the racing business and then I went to London to work in the city in insurance for four years. I decided that it wasn't for me and I wanted to get back into horses. Michael Osborne, who ran the stud at Sandringham, was good enough to take me on and give me a chance. I spent two seasons there, so he was hugely important in my life and pushed me in the right direction.

You need to get lucky along the way and so many people helped me, including Hubie de Burgh, who interviewed me for the job with Sheikh Hamdan. I was 27 years old when I was interviewed for the job and had absolutely no experience at all. I have just kept my head down and they have let me learn from my mistakes. You just hope to learn from the many top-class people along the way. I've just been very lucky to have worked for such a patient man who was so passionate about the business.

 

BS: It takes a bit more than luck to hold down that position for such a long time. For such a big job, you've clearly had a lot of fun and still do have a lot of fun doing the job.

AG: Sheikh Hamdan was my boss and I did what I was told within reason. If I felt we were doing something wrong, I would tell him. We had a good working relationship and he was passionate. That was probably the best thing of all; the passion he had for racing and breeding. There aren't many people in his position who are willing to put in the time that he did. He used to watch the videos of the mares and foals that he would be sent from America and Ireland and he watched every single race and then go back and watch the replay when he was finished work.

He was the minister for finance, so he was working hard during the day, but he managed to fit in time to keep on top of the whole operation. He was incredibly hands on and every mating went through him. You learn that, the great thing about this game is, once you start to think you know something, something will come along and prove you wrong. You learn never to get too big-headed and to take what comes. You could buy the most beautifully-bred horse for an awful lot of money and it could get a respiratory infection and never be the same again. That's why, when you get a horse like Baaeed, he needs to be celebrated.

I enjoy working with people and was just very lucky to work for a man like Sheikh Hamdan for so many years. Every time I think I'm having a bad day, I think back to the time I was sitting on a tube train going to work in London with a lot of people who hated doing what they were doing for a living, I realise that I am lucky enough to wake up in the morning and go looking at horses on the gallops or do whatever it is that I am doing on a given day. It's been a big lesson in life for me to try and enjoy what you do in life. If you're lucky enough to have something that interests you in this game, you are well ahead of the rest of the field already. We're not curing cancer or doing anything particularly clever. In this case, all we are trying to do is buy and breed horses who run faster than others. I'm still fascinated by it and still love it. I'm very lucky to do something that I do love.

 

BS: When you speak of this game having an unrelenting ability to tame lions, there was a story you shared about Makfi on the TDN Aus Podcast that illustrated best how this game can humble you and how loyal Sheikh Hamdan was as well.

AG: His phrase was, 'we had no luck with this horse.' It was an emotional time for me. I felt very small and felt awful for the people at Derrinstown who bred the horse. I was told to get rid of a lot of 2-year-olds who weren't looking as though they were going to measure up and, at that stage, it didn't look like Makfi was. He came out and made fools of us by winning the 2000 Guineas the following year. It was a huge learning curve but to have Sheikh Hamdan in my corner, and for him to behave in the way that he did, he was unbelievably classy and said, 'we had no luck with this horse now forget about it.'It was the most humbling thing that happened in my professional life. I felt so bad for so many people. I offered to resign at the end of the year and he got very angry. He told me to forget about it and that was the class of the man that he was.

 

BS: Last year proved that life after Sheikh Hamdan is not all doom and gloom for the Shadwell operation. What can we expect to see from Shadwell this year in the sales ring?

AG: It will be built up slowly. We've trimmed it down, as the family wanted, and they are learning. I don't expect to be back buying to the level that we were. Sheikh Hamdan was extraordinary. He supported this business immensely. Even I was taken aback by the amount of horses he would buy and the support he showed people. People like him are one in a million. All I want to do is help Sheikha Hissa and her family for as long as they want me and to build things back up again. I don't mean numbers, I mean quality. I want to get it on a sound footing for them to take forward and enjoy long after I am gone.

 

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‘The Past 12 Months Have Not Been Easy But Minzaal Has Provided A Buzz Again’

Out and about on the opening day of the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail

One of the early highlights of the year for pedigree buffs and casual observers, the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail, got underway with a bang on Friday with heavy footfall reported at over 30 of the stallion farms taking part in the two-day extravaganza. 

The TDN Europe team were out and about in the Kildare area on Friday and visited Kildangan Stud, The Irish National Stud, Yeomanstown Stud and Derrinstown Stud before venturing further south on Saturday. 

Don't let the sunny snaps fool you, Friday was another bitterly cold day, but Night Of Thunder (Ire) warmed the cockles followed by emerging forces Earthlight (Ire) and Ghaiyyath (Ire) at Kildangan Stud. 

