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The fantastic time enjoyed on the track over the last couple of years has seen a reversal of Shadwell’s recent fortunes; there is a buzz in the air on the stud farm
Martin Stevens catches up with the organisation’s European bloodstock manager Stephen Collins
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A few years have made for Shadwell. The operation had already embarked on a significant downsizing exercise, reducing its herd and selling land, before its founder Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum passed away in 2021, which led many to wonder whether it would continue at all.
But, thanks to a fine run of form for horses bred and bought under the late Sheikh’s expert eye, and his perceptive and passionate daughter Sheikha Hissa taking over the reins, Shadwell enters 2024 in robust health.
There has been no shortage of success on the track. Last year Baaeed, a scion of Sheikh Hamdan’s outstanding Height Of Fashion dynasty, won six elite races in a row to be rated the best in Europe since Frankel, while his full-brother Hukum strolled to victory in the Group 1 Coronation Cup in 2022 and came out best of a memorable tussle with Westover in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) this year.
The US-based Malathaat was the Eclipse champion three-year-old filly in 2021 and champion older Dirt female the following year.
In 2023 the illustrious royal blue silks with white epaulets have been carried to Group 1 victory by not only Hukum but also Alfareeq (Jebel Hatta), Al Husn (Nassau Stakes), Anmaat (Prix d’Ispahan), Danyah (Al Quoz Sprint) and Mostahdaf (Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Juddmonte International).
Shadwell also owns plenty of smart two-year-olds to suggest that the good times will continue next year and beyond. Alyanaabi won the Tattersalls Stakes (G3) and finished second to City Of Troy in the Dewhurst Stakes (G1), and the unexposed winners Alshinfarah, Elmonjed, Markoon and Murashah all hold abundant promise.
The Shadwell stallion roster is also in rude health. The British division, formerly based at Nunnery Stud in Thetford but relocating to Beech House Stud in Newmarket in 2024, features Baaeed, the top miler Mohaather and the newcomer Mostahdaf, while the Irish offering, housed at Derrinstown Stud in County Kildare, contains the commercial bright young thing Minzaal and the widely respected bargain proposition Awtaad.
Not bad, all in all, for an operation that was supposedly on the brink of disappearing at the start of the decade.
“The only sad thing about the brilliant last couple of years is that Sheikh Hamdan was not here to see the fruits of all his work and dedication,” reflects Shadwell’s European bloodstock manager Stephen Collins at the end of an eventful Flat season. “Next year’s two-year-olds will be the last crop representing his direct involvement.
“It’s fantastic that Sheikha Hissa has taken on the family’s interests with such passion and attention to detail, and we’re thrilled she’s achieving so much success. Baaeed is a horse who would headline any owner’s career, but to have the likes of Malathaat, Mostahdaf, Hukum, Anmaat, Al Husn, Minzaal, Alfareeq and Danyah all winning at the highest level internationally within such a short period is fantastic.
“After a tough few years, the feeling at Shadwell is very upbeat, as you can imagine. We feel we’re now in a strong position and look forward to the coming seasons both on the track and on our studs.”
Baaeed was tremendously popular not just with his owners, but also with the wider breeding community. The son of Sea The Stars was overrun with applications in his first season at Nunnery Stud in 2023 and eventually covered a debut book of 162 mares, 41 per cent of whom were black-type winners in their own racing careers.
“We were thrilled with the exceptional quality of the mares put forward by breeders and we’re very grateful for their support for Baaeed in his first season,” says Collins. “It’s a privileged position to be able to select the mares for a stallion, and it wasn’t an easy task.
“We wanted to get a good cross-section – younger mares with good race records, proven producers, as well as those who were very well bred. There are a number of more precocious types, sprinting pedigrees, as well as milers and middle-distance mares from many of the finest families in Europe.
“Sheikha Hissa and the team were very keen to support him with a number of our best mares and we will continue to do so.”
Giving more detail about Baaeed’s exceptional introductory book, he adds: “He was limited to 162 mares, and that included 93 stakes performers, ten Group 1 winners and eight dams of Group 1 winners.
