A Marmite mating for a top-class racemare that makes sense for her budget-conscious breeder

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Here, Martin Stevens speaks to Richard Kent of Mickley Stud about mating choices, stallions and a mum weary of catalogue-reading children – subscribers can get more great insight every Monday to Friday.

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Every now and again the owner of a blue-chip broodmare will take everyone by surprise with a highly unorthodox choice of sire for her. I like to call such avant-garde couplings Marmite matings, as people will either love them or hate them. 

Recent examples that spring to mind are Cristina Patino sending her six-time Group 1 winner Snow Fairy to her own inexpensive and little-used stallion brothers Elusive Pimpernel and Palavacini for her first two covers, and Lael Stables pairing Bordighera, the dam of the great George Washington and a regular concubine of Europe’s leading sires, with Camacho at a fee of €7,500. 

A new case of a Marmite mating emerged this year, as Mickley Stud sent Philip Wilkins’ brilliantly fast sprinter Liberty Beach to Naval Crown, who is standing his second season at Kildangan Stud at €10,000, after two consecutive visits to Frankel. 

Now, no disrespect to Naval Crown, as he is a Group 1-winning son of Dubawi, which is clearly not to be sniffed at. But it’s fair to say he’s not in the same league as Frankel, the best racehorse of the modern era, perhaps all time, and a multiple champion sire. 

There is method in Mickley Stud maestro Richard Kent’s madness, though. 

“The long and the short of it is, with prize-money the way it is, the ordinary man who finds himself with a nice mare like Liberty Beach can’t afford to send her to expensive sires like Frankel and then race the resultant progeny,” he says. 

“We were very lucky to get a foal share to Frankel but Philip would struggle to be able to afford to race the filly she produced. We had to buy Juddmonte out of the filly foal at 260,000gns last year and now she has to be sold.  

“Philip is retired, and has a Volvo car that’s passed 16 MOTs, so he’s not exactly one for wasting money or spending it wildly.” 

But why did Kent and Wilkins plump for Naval Crown out of all the stallions standing in Britain and Ireland at cheaper fees this year? 

“We went back to Alastair Nicolson, who planned the matings for Liberty Beach herself and Havana Grey, who we also bred and reared on the farm,” explains Kent. “Some of his choices can be a bit wild, but I looked through them and Naval Crown fitted in well with the kind of racehorse he was, and his price point.  

Naval Crown prepares to be shown to the public at the ITM Irish Stallion TrailCredit: INPHO/Morgan Treacy

“We think these good mares are responsible for 85 to 90 per cent of the foal’s ability anyway, so all we need to do is to get the right cross of bloodlines.” 

Kent is unable to divulge details of Nicolson’s reasoning for why Naval Crown would suit Liberty Beach, but not because it is proprietary knowledge. 

“Alastair wrote me a report, but I’d need a week to read it,” says Kent with a laugh. “He tends to go back about 14 dams, and it’ll generally be in the sixth or seventh generation that he’ll find some magic cross. 

“But he also did the mating for Treve, who didn’t reach her reserve as a yearling, and we all know what she did after that. So I’m inclined to trust him.” 

Apparently the decision to send Liberty Beach to Naval Crown has even proved to be a Marmite mating within Mickley Stud. 

“We’re not all on the same page, but my priority is the client’s wishes, and Philip wants to be able to race a foal out of Liberty Beach,” says Kent. “In that regard, Naval Crown is perfect, as he’s affordable for a man to breed and race, and the cross works on paper. 

“It’s all about affordability. We’ve seen at the sales in the last few weeks that it doesn’t matter if you have a yearling by a £100,000 stallion or a cheaper horse like our own Ubettabelieveit, you’re judged on the horse you place in front of the buyer.  

“When you consider that Ubettabelieveit was available for £3,500 in his first season and one of his yearlings made £65,000 and another 62,000gns, it’s not bad. There won’t be many other sires who produced such big returns in relation to the stud fee.” 

Kent has been pleased with the reception given to the sharply bred son of Kodiac, who stands alongside Massaat and Yorgunnabelucky at the Shropshire farm. 

