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fitzy

Vale Khalid Abdullah

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On 1/14/2021 at 7:59 AM, fitzy said:

Quite surprising that no one has commented on the passing of this hugely influential owner & breeder.

No doubt in my mind that he has been the most influential thoroughbred breeder of the past 50 years.

The list of outstanding racehorses he owned or bred is unparalleled in modern times.

Unparalleled alright and also very loyal and very sporting , just reading Fallons biography , when he was sacked by few owners at Sir Henry's after Bosra Sham ride in Eclipse known as the " Bosra Shambles incident  he was looking like on the outer , Khalid Abdullah contacted him and stuck by him . He got Sir Henry back after a few years in doldrums too .

Plenty of Australian winners bred/ previously raced by him too , Foreteller and Harlem just a few of the better ones . 

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And not only did he breed the best racehorses (including Danehill by the way, which he bred and raced before selling to Coolmore as a stallion), he kept them racing way beyond the time Coolmore or Godolphin would retire them, e.g. Frankel and Enable.  He must have just loved racing.

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5 hours ago, QCR said:

And not only did he breed the best racehorses (including Danehill by the way, which he bred and raced before selling to Coolmore as a stallion), he kept them racing way beyond the time Coolmore or Godolphin would retire them, e.g. Frankel and Enable.  He must have just loved racing.

He had a dabble with the jumps game too back in  the day , Sanmartino was pretty handy out the David Nicholson yard and good enough to run in two Champion Hurdles after a decent flat career . Will be a few he bred went on to go well over the sticks..

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In my lifetime of inspecting some of the greats, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard, Frankel etc "The Prince's" youngest star on the horizon KINGMAN is the best specimen that I have ever seen.

The man was a genius when it came to breeding thoroughbreds or upgrading them or he assembled the greatest brains in the industry to make it happen.

I remember James Dellahook [way back then!] and wondered where, why and how. 

All these years later as I look back on "The Princes" thoroughbred empire, I am in amazement and oh so envious.

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On 1/14/2021 at 7:59 AM, fitzy said:

Quite surprising that no one has commented on the passing of this hugely influential owner & breeder.

No doubt in my mind that he has been the most influential thoroughbred breeder of the past 50 years.

The list of outstanding racehorses he owned or bred is unparalleled in modern times.

Fizzy, there is a well written story in the TDN on Sat about Mr Abdullah. Probably the best breeder the world has had the pleasure to enjoy his efforts for some decades. The likes of Danehill are one of many impacts he has left to breeders the world over and I think in decades to come, we will fully appreciate the diversity of blood that he created. I have the luck and good fortune to have raced a good mare generations deep in his family and I hope I don’t embarrass myself by not continuing to breed good stock from her. He was truly a master of genetics and a sporting and loyal man enriched with the more honour and and ethics than many in our industry.

 

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I put the below in my Northern Hemisphere thread on the Thoroughbred Cafe page:

Sad news today with the passing of Prince Khalid Abdullah at the age of 83. Prince Khalid was one of the most significant owner-breeders of the past 40 years. He established Juddmonte who rivals Coolmore and Godolphin as top racing and breeding operations. Prince Khalid owned some wonderful horses such as KNOWN FACT and of course OASIS DREAM, one of the foundation stallions at Banstead Manor Stud.

He owned arguably the two greatest horses of the modern era - DANCING BRAVE, the 1986 Derby and Arc winner and of course FRANKEL, the best horse of the 21st Century so far. FRANKEL's exploits need no repeating here and it's worth remembering the vintage 2012 Royal Ascot meeting where the wonderful BLACK CAVIAR strutted her stuff but FRANKEL stole the show with an 11-length demolition of a class field in the Queen Anne which remains the best performance I've seen on a racecourse in the past thirty years.

More recently, he owned dual Arc winner ENABLE.

I believe one of his sons, Prince Saud, may take on the racing business. Juddmonte currently has 250 horses in training round the world, a further 500 at its various stud operations and employs 250 people.

Douglas Erskine-Crum, the CEO of Juddmonte, was interviewed on TV on Saturday afternoon and made it clear the operation would continue. Apparently the grandchildren are all racing fans so it seems very likely Juddmonte will continue for some while.

While I obviously think about the UK angle, it would be remiss of me to forget to mention ARROGATE who carried the Juddmonte silks to success in the Dubai World Cup and the inaugural Pegasus. Unfortunately, he passed away last year.

I'd also be remiss not to mention DANEHILL as one of the other great stallions from Juddmonte.

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If we're talking great horses and stallions, a moment to mention the passing last week of DALAKHANI, one of the great Aga Khan stallions at the age of 21. 

In a brief racing career, he was champion 3-y-o in 2002 after winning the Lupin, the Jockey Club, the Irish Derby and the Arc in a stellar season.

From there, he went to the Haras de Bonneval stud of the Aga Khan. His best horse was probably CONDUIT who as a 3-y-o won the Leger and the Breeders Cup Turf.

