3 minute read
As a small breeder with a beloved band of broodmares, you’re looking for the best. Pedigree, a proven race record and the temperament to match – an elusive combination, especially with a limited budget.
Credit: The National Stud Picture: The National Stud.
For many owner-breeders, injecting a touch of star quality into the pedigree is aspirational. A page littered with Black Type costs money, and a stallion with the ideal credentials remains at a price point unobtainable by the vast majority.
The National Stud have acquired a rare prospect in the form of Mutasaabeq, son of Invincible Spirit and a triple Group 2 winner over a mile. Out of 1000 Guineas heroine Ghanaati and descended directly from Shadwell's blue hen mare Height Of Fashion, Mutasaabeq boasts a pedigree to die for. He is one of only three stallions standing in the UK out of a recent 1000 Guineas winner, and unfortunately for his two counterparts – Eastern Anthem and Fountain Of Youth – Mutasaabeq has proven stallion-making credentials on both sides of the pedigree.
Invincible Spirit stands for a private fee at the Irish National Stud and is becoming renowned as a sire of sires. Kingman made an impressive start to his career after retiring to stud in 2015, producing Persian King, Palace Pier and Kinross from his first few books whilst I Am Invincible flies the flag in Australia, achieving over sixty individual Stakes winners with plenty more to come.
The link to Invincible Spirit immediately caught the eye of the National Stud's Head of Bloodstock, Joe Bradley.
"Like most stud farms, we start early in the year looking at potential lists of stallions and as we go through the racing programme, the length of the list drops off significantly," he explained.
"We had followed Mutasaabeq throughout. In the early stages, it was primarily because of his pedigree. We felt a son of Invincible Spirit would do well here, considering how well it's done with Invincible Spirit himself, Kingman continuing to do well and then in Australia with I Am Invincible.
"We felt there was perhaps a gap in the market, even with other sons of Invincible Spirit standing in the UK. His pedigree is arguably one of the best in the studbook currently, being out of Ghanaati, who was not only a Classic winner but the fastest ever Classic winner and the Classic winners just flow throughout the whole page."
Successful in each of his four seasons of racing, Mutasaabeq secured his first Group victory in the Group 2 Joel Stakes as a four-year-old before repeating the feat twelve months later. His best day on the track was arguably a scintillating success in the Group 2 bet365 Mile in May 2023, beating Classic winner Native Trail by three lengths.
"We watched him throughout his five-year-old year and his performance in the bet365 Mile was just incredible. He's got that front running style, which I've always felt is important in terms of passing on that ability, that tenacity to win, to get out and dominate races."
Proof of longevity can be difficult to find in the modern-day studbook, especially from a stallion bred on Classic-winning lines. It's a factor that Bradley thinks will attract breeders:
"It has to play a part in what people are breeding for, especially if you look at the racing programme. For the sale of older horses and horses-in-training to different jurisdictions, this longevity to race over multiple years should be, and is, important to breeders. He was a two-year-old winner that just got better as the years went on."
Value remains of upmost importance to owner-breeders and Mutasaabeq appears commercially viable at a stud fee of £6,500. The fair price point set by the National Stud attracted an exciting first book of mares for the stallion who deserves an opportunity to prove himself.
"Price point is arguably one of the most important things in the current economic times, it's difficult. Things are expensive. People can see the value and that's important.
"He'll cover close to 100 mares including a lot of owner-breeders who have developed their families and feel that breeding to this stallion will only add good things to it. We're really happy with how it's going."
The parallel to the Irish National Stud is clear and there is a feeling of optimism in Newmarket that they may have unearthed a future star in Mutasaabeq.
"I think he ticks pretty much every single box," confirms Bradley.
"A three-time Group 2 winner over a mile. A two-year-old winner. Exceptional pedigree. By a stallion that that's sourced twenty-two individual Group 1 winners. So hopefully, Mutasaabeq can have the same effect here as what Invincible Spirit had with the Irish National Stud."
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