In fact, such was the quality on show at Kildangan Stud, nominations manager Eamon Moloney described the current collection of stallions on offer at the Irish arm of the hugely-powerful Darley operation as the best he's seen during his time at the helm.

Moloney said, “We've had good horses here in the past but we have a mix of stallions who are operating at the top of their game, like Teofilo (Ire) and now Night Thunder climbing his way to the top-and you don't know how far he might go-right through to Ghaiyyath, Earthlight and Blue Point (Ire) with his first runners this year. I don't think we've ever had a more exciting roster. “

It was not just the seasoned breeders who turned out in their droves, either, on Friday. Moloney reported a good mixture of industry stakeholders and families searching for an alternative day out to be coming through the gates at Kildangan and predicted Saturday to be even busier. 

He said, “The Thoroughbred Stallion Trail is a very important initiative. It provides you with an opportunity to showcase your new horses and gives everyone a chance to see them in the flesh. A lot of breeders have been here already but they love coming back to see the stallions a second time. There's also a social aspect to the whole thing and the amount of new people who come through the gates for the Thoroughbred Trail-we've even attracted clients who had never been involved in this industry prior to the initiative, so it's very important. “

It won't take a genius to sell Ghaiyyath to breeders. He may be a Dubawi (Ire) and his dam was no giant, but this boy commands attention wherever he goes, with his giant stride and powerful makeup clearly capturing the attention of those in attendance on Friday. 

Moloney commented, “I don't think we had one negative comment on a Ghaiyyath or Earthlight foals. Not one. The Earthlights are just so sharp and strong. I really think they have a huge chance. With Ghaiyyath, people seem to stop and stare at him in silence. His foals are the same-they are very athletic. I think we are in very good shape, to the point that Ghaiyyath will cover his biggest book of mares in his third season, which isn't the normal trend. He's not your typical Dubawi-he has this big walk and has great presence. Those great horses seem to have presence.”

He added, “We've had a good mixture of breeders who are going to be sending us mares and families who are making a day of it viewing the stallions. There are plenty of racing enthusiasts as well, and they love coming to see the horses up close in the flesh, so there's a great mix. It's brilliant.”

“We're very pleased and it has provided us all with a lift here at Derrinstown. He's a Group 1-winning sprinter and was an absolute flying machine as a racehorse so we're all very excited about him,” – Joe Behan. 

Geographically, Kildangan is just over 10 minutes from the Irish National Stud, and many of the same faces made the short journey to see Invincible Spirit (Ire), Lucky Vega (Ire), Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) and more. 

Lucky Vega | INPHO/Morgan Treacy

At 26 years young, Invincible Spirit has been there and done that and is widely recognised as one of the best producers this country has to offer. But standing on the opposite side of the long row of boxes at the beautiful Irish National Stud could be the heir to Invincible Spirit's throne, the powerhouse that is Lucky Vega, who has done extremely well since he retired from racing and is letting down into a bull of a stallion. 

Lucky Vega showed top-class form at two, including when carrying the colours of Yuesheng Zhang to victory in the G1 Phoenix S., and his owner's pursuit of top-class broodmares to support the young stallion was one of the major stories to emerge from 2022. He certainly won't lack for support. 

Nor will Minzaal (Ire). Derrinstown Stud manager Joe Behan admits that the past 12 months have not been easy for anyone working with the operation after the man he affectionately refers to as 'the boss,' Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, passed away. 

However, Group 1-winning sprinter Minzaal is proving a beacon of hope at Derrinstown and is understood to be oversubscribed already such is his popularity among breeders.

Behan explained, “Minzaal is going down very well with all the breeders. There has been nothing but positive comments on him today and he's taking everything in his stride. He's a good model, very correct and makes great use of himself. He has a great walk and has a nice bit of length and scope to him as well. 

“We're very pleased and it has provided us all with a lift here at Derrinstown. He's a Group 1-winning sprinter and was an absolute flying machine as a racehorse so we're all very excited about him.”

He added, “There is a buzz around the place. The past 12 months have not been easy since the boss passed away so, to get that buzz back and have everyone rowing in behind Minzaal now, it means an awful lot. It's great.”

Great, too, is the confidence behind Invincible Army (Ire) at Yeomanstown Stud. Dark Angel (Ire) is still very much the daddy of them all at Yeomanstown but, despite the fact they are facing into one of the hottest years one can remember in terms of the fight for first-season sire honours, the O'Callaghans are predicting big things from Invincible Army this year.

Rob O'Callaghan said, “We're very confident with Invincible Army. He's got great stock coming through and has a lot going for him with over 130 2-year-olds this year. They are well-bred horses and they've got the strength, the action and they have gone to the right homes as well. Karl Burke, Richard Hannon, Ger Lyons, Richard Fahey and Clive Cox have all bought yearlings by him and he's got as good a chance of any of the first-season sires to make a big impression this year. You've got to remember that he was a top-class racehorse and was a Group winner at two, three and four.”

