KZN horseman Mark Naidoo visited Frankel in 2022 (Meta)
Sarah Whitelaw
There is a growing feeling that the mighty Frankel, as hard as it is to believe, may be an even better stallion than he was a racehorse.
This is a huge statement to make, given that Frankel, unbeaten in 14 starts and a ten time G1 winner, is the highest rated horse in Timeform history (he was rated 147 by that esteemed organisation) and was without doubt one of the greatest horses ever to set foot on a British racecourse.
From winning the 2010 G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes by ten lengths, to doddling the 2011 G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas by six and capturing the 2012 G1 Queen Anne Stakes by a staggering 11 lengths, Frankel put some of the most memorable performances ever seen on the turf.
A champion at two, three and four, Frankel was Cartier Horse Of The Year in both 2011 and 2012.
The legendary son of legendary sire Galileo and outstanding broodmare Kind is, however, compiling a stud record which more than rivals his own brilliance on the racetrack. Frankel has already been Champion Sire in GB and Ireland twice and was Champion Sire in France in 2022.
The Banstead Manor resident is having another fine year in 2024, with his sons Spirit Dancer (G2 Howden Neom Turf Cup, and Measured Time (G1 Jebel Hatta) both keeping Frankel’s name to the fore. Another son of Frankel, Zarir, was just beaten into second when runner up in the 2024 G1 Prix Ganay.
Frankel, himself one of more than 370 stakes winners for his sire, has already sired 138 stakes winners and has an impressive 34 individual Grade or Group One winners to his name. The list of G1 races won by the progeny of Frankel is an impressive one and includes the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, English Oaks (twice), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes, English Derby, Grand Prix De Paris (twice), English St Leger (twice), 2000 Guineas, and Irish Derby.
Frankel, whose stud fee in 2024 is £350,000, had another phenomenal year in 2023 when the titan of the turf was represented by 11 individual G1 winners.
Frankel’s 11 top-level winners last year included British classic winners Chaldean (Qipco 2000 Guineas) and Soul Sister (Betfred Oaks), as well as the likes of Westover (Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud), Courage Mon Ami (Gold Cup), Kelina (Qatar Prix de la Foret), Mostahdaf (Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, Juddmonte International), Triple Time (Queen Anne Stakes), Ylang Ylang (bet365Fillies’ Mile) and Inspiral. The latter made it G1 win number six when she ended 2023 in style for her sire with a victory in the G1 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
The champion also made his mark as a sire of sires last year, with Frankel’s four time G1 winning son Cracksman the sire of unbeaten 2023 G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe/G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Ace Impact. (2023 Arc runner up Westover and third place finisher Onesto were both sired by Frankel).
Cracksman appears set for another good year in 2024 with his flagbearers including recent stakes winner Sea Of Thieves and potential Oaks contender Danielle.
Drakenstein Stud recently announced that they would be standing a son of this immortal champion for the 2024 South African breeding season. Frankel son Sharp Frank made just one start but was held in high regard by his connections.
Andrew Balding, who trained Sharp Frank, had the following to say about the son of Frankel. “Sharp Frank was a highly promising three year old. He worked to a very high level at home after his sole racecourse appearance and it is a great sadness that he was denied the opportunity to prove his class to a wider audience. He had a fantastic action and like many of the Frankel offspring, we had the feeling that he was going to improve further with age and maturity. He also had a great temperament and I would imagine he has every chance of making it as a stallion if his offspring are anything like him.”
As a half-brother to 2017-2018 South African Horse Of The Year Oh Susanna (by Street Cry) and high-class Australian galloper Signore Fox (by Exceed And Excel) , Sharp Frank lacks nothing in terms of pedigree.
Four time Equus Award winner Oh Susanna became the first three-year-old filly since 1902 to win the Met when she claimed the 2018 G1 Sun Met. Oh Susanna won four G1 races during her career while earning more than R5.547 million in stakes.
The charismatic Oh Susanna’s four G1 wins also included back to back victories in the Cartier Paddock Stakes, with the daughter of Street Cry victorious in both 2018 and 2019.
Her half-brother Signore Fox, who stands at stud in Australia, earned more than AUS$1 000 000 in prize money. A stakes winner at three, four and five, Signore Fox showed very high-class form. Not only did he win the G3 E Group Security Star Kingdom Stakes, but Signore Fox was beaten just half a length when a close up third in the 2021 G1 TAB Kingsford-Smith Cup.
Sharp Frank’s dam, Sharp Susan, won six times including the G2 Lake Placid Stakes and G3 Herecomesthebride Stakes, and finished third in the G1 Garden City Stakes. Sharp Susan, who earned nearly $500 000 in stakes, is a half-sister to both G1 Donn Handicap winning sire Spring At Last (whose progeny include Canadian champion and G1 winner Spring In The Air) and G1 Las Virgenes Stakes queen Sharp Lisa. The latter produced Irish champion Housesofparliament and G1 ATC Metropolitan Handicap winner Foundry. Both Housesofparliament and Foundry were sired by Galileo, the sire of Frankel himself.
Sharp Frank, whose granddam Winter’s Gone was sired by outstanding stallion Dynaformer, is directly descended in female line from the high-class mare Fairy Gold, whose son Fair Play was Champion Sire in the USA on three occasions with Fair Play siring none other than the immortal Man O’War.
The latter, like Frankel, was one of the true legends of the sport, and still ranks today as one of the greatest racehorses ever bred.
Drakenstein will be offering breeders rights to the blue blooded Sharp Frank, rather than shares. A limited number of free breeding rights can be earned if a breeder sends three mares over a four year period to Sharp Frank.Starting with at least one mare in first year.
The mare is only counted when tested in foal to Sharp Frank.
Alternatively, a breeding right can be purchased for R50,000 which affords the breeder one service per right for the rest of his career.
Sharp Frank will stand his first season at stud at a fee of R5,000 (special live foal).