“To give just a few star names, he covered Deirdre, Eshaada, Nazeef, Persuasive, Queen’s Trust and Search For A Song, as well as the dams of Awtaad, Galileo Gold, Native Trail, Persian King and Ten Sovereigns.
“He also received sisters to the likes of Alpha Centauri, Danedream, Too Darn Hot, Siyouni and St Mark’s Basilica. I think those figures and names represent a first book of outstanding quality.”
Baaeed was already a striking physical specimen but he has reportedly taken another step forward in the early days of his new career. His bombproof temperament also came in handy at stud.
“He looks a picture heading into his second season,” says Collins.
“The stallion team told me his weight increased by ten per cent during the covering season, which shows what an excellent constitution and temperament he has. We couldn’t be more pleased with him and we can’t wait to see his first foals.”
BAAEED’S new studmate Mostahdaf, a Frankel half-brother to the dual Group 1 heroine Nazeef out of the Listed-winning Dubawi mare Handassa, should also attract strong support – especially as his opening fee of £15,000 has been widely hailed as excellent value for money.
“Yes, we think we’ve priced him attractively,” acknowledges Collins. “He has all the credentials to be a successful stallion. He has the ability, the looks and the pedigree.
“He was an outstanding dual Group 1 winner, the highest-rated Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner since Dubai Millennium, and he defeated Paddington and Nashwa in the Juddmonte International.
“Those performances, alongside his six other stakes wins, show what a high-class horse he is. He was always held in high regard as a young horse at Derrinstown and the same when he arrived at Clarehaven. He won on debut over 7f by four and a half lengths.
“He’s a quality, well-balanced, imposing individual, with an athletic walk. His pedigree is packed with natural speed, being a half-brother to the top miler Nazeef, and he’s from the same family as champion Group 1-winning sprinters Pastoral Pursuits and Goodricke. His pedigree should make serious appeal to commercial breeders.”
And presumably he’ll receive some choice Shadwell mares in his first season next year?
“Oh yes, we’ll be supporting him strongly ourselves,” affirms Collins. “Sheikha Hissa is very keen to do so. Shadwell will be sending him a number of high-class mares in the upcoming season and plan to do so again in future years.”
MOHAATHER’s stallion career has also been underpinned by invaluable home support. The Group 1 Sussex Stakes-winning son of Showcasing’s first two-year-olds in 2024 will include a filly out of Mostahdaf’s half-sister Nazeef and a colt out of South African Group 1 heroine Majmu.
The commercially bred members of his debut crop sold well. A top price of 165,000gns was paid by Sackville Donald for a colt out of Wake Up Call consigned by Jamie Railton to Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, while three other lots also made six-figure sums.
Six more Mohaather’s yearlings sold for 75,000gns or more, and another ten realised 50,000gns or more.
“We’re very pleased with Mohaather’s first yearlings,” says Collins. “The talk about him is strong and it was great to see that so many good judges were behind him at the sales. We’ve bought three of Mohaather’s first crop, two at last year’s foal sales and a yearling colt at Book 2.
“He stamps his stock with his own good looks and athletic action. They look like racehorses and look sharp and early. We’ve supported Mohaather strongly throughout with some of our best mares, and we particularly look forward to campaigning the filly out of Nazeef next year.
“Given the fact he was a Group winner at two himself, we have high hopes for 2024.”
Baaeed and Mohaather had a rather nice home at Nunnery Stud, with its spectacular stallion barn modelled on Three Chimneys in Kentucky, including a square layout that allows the horses to see each other and a high roof. So what prompted the move to Newmarket?
“Beech House Stud has been an integral part of the Shadwell operation ever since its purchase in 1990,” says Collins. “Obviously it exerted a strong influence on the thoroughbred breed as the great Nearco stood his entire stud career there.
“By standing our stallions in Newmarket we hope it makes them more accessible to breeders. It’ll also be great to see one of the world’s most historic stud farms back to the forefront of thoroughbred breeding.