Friday was the only day that Yeomanstown opened their doors to the public and O'Callaghan labelled the initiative as a success before pointing to the fact that many breeders visited with a view towards getting a glimpse at some of the younger sires the stud has to offer. 

He added, “Technically, this is our only day on the Thoroughbred Stallion Trail but we are open every day of the year. We've plenty of shows booked in for tomorrow [Saturday] and the past few weeks have been very busy with showing. We'd a busy morning today with a lot of people starting the Trail here and working their way on to other studs. 

“It's been a good day and we've had a good mixture between breeders and casual visitors. We're glad to have them and it's good to see people enjoying their day. When you have a new stallion it's always busier. Also, a lot of people like to come and see a stallion in his second year at stud to see how they have progressed during the summer.

“These stallions change so much from year one to year two. It's amazing and I think it's important for breeders to come back to see a horse in his second year at stud to get a proper viewing. It's hard to judge a horse straight out of training because they are fit and go to stud off the back of a hard two or three years galloping. When they have had that first year's covering and a summer of grass under their belt, they change a lot.”

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Minzaal Joins Baaeed on Shadwell Roster

G1 Haydock Sprint Cup winner Minzaal (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) has joined the Shadwell stallion roster at Derrinstown Stud in Ireland. The Shadwell team of stallions for 2023 also includes the world's best turf horse of this year, Baaeed (GB), who will be based in England at Nunnery Stud.

Trained by Owen Burrows, Minzaal won the G2 Gimcrack S. at two before going on to win at the highest level this season at Haydock, in what would transpire to be his final racecourse appearance. In total, he won four of his 11 starts across three seasons, earning £473,938 in prize-money.

Minzaal, from the first crop of Tally-Ho Stud's promising young sire Mehmas, was bred by Derek and Gay Veitch at Ringfort Stud from the unraced Clodovil (Ire) mare Pardoven (Ire) and was purchased by Shadwell as a yearling for 140,000gns.

Shadwell principal Sheikha Hissa said, “Minzaal has been an outstanding sprinter for our operation for the past three years. I believe Owen, Jim [Crowley] and I agree that we have never met a sprinter with such a remarkable temperament, and I hope his progeny in the future will reflect the qualities we have seen and admired in Minzaal. I would like to thank everyone at Owen's, Shadwell, and Derrinstown for their expertise in training and taking care of Minzaal. I would also like to thank Ringfort Stud for breeding an excellent colt that we took a great deal of pleasure in racing – and now proudly stand as a stallion in our operation.”

Along with his two victories as a juvenile, Minzaal was third in the G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S., and filled that same spot the following year in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint. Further stakes placings came his way at four, in the G2 Clipper Logistics York S. When third behind subsequent treble Group 1 winner Highfield Princess (Fr), before finishing second to that top-class mare in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. Minzaal was found to be lame after his Sprint Cup victory, and when x-rays revealed a fractured knee he was retired the following day. 

Shadwell's European bloodstock manager Stephen Collins said, “Minzaal ticks all the boxes for the commercial breeder. He was a speedy, precocious two-year-old who developed into a Group 1-winning four-year-old. He was also Group-1 placed, aged two, three and four. He is Mehmas's top-rated racehorse in his first three crops of racing age but more importantly he is currently the top-rated sprinter in Europe with an official BHA rating of 121. A versatile, good-looking colt with a wonderful temperament who acted in all ground conditions, he is a great addition to the Shadwell stallion roster.”

Owen Burrows, who also trained G1 Coronation Cup winner Hukum (Ire) for the Shadwell team this season, paid his own tribute to Minzaal. He added, “As a two-year-old, he'd do it every time if you asked him. There were a few bits of work that really got the heart pumping. We went to the Gimcrack and I never like to be too confident – you're more hopeful than confident. But it didn't surprise me in the slightest when he did what he did at York. It was an exceptional performance. Minzaal is easily the fastest I've trained. He was a very athletic horse who moved well and covered the ground. When he went up through the gears it was a sight to behold.”

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Shadwell To Announce Details On Baaeed’s Stud Career This Week

Shadwell will announce details relating to Baaeed (GB)'s stud career later this week, according to the owner-breeder's racing manager Angus Gold, who also revealed that Group 1-winning sprinter Minzaal (Ire) will be joining their roster ahead of the next year's breeding season.

However, Baaeed's brother Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), whose career hung in the balance after he suffered an injury when winning the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom, returned to training with Owen Burrows on Monday and is expected to make a return to the track in 2023.