Rowan Scott and Ubettabelieveit win the Flying Childers Stakes at DoncasterCredit: Alan Crowhurst

“We’re delighted with the way Ubettabelieveit is going,” he says. “In a time when every pound is a prisoner, people have been able to use him at an affordable fee and have the chance of making a bit of money. Finn [Kent, Richard’s son] received 62,000gns for a filly out of a mare who cost £9,000 online. To get out on the first foal is good going. 

“There doesn’t need to be so much snobbery about cheaper stallions. Horses like Ardad and Havana Grey have brought so much pleasure to so many people without really deep pockets. There have been smaller people who couldn’t really afford ownership but had a Havana Grey and won eight or nine races with it and were inspired to carry on. 

“Nobody enjoys spending £100,000 on a yearling and running for £3,500, but if you buy a yearling for £10,000 or £20,000 and win a little bit you’ll be happy. We can't change the cost of labour and land, and prize-money isn’t magically going to change overnight, so we have to try to do something to get more affordable stud fees. The industry just isn’t strong enough to support all those higher-end prices.” 

Mickley Stud is certainly doing its bit for breeders on a budget by pitching Massaat, source of this year’s Queen Anne Stakes runner-up Docklands and Group 3 winners Coco Jamboo and Queues Likely, at £3,000 and Yorgunnabelucky, sire of smart jumpers like Libberty Hunter and Onemorefortheroad, at £2,000. 

“Massaat is doing okay but because it’s a closed market we’ve had to race them ourselves to show what he can do,” says Kent. “We bred and owned Peace Motivator, who won a bumper at Worcester on debut for Olly Murphy on Sunday, and we were involved in Queues Likely, who was sold to Australia after she finished second in the German 1,000 Guineas. 

Maassat: 'He's doing okay but because it’s a closed market we’ve had to race them ourselves to show what he can do'Credit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

“We’re hoping for another winner with Stan Moore at Wolverhampton today [the well named Queue Dos] but this is the hardest the market has been in all my time in the industry. We seem to have a smaller pool of buyers than ever.” 

Kent isn’t one to grumble for long, though, and he can see hope for the future. 

“It was lovely being at Tattersalls on Sunday for the Federation of Bloodstock Agents’ forum on finding value in the yearling market,” he continues. “There were so many young people there with so much enthusiasm. I just hope they can get rewarded for their efforts, and have as good a time out of the industry as I’ve had. 

“If I didn’t have results to follow and the Racing Post to read every day my life would be very boring. I can’t do Snapchat, and I’m not very good at Whatsapp, so racing is what keeps me going and looking forward to tomorrow. It’d be great if young people in the industry had more to look forward to as well.” 

One eager youngster who enjoyed the forum along with Kent was his 15-year-old daughter Nell, who is back at school after a busy summer helping out on the home farm – grooming, lunging and walking the horses, getting the old man out of bed and bringing him bacon sandwiches, all the usual – and selling her first pinhook, a Ubettabelieveit filly bought as a foal for 3,000gns, for £10,000 at Doncaster. 

“Nell’s mother isn't very impressed as she was hoping that at least one of the children at home wouldn't have their nose stuck in a catalogue at the dinner table,” chuckles Kent. “Nell loves it and reads everything she can about breeding. 

“It’s nice to see, and we need more affordable stallions so that young people like her can get involved in breeding and racing horses.” 

Some outside-the-box thinking can also make the game pay at a time when it’s hard to conjure up cash out of breeding and selling horses, he asserts.

“I’ve a Rumble Inthejungle filly called Manila Thriller who we reared for one of Mick and Jack Channon’s owners and received as a present,” he says. “Mick, who owns a piece of her, told me she was a very good filly, but she missed the break and ran down the field first time out.  

“Mick insisted on running her in a seller next time out. I asked why, if she’s such a good filly. He said don’t worry, he had a plan, and she duly won it. We had to pay £32,000 to buy her back in, but the prize-money wasn’t bad so we didn’t lose much.  

Richard Kent: 'Racing is what keeps me going and looking forward to tomorrow'Credit: Laura Green

“She’s since run second in two of those valuable Juddmonte restricted novice stakes two weeks in a row, and picked up £7,500 each time, so she now has £28,000 in prize-money and can still run in novice company without a penalty.  

