One hundred
percent on the racetrack. And now 100 percent at stud. Those are currently the
astonishing statistics of Frankel — the remarkable three-quarter
brother-in-blood to Bowness Stud shuttle sire Bullet Train (GB).
The world's
thoroughbred industry is presently being greatly heartened by the initial
representatives of Frankel's first-crop. When Seven Heavens ran out a hugely
impressive winner of a 6-furlong contest at Ascot late last week, it took the
Juddmonte legend's stud record in GB/Ire to six individual runners for six
individual winners — five of those on debut.
Following
arguably the greatest racetrack career in thoroughbred history, when Frankel
went unbeaten in 14 starts over three seasons, thoroughbred enthusiasts the
world over are now quite possibly witnessing the formative stages of an equally
exceptional stud career.
Frankel's
startling impact in Britain's freshman sire division has prompted Racing Post
correspondent Martin Stevens to draw some scary comparisons with other elite racetrack-stud
prospects of recent time, including Frankel's own incredible sire Galileo. One
of the most surprising points made in his article reveals that at the same
stage of his own record-breaking career, Galileo was still waiting on his very
first son or daughter to salute.
Stevens
observed: "Frankel's
fast start measures up well against other superstar horses in their first
season with progeny. At this stage of the season, Sea The Stars had not even been represented
by his breakthrough winner — that arrived when Stars Over The Sea scored at Ayr
on July 22 three years ago."
He continued: "Neither had
Frankel's own exceptional sire Galileo… got off the mark at stud at this stage
of the year. Galileo's first winner came when Heliostatic broke his maiden over
7f at the Curragh on July 17, 2005, although he already had a stakes performer
on his record as Global Genius had finished second in the Chesham Stakes, run
that year at York."
Stevens went on to
conclude: "It is too early to draw firm conclusions about Frankel's future as a
sire, but he could hardly have got off to a better start."
Of course, these
significant developments augur particularly well for Bullet Train (GB). Himself
the winner of his only start as a 2-year-old, the Bowness Stud stallion is due
to arrive back in Australia for his fourth domestic stud season following a
successful Australasian yearling sales series that saw his first crop filter in
to the hands of champion trainers Chris Waller, Gai Waterhouse, Darren Weir,
Neville Parnham and others.
If the events of the current British juvenile racing season are anything to go by, the first 2-year-old runners of Bullet Train (GB) will be making an impression sooner than even the stallion's most ardent admirers expect.
