Planteur heads steady Chapel Stud roster for 2024 at £4,000 fee

Chapel Stud in Worcestershire has maintained its three stallions at a constant fee for the 2024 season. Standing on behalf of DahlBury, Planteur and Bangkok will again stand at £4,000 and £3,000 respectively, while Hellvelyn also retains his fee of £2,500.

As stud director, Roisin Close noted, Planteur has found success under both codes since his move to Britain from France for 2021.

She said: "Planteur continues to produce results on the racetrack. His flagbearer on the Flat, Trueshan, had another good season and was crowned Cartier Stayer of the Year for a second time. Similarly, his top performer over fences, Gran Diose, had a fantastic 12 months, winning two Grade 2 chases and he recently finished second in a Grade 1 chase at Auteuil. 

"Across both codes Planteur is a stallion who is producing tough, sound and versatile progeny, winning as two-year-olds and older, on the Flat and over fences. He has a 31 per cent win strike-rate with his two-year-olds – 30 per cent of his progeny run at two. Those figures continue an upward trajectory and by the time they are four-year-olds the win rate is 55 per cent."

It is a key period for the high-class Bangkok. 

Bankok: first foals selling this weekCredit: Edward Whitaker

Close added: "Bangkok has his first foals for the Flat selling at Tattersalls this coming week. They are strong, correct, and attractive foals, very much in his likeness. As a half-brother to the Group 2 winning two-year-old and three-year-old The Foxes, as well as five more stakes horses, I think people will be very surprised at how precocious they are, and they could be buying themselves the winner of the ‘Bangkok Bonus’.

"Hellvelyn continues to produce, tough, sound and trainable winners. He is also starting to show his strength as a broodmare sire, with Group 2 winner Asymmetric and Group 3 winner Mill Stream."

Chapel Stud also welcomed Walzertakt’s first British foals and reported he was supported with 80 mares in 2023. It confirmed he will not be covering in 2024 due to a surgical procedure in the summer and is being given time to fully recover.

The fees for the stallions are based on October 1 FFR terms and Chapel will again be offering discounts under its ‘Pick a Nom’ initiative for Planteur and Bangkok.

Simon Davies, owner of the stallions standing under the DahlBury banner, said: "We appreciate that breeders, as our clients, have very different needs and budgets, and therefore wanted to offer a choice with our stallion nomination terms as well as ensuring value options for everyone."

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