A decision over what fee Baaeed will stand for in his debut season at stud has yet to be decided upon with Gold insisting that the six-time Group 1 winner is no less of an exciting stallion prospect despite losing his unbeaten record when fourth on his final start in the G1 Champion S. at Ascot on Saturday.

Gold said, “I'm not a huge fan of making excuses for horses. I saw William [Haggas] saying that, when a horse gets beaten, it is usually because they haven't run fast enough. My own personal feeling is that the ground blunted his speed.

“People have their own ideas, it's what this game is about, lots of opinions. People will say that he was positioned too far back. I can't have that. He moved up beautifully coming to the bend and Jim [Crowley, jockey] pulled him out.

“On the top of the ground, I'd have expected him to quicken, like he normally does. This horse has a turn of foot. That's his potent weapon. But it just wasn't there at all. He just plugged away very gamely.”

He added, “Some other people will say that he didn't stay. Well, with the greatest respect in the world, you only have to look at York to knock that theory on the head. Visually, York was by far and away his most impressive run. So, I refuse to subscribe to that theory.”

The fact that Baaeed could not better stablemate My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) (third at 22-1) when suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) in Saturday's swansong suggests to Gold that the horse who drew comparisons to his sire Sea The Stars and even Frankel (GB) did not show his true colours at Ascot.

He explained, “William knows where they are in terms of talent and, the fact Baaeed couldn't get past him [My Prospero] tells you everything you need to know. That's not trying to be rude about My Prospero in any way.

“With a horse who can quicken like Baaeed can, there's not many who can do it on the top of the ground at that level and be as effective on the other extreme. It puts into perspective how fantastic Frankel was–he was able to overcome that horrible ground but our horse couldn't do it.”

He added, “While it was disappointing he didn't go out unbeaten, he's no lesser horse in my eyes anyway.  We're just thrilled to get him back in one piece and hopefully he'll be going to stud.”

Details of that second career at stud are being ironed out chiefly between Sheikha Hissa al Maktoum and Derrinstown Stud's Stephen Collins and an announcement can be expected by the end of the week.

Gold said, “We'll be announcing plans in the next few days and we're all hugely excited about his stud career. I am not involved in the stud side but I have had a lot of enquiries from about 10 weeks back.

“Lots of people, some serious breeders, are very keen to use the horse. He's the new kid on the block so, hopefully, if we price him right, he will appeal for a considerable time to come.

“There's always a new horse around so that's where we've got to be careful. If we can set the fee correctly so that breeders can use this horse happily, they will use him not just next year, but going forward.

“To be honest, we're still discussing and obviously Sheikha Hissa and her family are involved in those talks, as is Stephen Collins [manager at Derrinstown Stud] in Ireland and several people here. We want to get it right and, for the horse's sake, it's important that we do.”

Minzaal, the highest-rated son of Mehmas (Ire), went out in a blaze of glory after it emerged that he fractured his knee when rocketing to a breakthrough Group 1 victory in the Sprint Cup at Haydock last month. Details about his planned career at stud will also be made public soon.

Gold said, “Again, it's still being discussed but the one thing I do know is Sheikha Hissa has said that we will definitely be holding onto the horse. He will be standing at one of our studs in either England or Ireland and hopefully we will have a decision to announce in the near future.”

On Hukum, he added, “Hukum went back into training yesterday [Monday]. Sheikha Hissa is very keen to keep him in training next year, obviously he will be an older horse, but he just hit his top form when unfortunately undone by an injury.

“We looked after him at the stud after that and, touch wood, he has healed really well.

“Sheikha Hissa is particularly fond of this horse and was keen to see him race on next year. He has gone back to Owen Burrows and, all being well, will be back on the track next year.”

Shadwell ended a two-year drought at the British yearling sales in style by snapping up 10 youngsters at Book 1 and Book 2 this month as Sheikha Hissa marked her first trip to Park Paddocks.

The world-famous operation is reported to have a juvenile team in the mid-50s to look forward to next term. However, it's a colt in the current crop of juveniles, Naqeeb (Ire), a Nathaniel (Ire) half-brother to Baaeed, who is drumming up interest ahead of an intended debut in the coming weeks.

Gold said, “Aghareed (Kingmambo) [the dam of Baaeed and Hukum] is 13 now. She has a Nathaniel 2-year-old, who is a nice type of horse, a bigger, longer and scopier horse to Baaeed, as you'd probably expect.

“Hopefully William will get this horse out in the next two or three weeks. She has a very nice Night Of Thunder (Ire) yearling colt who is a late May foal so I doubt he'll be particularly early or precocious but he's a nice type of horse.

“Unfortunately the mare was barren to New Bay (GB) this year but she is back in foal to Sea The Stars now. Touch wood, there is still a lot to look forward to with her.”

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