Frankel picks up two dates during southern hemisphere time

John Singleton's prized mares More Joyous and Dear Demi will be covered by the dual world champion Frankel to southern hemisphere time, and were on their way from Australia to Britain on Wednesday night.

Singleton, who is the principal of Strawberry Hill Stud, has supported Frankel since he was retired to stud in 2013, and this year the seven-time Group 1 winner More Joyous will visit the stallion for the second time, while VRC Oaks heroine Dear Demi will be covered by him for the first time.

Last year, the eight-time Group 1 winner More Joyous missed to Fastnet Rock while Dear Demi failed to get in foal after being covered by Arrowfield Stud's late champion sire Redoute's Choice, enabling the pair to be sent to Europe.

Singleton's racing manager Duncan Grimley confirmed on Wednesday the duo were being accompanied on the flight by Strawberry Hill Stud manager Bridie Sparkes.

"When Frankel first went to stud we thought it was a good opportunity to send a couple of mares over there and we had a couple of maiden mares at stage, which were More Joyous and More Strawberries, and we took that up," Grimley told ANZ Bloodstock News.

"Since then, if we have had mares of good enough quality who were empty, then we have sent them across."

Dear Demi and More Joyous will reside at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud near Newmarket and return to Australia in either December or January.

Frankel is the sire of 45 individual stakes winners, including eight Group 1 winners headed by the John Gosden-trained Cracksman, while he has had 18 southern hemisphere-bred runners for 16 winners including Singleton's homebred filly Miss Fabulass and South African stakes winner Miss Frankel.

He is also the sire of the Australian stakes-placed trio of Frankely Awesome, Merovee and Farooq.

"He's a fantastic stallion," said Grimley. "His record in the north is second to none and if you look at how many runners he has had for the quality of horse he has produced down here, he has done very well [in Australia].

"Realistically, you normally get a good sort by him anyway. Both of these are quality mares who should suit him well."

More Joyous, who won 21 races for Singleton and trainer Gai Waterhouse, was covered by Frankel in 2013, producing Canterbury winner Woman who will head to stud this year after a four-start racing career that was plagued by feet issues.

She is also the dam of the Lindsay Park-trained winner More Sundays, by Fastnet Rock, and the Singleton-owned stablemate Best Ever, by Snitzel, a new season two-year-old colt.

Dear Demi's first living foal, a two-year-old colt named Ma And Pa by Redoute's Choice, is being trained by Chris Waller.

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