Cracking America a tough gig even when you're a champion and Frankel's brother

Even when a horse is a champion in his own right and a brother to a legend, as well as dashingly handsome and an early leader among his generation at stud, the breeding business is no easy game.

That seems particularly true in this era for European-raced stallions standing in America, as evidenced by Frankel’s brother Noble Mission, who still faces a bias even after siring Code Of Honor, a multiple Grade 1 winner on dirt and runner-up in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, in his first crop.

Noble Mission is preparing to begin his sixth season at William S Farish’s Lane’s End Farm, where there remains a strong sense of optimism that he can surmount American breeders’ trepidations and become influential in the sire ranks.

Noble Mission already stands in the upper echelon of his generation - fourth cumulatively among third-crop American and European sires by progeny earnings with more than $5.76 million, behind only Goldencents, Cairo Prince and No Nay Never, and ahead of Kingman and Australia, among others. He also is one of only eight stallions in this group to have sired a Grade/Group 1 winner.

“I think his potential is very exciting - the challenge is just getting people to breed the right kind of mares to him to give him opportunity,” said Bill Farish of Lane’s End as he hosted a stallion show and dinner forum for members of the racing media.

“It’s still very tough. There is a bias against grass [bloodlines and performance],” Farish noted, despite the fact that Americans realise that their own turf races offer higher average purses than do dirt events and can provide larger fields of competition that generate more wagering revenue.

“I think it’s just one of these things that takes a lot of time to change. As simplistic as it sounds, as long as the Kentucky Derby is on dirt, our world [in America] is going to revolve around dirt."

His point is underlined considering that, despite Noble Mission’s early success spanning 56 individual winners, the stallion’s book is not yet full for 2020. His fee this year is $20,000, up from $15,000 in 2019, but down from the $25,000 he started his stud career with in 2015.

“We’re working on it," said Farish. "I’d like to tell you that his book is chock-a-block full but he’s not quite there."

David Ingordo, Lane’s End bloodstock adviser, noted that 11-year-old Noble Mission is now in that time frame where young stallions have to continue to deliver significant runners and a measure of success in sale rings in order to stay busy in the breeding shed.

Noble Mission has to “overcome some hurdles,” said Ingordo, including his misfortune to have suffered a colic attack that limited his breeding activity in 2016, leaving him with only 37 named foals in his crop of three-year-olds for 2020. His first crop, now four, numbers 113 and he has 83 two-year-olds this year.

That crop of juveniles includes individuals bred by Juddmonte Farms, which bred and raced Noble Misison and Frankel, as well as a number of prominent other international and domestic breeders such as the Farish family and associates, Ghislaine Head, G Watts Humphrey, Mt Brilliant Farm, Gary and Mary West, and Fred Hertrich.

“For me, as horse buyer, Noble Mission has all the credentials - I know I can buy a Noble Mission and win a Grade 1 race,” Ingordo said of the flashy, white-splashed son of Galileo who won three Group 1 events and reigned as Europe’s champion older male of 2014. “I think the potential for that horse is unlimited.”

So far, however, Noble Mission’s offspring have not met with great enthusiasm in the auction marketplace. His 37 yearlings sold last year averaged $43,203, although that group included a $360,000 filly out of the Street Cry mare Playtime who was bred by Vincent Viola’s St Elias Stables and sold to Starlight Racing at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected sale.

Other interesting members of Noble Mission’s crop of juveniles this year include Fingal, a colt bred by Juddmonte from the French stakes-placed Tapit mare South Bank, a daughter of European champion Special Duty; an unnamed filly bred by William S Farish out of a Group 3-placed half sister to Prix Royal Oak winner Technician sold to Hugo Merry Bloodstock for $105,000 at the Keeneland September sale; and another filly bred by St Elias out of the British stakes-placed Lookin At Lucky mare Pin Up and from the family of Group 1 winners Yesterday and Quarter Moon.

In looking toward racing, Farish and Ingordo stressed that they believe Noble Mission will best succeed with mares that contribute speed.

Code Of Honor, who was bred by the elder Farish and retained when he was a $70,000 RNA (reserve note attained) at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale, backs up that opinion as his dam is the Dixie Union mare Reunited, a Grade 3 winner over six furlongs on dirt.

Code Of Honor (nearside) wins the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park after Vino Rosso was disqualified

A finalist for the Eclipse Award as America’s champion three-year-old, Code Of Honor has earned more than $2.3m with wins including the prestigious Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, both at ten furlongs.

“If you don’t breed some speed to Noble Mission, you could get a more mile-and-a-half type horse and that’s not necessarily what most American breeders are looking for, so I think it’s important to inject speed,” said Farish.

Noble Mission has also sired British Group 3 winner Spanish Mission, who captured the $1m Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes on turf at Belmont Park; multiple American stakes-placed Life Mission; and four-time Australian winner Buffalo River, who has succeeded on all-weather and turf.

Despite the challenges of standing a European-bred and/or -raced stallion, or any stallion whose best performances came on turf, Farish said he will do it again without hesitation with the right prospect. The potential of gaining multi-talented offspring through selective matings is too great to eschew.

“It’s difficult, but you’re crazy not to try. The horse I’m afraid I’m going to really kick myself over for a long time is Bricks And Mortar. He was absolutely a very viable possibility for a lot of farms to make a play on, but they didn’t do it and we didn’t do it,” he said of the 2019 American Horse of the Year.

The son of Giant’s Causeway won the Breeders’ Cup Turf, among other major grass events, and was undefeated during his stellar season prior to being sent to Japan for stud duty at the Shadai Stallion Station.

“Timing plays into it - it’s not like everybody was given a chance after he was named Horse of the Year,” said Farish, explaining that breeding rights to Bricks And Mortar became available prior to his peak, with Shadai announcing the acquisition from Klaravich Stables and William H Lawrence in early August.

Meanwhile, going forward, Noble Mission seems eager to begin breeding again, prancing past onlookers at the stallion show with his neck arched. On the same day, Code Of Honor received clearance to rejoin trainer Shug McGaughey after a winter vacation and will aim to enhance his own and his sire’s laurels.

Farish said: “He has put on over 100 pounds in the last couple of months and he’s really matured nicely. We can’t wait for him to get back to work in Florida.

“Code Of Honor is incredibly exciting for his sire and for us. He should give breeders a lot of incentive to try to breed fast dirt mares to Noble Mission because he’s shown he can get a horse like Code Of Honor, who could not only run on the dirt but who could run over a distance.

"Hopefully we’ll get some more versions of him in Noble Mission’s crops to come.”

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