Unfortunately, as a 4-y-o, he had the misfortune to be in the same races as SEA THE STARS and was third to that horse in the Eclipse and fourth in the Arc but won both the King George at Ascot and followed up his Breeders Cup Turf win.

He also had RELIABLE MAN who won the Jockey Club and ended up winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Randwick in 2013. 

More recently, his best progeny would be DEFOE and SECOND STEP. 

He also threw a few jumpers, a few of whom are still running in Ireland and America.

Mares by him foaled the likes of PINATUBO and US ARMY RANGER so he was a reasonable success as a sire of top broodmares.

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On 1/17/2021 at 7:59 PM, Insider said:

In my lifetime of inspecting some of the greats, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard, Frankel etc "The Prince's" youngest star on the horizon KINGMAN is the best specimen that I have ever seen.

The man was a genius when it came to breeding thoroughbreds or upgrading them or he assembled the greatest brains in the industry to make it happen.

I remember James Dellahook [way back then!] and wondered where, why and how. 

All these years later as I look back on "The Princes" thoroughbred empire, I am in amazement and oh so envious.

I remember James Dellahooke from following round  the point to points and Hunter Chasers.  He was a superb trainer and rider , Border Burg would have been his best in  late 80s early 90s , won a bucket load of races and had a go at the Grand National and won over the big fences in the Hunter Chase.  Went for years and ran until an advanced age in the points .

Juddmonte  bred Equilateral won the last on first night of Meydan Carnival overnight , ridden by Frankie .

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There's an interesting story about how Delahooke fell out with Khalid Abdullah.

What stands out for me is the style of horse Khalid Abdullah bred, they weren't just another Group 1 winner,  so many were excitement machines, who could change up a gear in a couple of strides, but nothing was at the expense of genuineness. Think Kingman, Oasis Dream, Frankel, Dancing Brave, Warning, Zafonic, Frankel, Enable, Rainbow Quest, the list goes on.

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3 hours ago, Mill Reef said:

There's an interesting story about how Delahooke fell out with Khalid Abdullah.

What stands out for me is the style of horse Khalid Abdullah bred, they weren't just another Group 1 winner,  so many were excitement machines, who could change up a gear in a couple of strides, but nothing was at the expense of genuineness. Think Kingman, Oasis Dream, Frankel, Dancing Brave, Warning, Zafonic, Frankel, Enable, Rainbow Quest, the list goes 

One of the stranger records he had was with Special Duty, finished  2nd in French and 2nd Newmarket 1000 Guineas but got both in stewards room . Doubt any other horse would have that kind of classic double .

 

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Red, he is also breeder of the family of the impressive 2YO winner at Ellerslie today. I raced the half sister to him and he is has always been a better version at the same age than our mare. He will be a fine 3YO if left to grow into his frame. I hope they can resist the dollars that will come from HK for him.

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38 minutes ago, John Clydesdale said:

Red, he is also breeder of the family of the impressive 2YO winner at Ellerslie today. I raced the half sister to him and he is has always been a better version at the same age than our mare. He will be a fine 3YO if left to grow into his frame. I hope they can resist the dollars that will come from HK for him.

Just had a look at the breeding , going a few back Bahamian was a lovely filly , saw her race a few times many years back and one that sticks in my  mind , had a bit of a  wow factor when she went into paddock is my memory of her ,   memory not getting better but four white socks and big white face . Big strong filly , doubt there's a photo of her but will have her in my racebook pile .Must be great to have some of that bloodline in your breeding .Wil have a search of you tube to see if I can confirm  my recollection. 

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8 minutes ago, Red Rum said:

Just had a look at the breeding , going a few back Bahamian was a lovely filly , saw her race a few times many years back and one that sticks in my  mind , had a bit of a  wow factor when she went into paddock is my memory of her ,   memory not getting better but four white socks and big white face . Big strong filly , doubt there's a photo of her but will have her in my racebook pile .Must be great to have some of that bloodline in your breeding .Wil have a search of you tube to see if I can confirm  my recollection. 

Had a look at 1988 Oaks , big white face , big strong but white socks a figment of my imagination after 33 years , saw her at Sandown on debut though that's for sure .Beat Hollow in that family , loved that horse .

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James Dellahook was probably the cornerstone of the Prince's success. He really knew his stuff and the foundation mares he bought keep cropping up. Incidentally, the problem with Dalakhani was that is progeny had very patchy breathing ability. Made many a vet a happy person

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Tilsit was only just nosed out in final stride at Longchamp on Sunday , closely related to Kingman .

Not a day goes by in UK and Ire without a Juddmonte bred stallion getting a win somewhere . They were all over the show the other day from 3 mile hurdles to 5 furlong sprints .

That exciting  chaser of Skeltons Allmankind goes back to the family mentioned above by John Clydesdale , goes back to  Bahamian .

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