Hipodromos y caballos - Racetracks and horses BloodStockReview2013 | Page 26

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T H E C H A M P AT S T U D

and £10 from every visitor was donated
to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices,
which was the charity chosen by Sir
Henry Cecil.”
Frankel’s celebrity status and
ever-increasing commercial value has
led to the name Frankel becoming a
brand in itself – not many horses can
boast their own website and registered
trademark – and his memorabilia as well
as merchandise has been in high demand.
“Throughout the year a number of
charities have benefited from the sale of
Frankel memorabilia,” says Mitchell. “A
headcollar worn by the horse was sold in
the US at the Belmont Charity auction

Dancing Rain’s a jewel
and the Frankel cover
was hugely attractive
for $18,000 to Ronald Frankel [no
relation].
“We like to think we’re seasoned
professionals with horses,
but the public relations side
is new to us. Frankel has had
many media appearances
outside the usual bloodstock
and racing media, including
features on CNN and a
two-page spread in The
Sunday Times by leading
sportswriter David Walsh.
“We also had Chris Levine,
the light artist famous for his
iconic portraits of the Queen and Kate
Moss, unveil a dramatic new portrait of
Frankel in 2013.”
This year also saw the opening of the
Frankel Lounge at Newmarket’s Rowley
Mile racecourse and a state-of-the-art
multimedia touchscreen will be unveiled
at next year’s Craven meeting.
You could be forgiven for becoming
submerged in Frankel’s extra-curricular
activities, but it was back to business
in November with the first, hotly
anticipated battalion of Frankel-covered
mares coming up for grabs at the world’s
premier breeding-stock sales.
Frankel fever first hit the US, with

FRANKEL THE SIRE

IN NUMBERS

4,000,000gns
price paid by Sheikh Mohammed for Dancing
Rain, who is in foal to Frankel

36kg £16m+
in weight he has put
on since his arrival
at Banstead Manor

155
24

mares
covered
in 2013

potential revenue earned
from stud fees in 2013

144

of those mares
have been
scanned in foal

mares belong to Khalid Abdullah’s
Juddmonte operation

the most expensive acquisition coming
at Fasig-Tipton when Teruya Yoshida of
Shadai Farm in Japan parted with
$2.4 million for Grade 1 winner In
Lingerie.
It soon spread to Europe,
with the highlight coming at

the Tattersalls December Breeding Stock
Sale where Sheikh Mohammed gave the
eye-popping sum of 4,000,000gns for
dual Oaks heroine Dancing Rain.
The sheikh’s bloodstock adviser John
Ferguson said of the purchase: “We’re
always looking for jewels – she’s a jewel,
and the Frankel covering was hugely
attractive.”
So what is in store for Frankel in
2014? After a summer larking in the
paddocks at Banstead Manor, Frankel is
now being primed for his second book
of stellar mares, so is on a strict diet and
taking daily walks of up to seven miles.
Records have been broken at auction
houses around the world left, right and
centre this year. Can the strong market
be sustained in 2014? With Frankel’s first
foals coming up for auction, you wouldn’t
bet against it. t

LEFT Lord Grimthorpe and Lady Cecil at the opening ceremony
of the Frankel Lounge at Newmarket racecourse (below) ABOVE
Grimthorpe and Chris Levine showcase the light artist's work

racingpost.com/bloodstock