Two Oaks contenders give Nathaniel every chance of beating old rival to landmark

He could hardly have run up against a tougher intake of freshmen, with his peers already producing winners of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Poule d’Essai des Poulains. But then Nathaniel knows better than any horse of his generation that things can sometimes get easier even as they are supposed to become harder.

Nathaniel famously ran Frankel closer than any subsequent rival when beaten half a length on their mutual debut in 2010. And if nobody could know just what kind of freak he had encountered on the July Course that evening, nor did anyone then realise how exacting a standard Frankel had already met himself.

Nathaniel, of course, proceeded to find easier pickings in some of the biggest races around, proving himself top-class in his own right over middle distances. And while it again proved impossible to match Frankel’s flying start, once the two sons of Galileo transferred their rivalry to stud, it would always have been premature to judge him on a fairly low-key start with his juveniles.

Sure enough, a maturing first crop has been bubbling up nicely all spring. So much so, that Nathaniel could yet beat Frankel to a first British Classic success when two impressive trial winners - both, as it happens, in the same ownership as Frankel - line up for the Investec Oaks on Friday.

Sensible

For any breeder sensible enough not to worry that he needed a little time and distance to reach his full potential, Nathaniel always had plenty to recommend him - starting with his dam.

Magnificient Style was in foal to Galileo when bought privately from the Sangster family by Lord and Lady Rothschild in 2007. The Silver Hawk mare had already produced a Derby fourth, Percussionist; Playful Act, winner of the Fillies’ Mile and runner-up in the Irish Oaks; dual Group 2 scorer Echoes In Eternity; Feilden winner Petara Bay; and Changing Skies, a dual Grade 3 winner in the US and only beaten a head in the Flower Bowl Invitational.

Presumably Magnificient Style cannot have cost quite as much as her daughter Playful Act, who also changed hands around that time. The difference was that Playful Act went through the ring at Keeneland, where Coolmore’s interest forced Sheikh Mohammed to break the world record for a broodmare at $10.5 million.

Whatever the price, the Rothschilds surely got the better value out of these respective transactions. They sent Magnificient Style back to Galileo and produced Great Heavens, winner of the Irish Oaks; and the colt she had delivered in the meantime, of course, turned out to be Nathaniel.

Like many others in his family, Nathaniel bloomed at three. After winning by five lengths at Royal Ascot, he proceeded to become the first three-year-old in eight years to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Even then Nathaniel was not quite able to claim his day in the sun, the race being overshadowed the fatal injury suffered by Rewilding. With the passage of time permitting a more detached assessment, he deserves full credit for beating a Derby and Arc winner, Workforce, and six-time elite scorer St Nicholas Abbey.

At four Nathaniel logged the Group 1 win over ten furlongs so essential to the timid breeders of today, winning the Eclipse on his reappearance, and was thwarted only by the nose of Danedream when seeking a second King George. Aptly enough, he also closed out his career in the same race as Frankel, finishing third in the Champion Stakes.

Six-figure average

With his stud career in mind, the Rothschilds had by then entered partnership with Newsells Park, where Nathaniel started out at a fee of £20,000. The impression made by his first yearlings translated into a six-figure average at the sales, including a couple of major pinhooking coups.

Camas Park Stud, for instance, had given 125,000gns for a Nathaniel colt at the 2014 Tattersalls December Sale. Back in the same ring the following autumn, he raised 675,000gns from M.V. Magnier. Meanwhile a 600,000gns filly, also sold out of Book 1, doubled her foal price as a rare yearling purchase by Juddmonte.

This was none other than Natavia, herself clearly not precocious - judging from the fact that Roger Charlton did not race her at two - but fast-tracked to Listed company when breaking her maiden at Newbury earlier this month.

Natavia was a rare Juddmonte yearling purchase at 600,000gnsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Natavia was bred by Nathaniel’s home stud from the Arazi mare Our Queen Of Kings, whose daughter Spinning Queen - somewhat out of the blue - won the Sun Chariot by nine lengths on her final start. Our Queen Of Kings herself is a half-sister to dual Grade 1 winner and Breeders’ Cup Mile third Labeeb; Arlington Million runner-up Fanmore; and Alrassaam, a Group 2 winner over 9f.

If the family has majored at eight to ten furlongs, it is seeded by a lot of the right names - always nice to see Princequillo working into the bottom line - and Nathaniel looks set to emulate his sire as a reliable influence for stamina.

His second Oaks contender, Juddmonte homebred Enable, not only ran at two - albeit only in late November - but won impressively on debut. Looking ready for a stiffer test when third to stablemate Shutter Speed at Newbury in April, she duly showed a taking mix of dash and stamina in the Cheshire Oaks.

Deep Wells

The second ingredient is loaded into her family tree. Her dam Concentric, a Listed winner, is by Nathaniel’s grandsire, Sadler’s Wells, out of a Shirley Heights mare who won a Group 3 in France over a mile and a half. Concentric’s sister, meanwhile, is a Prix de Diane runner-up and dam of Juddmonte’s record earner, Flintshire.

Besides this very legitimate Oaks pair, Nathaniel also has an outsider in the Investec Derby on Saturday. Glencadam Glory, a 90,000gns Book I yearling bred by John Deer, is a half-brother to some quick horses but came from miles off the pace when second to Best Solution in the Lingfield Trial.

His Eclipse win gave Nathaniel the Group 1 over 10f so cherished by breedersCredit: Edward Whitaker

One way or another, things are beginning to happen for Nathaniel, with maiden and handicap winners seeming to pop up every few days. Supported by breeders who neither expected nor particularly wanted to win a Brocklesby, he has now maintained books of at least 135 mares for four years and taken only a single small trim to his fee, to £17,500.

Perhaps there is no better template than the success of Eynhallow in a competitive handicap at Goodwood last Thursday. Having shown glimpses of ability in three starts at 7f last year, he was gelded over the winter and stepped up to 9f for his reappearance. Albeit doubtless helped by his jockey, who astutely ignored a hot pace, his performance aptly condensed the profile of his sire’s first crop. That is to say: in no hurry early on, but proving well worth the wait.