“I tell you, when you have an old head like Mick Channon who can race plan, you can still do all right.” 

Thinking smartly also includes taking advantage of any industry incentive available, in particular the Great British Bonus scheme, which gives owners, breeders and winning connections up to £20,000 per eligible race. 

“It’s mad not to go in for those bonuses while they’re there,” says Kent. “I think there’s still a lot of people who don’t understand what they are, but they’re a massive help, and it’s up to us to utilise them properly. It’s surprising the amount of people who have yearling fillies in sales without the bonus.” 

The Irish expat – you’ll soon see why I’ve taken care to specify that – continues: “The IRE incentive with its €10,000 voucher for Irish sales on the other hand reminds me a bit of the old Green Shield Stamps. 

“People used to get a second kettle when they already had a kettle just because they had the stamps to use up. You can put that in your article, I’ll take the abuse!” 

Big wooden stirring spoon put away, he adds: “The important thing I keep coming back to is affordability. If we can just create chances for people to come into the industry and spend a reasonable sum on horses, so they can either earn some money or lose not that much, the more people will enjoy it and keep coming back.” 

Returning to the subject of Liberty Beach after getting sidetracked – not hard when you chat with Kent – he reports that the Group 2-winning and multiple Group 1-placed daughter of Cable Bay is in fine form and that it’s all systems go for her Frankel filly who will be offered by Mickley Stud as Lot 259 in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale next month. 

“The yearling is an absolute diamond of a filly with a great physical and an even better temperament,” he says. “When you see her you realise that people who work with Frankel and his offspring are very privileged. His stock seem to have huge brains about them, and certainly more sense than other horses. 

Mickley Stud: home to nonconformist thinking that makes life more interestingCredit: Mickley Stud

“Philip and us would have loved to have been able to afford to race her ourselves, but that’s the way it is. We’ll keep doing the lottery for the next four weeks, though, and if our numbers come up we won’t be selling her at all.” 

Naval Crown might not be as extravagant a mating as Frankel, but using him is definitely more realistic than waiting to win the Euromillions. Here’s hoping Liberty Beach safely delivers a foal by him who can eventually carry home colours. 

Their union isn't the only Marmite mating that will appear in this year’s Weatherbys Return of Mares.

Word reaches me that Amo Racing have been heartwarmingly loyal to their Derby, St Leger and Gold Cup runner-up Mojo Star by sending the son of Sea The Stars – who stands at Whytemount Stud, better known for its National Hunt stallions – some accomplished sharper mares, including last year’s Duchess of Cambridge Stakes heroine Persian Dreamer.  

Some will love it, others will hate it. Personally, I’d smother two slices of toast with it. Nonconformists make life more interesting, and sometimes, just sometimes, end up shaping the breed.

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“This is brilliant though, I thought he’d make 50 thousand so I’m thrilled with 70; it’s a tricky market but he’s a solid horse,” says trainer Eve Johnson Houghton after tasting success as a breeder at the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale.

Pedigree pick

Two of the best bred two-year-olds in the first crop of Sussex Stakes hero Mohaather meet in the seven-furlong maiden for unraced fillies at Newbury today (4.05). 

Suhub, trained by William Haggas for owner-breeder Shadwell, is the first produce of Falmouth and Sun Chariot Stakes heroine Nazeef, an Invincible Spirit half-sister to last year’s European champion older horse Mostahdaf. Further back it is the family of Group 1-winning sprinter full-brothers Goodricke and Pastoral Pursuits. 

Rikissa, representing handler Ralph Beckett and breeders Lynn Turner and Guy Brook, is meanwhile the second foal out of the Listed-winning Holy Roman Emperor mare Richenza, the first being Listed scorer and Greenham Stakes second Zoum Zoum. 

Mohaather’s daughters have their work cut out in a contest that has attracted 13 other fillies, most of whom are well bred and from leading stables, but now I’ve tempted fate I’ll have to do a small-stakes Tote Swinger in case they both get into the first three.

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