The Stradivarius Effect: 'People Want to See Him and That's Huge for the Stud'

The unmistakably charismatic Stradivarius (Ire) became one horse to buck the trend of the top stayers being shuffled off to National Hunt studs after glorious careers on the Flat when his owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen elected to stand him at the National Stud in Newmarket.

In his first two seasons there he has covered 220 mares and now foal judges and pinhookers will have their first chance to set eyes on a bunch of his debut crop at Tattersalls in just over a week's time, when 14 of his 80 weanlings come under the hammer during the December Foal Sale. 

In those first two years at stud, breeders were given extra enticement to use the son of Sea The Stars (Ire) with Nielsen's introduction of a series of bonuses which mean that the breeder of any member of those crops who wins a Group 1 in Britain, Ireland or France at two or three will receive £250,000, while the breeders of any Group 2 and Group 3 winners will receive £100,000. Furthermore, there are £25,000 bonuses for the breeders of his first ten juvenile winners in Britain, Ireland, France or Germany from each crop. 

That will certainly have helped to focus people's attention, and there are some notably shrewd names among the breeders of Stradivarius foals in this year's Return of Mares, but to a certain extend the horse sold himself. Plenty of folk who went to see him at the National Stud were quickly won over by Stradivarius's swaggering walk, which is coupled with the character that enabled him to become one of the most beloved racehorses of the last decade, with seven Group 1 wins and a further 11 group victories to his name. 

Whether he imparts those same characteristics to his stock will be seen in the years to come, but early reports and feedback from breeders have been pleasing both the National Stud team and Nielsen.

“I am not a judge of a yearling or a foal or anything like that,” Nielsen admits. “I'm just going on what people who've come up to me have said, and I keep hearing, 'Wow, we've got this fantastic foal'. And that's from people who know the time of day. So it's going to be really interesting, because the feedback I've had is that he's had a lot of quite big, strong foals with great walks, like him.”

The National Stud's Jamie Jackson has seen 'the Stradivarius effect' firsthand. As much as he is standing as a commercial stallion, the star stayer has also been a huge tourist attraction. The signpost on the roundabout near to the National Stud points visitors to the 'Home of Stradivarius' and the number of people taking the stud tour has grown since his retirement. 

“When we announced that he was coming to the stud he was still at Mr Gosden's at that stage but people were turning up here, expecting to see him,” Jackson recalls. 

“The tour buses are generally about 20-seaters and they were getting larger and larger, and there were more and more of them. When people come here they make a beeline to see him. He's in the first paddock on the left now, so he's demanding people give him attention. I was only down there earlier for a stallion show and he was making sure his presence was known.”

He continues, “But they want to see him, they know who he is, and that's huge for the stud, to involve and engage people who naturally perhaps aren't too much involved in the breeding side of things.”

The National Stud consigns three of the Stradivarius foals to Tattersalls, including a half-brother to the listed winner and Group 2-placed Biographer (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}), who is lot 1053 and was bred by Nielsen. 

Jackson says, “When you're selling at Tattersalls you can see how many people have looked at the pedigrees [online] and, funnily enough, all of our foals that are by Stradivarius have had about three times more people look at the pedigree, which is quite interesting.

“We're selling one on the Saturday and he's had near enough 150 more people look at his pedigree than the rest,  just because he's by Stradivarius. That's the effect that he's having.”

Lot 696, a colt out of Greatestshowgirl, from Salcey Forest Stud | Melanie Sauer

Among those breeders who signed up mares to visit Stradivarius is Sir Alex Ferguson. His filly foal is a half-sister to the treble Group 2 winner Spirit Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and has already been named Harmony Row after the Glasgow-based youth football club based at Alex Ferguson Park in the renowned football manager's home city. 

The Burns family of Lodge Park Stud have a colt out of the Oaks fourth and listed winner Vow (GB) (Motivator {GB}), while Kildaragh Stud, Ringfort Stud, Stetchworth and Middle Park Studs, Kingsclere Stud, Wretham Stud, Mount Coote Estates and Ashbrittle Stud all feature on Stradivarius's list of patrons. 

Among his 86 mares in foal this year, perhaps the most notable is Copgrove Hall Stud's La Pomme d'Amour (GB) (Peintre Celebre), a Group 2 winner herself who is now the dam of G1 Irish Champion Stakes winner Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}). If the resultant foal is not a flashy chestnut there will certainly be questions asked in the house.

The Knox family's Spinatrix (GB) (Diktat [GB}), the dam of the G3 Athasi Stakes winner Twilight Spinner (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}), is another to have visited him earlier this year. 

Nielsen has of course supported his stallion himself, including with his Royal Ascot winner Agrotera (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who hails from a terrific family which includes Sea The Moon (Ger) and this season's G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Sosie (Ire), both of whom are by Sea The Stars. 

He says, “Unfortunately, I lost one, but I've got three or four in the first crop, and I have another three or four [mares] in foal. I'm going to send good mares to him again this year. Agrotera is going back to him and I'm also sending [her half-sister] Jeanne d'Arc, who is by Le Havre, as well as a couple of French mares from good families that I bought especially for him.” 

Nielsen remains convinced that Stradivarius will be capable of breeding good runners on the Flat. 

He says, “The one difference between him and any so-called stayer that I've ever seen is his turn of foot. Most other stayers, nearly all of them are grinders and they can never be anything but National Hunt stallions, because they don't have the turn of foot. And they just turn up the heat and gallop on and gallop on. But he has that conformation too. He looks like a miler.”

Nielsen adds, “The difference between the great and the good, whether it's human beings or horses, is the brain and the way they relax, and everything is different in the great sportsmen and the great horses. Much less fazes them than fazes the rest of us. And he was certainly… He didn't care, did he? He just walked around like he owned the joint.”

By all accounts, Stradivarius is still behaving in this manner, the racecourse now replaced by the stallion yard and paddocks of the National Stud that make up his new fiefdom.