“Over the summer and autumn the stud has seen a major refurbishment to ensure all facilities are fit for a stallion roster of Shadwell’s calibre. It included renovation of the covering barn and updating of the stallion boxes once home to bygone greats such as Nearco and champion sire Crepello.
“We’ve also converted an existing building into a new office for the stallion and nominations team. We offer the best, safest facilities for our stallions and visiting mares.”
Still, it must be an emotional wrench to relocate the stallions from Nunnery Stud, with all its rich history?
“It’ll be a sad farewell to the outstandingstallion facilities at Nunnery Stud,” concedes Collins. “Many iconic names have stood there since its acquisition in 1986, including breed-shaping sire Green Desert as well as the great Nashwan.
“It will remain our private base for the foaling of all Shadwell’s mares visiting British-based stallions, and will continue as the home of the UK head office.”
MINZAAL, a son of record-breaking young sire Mehmas who won the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at two, ran third in the British Champions Sprint (G1) at three and landed the Hackwood Stakes (G3) and Haydock Sprint Cup (G1) at four, captured the imagination of breeders in his first season at Derrinstown. He covered a bumper book of mares at a reasonable fee of €15,000.
“Minzaal was very well received in his first year,” says Collins. “As with Baaeed, we had the problem of having to turn away mares. He ticked a lot of boxes for Irish commercial breeders as the highest-rated son of Mehmas, as well as being a good-looking horse with incredible speed.
“He won the Gimcrack and placed in the Middle Park at two and scored a devastating three and three-quarter length victory in the Sprint Cup at four. He covered an excellent limited book of 161 mares and we thank the breeders for that.
“The book contained 40 black-type performers and he also covered the dams of Group 1 winners, including Aristia and Marhaba Ya Sanafi, as well as the dams of further Pattern scorers such as Asymmetric, Atomic Force, Believing, Create Belief, Donnerschlag, Happy Romance, Home Of The Brave, One For Bobby, Pretty Baby, Santosha, Secret Weapon, Steel Bull and Youth Spirit.
“Our hopes are very high for Minzaal's first foals and there seems to be plenty of momentum behind him heading into year two.”
Minzaal’s colleague Awtaad, an Irish 2,000 Guineas-winning son of Cape Cross, hasn’t done much wrong at stud but fell out of favour in recent years, covering as few as 16 mares in 2021 and 38 in 2022.
However, after supplying a slew of stakes winners, he has gradually won back breeders. He received 79 mares this year for just €5,000, and he repaid his supporters’ faith with an even better set of results in 2023.
“Awtaad was earmarked as one of the best value stallions in Ireland last year, and his achievements in 2023 have only cemented his position at the top of that list,” says Collins. “He had two Group 1 winners –Anmaat in the Prix d’Ispahan and Anisette in the Del Mar Oaks – and two Group 3 winners and a Listed winner.
“And all that was on top of Awtaad producing one of the highest winners-to-runners strike-rates in Europe.
“He covered a good-sized book in 2023, building on his earlier crops, and we’re hopeful that breeders will recognise what excellent value he offers at €5,000 for 2024.”
It’s onwards and upwards for Shadwell next year, then, with more big-race success expected on the track and the roster containing something for everyone, from the blue-chip Baaeed to commercial crackerjack Minzaal. Sheikha Hissa’s infectious enthusiasm in the winner’s enclosure will no doubt win new fans, as well.
Just one thing, though.
Why couldn’t space be found at either Beech House Stud or Derrinstown for Hukum, a beautifully bred winner of two of the most prestigious races in Britain? He is beginning his stallion career next year at Darley Japan instead.
“He was a top-class racehorse and we agree it’s a shame that he didn’t join the Shadwell roster,” says Collins, perhaps alluding to British and Irish breeders’ lamentable disregard for middle-distance and staying achievement when it comes to devising their mating plans.
“Sheikha Hissa holds this horse in the highest regard and we retain full ownership. We all felt it was our duty to the horse and the Shadwell operation to place him where he had the greatest chance of success.”
