Sean Feld showing brotherly love with his Climax Stallions venture

This article was first published in November 2019

Among the eclectic mix of 69 syndicate members who own leading Ladbrokes Trophy fancy Cabaret Queen, along with the postman, poet and professional golfer, is a prominent US bloodstock agent.

Sean Feld, who runs Climax Stallions and was instrumental in the purchase of multiple champion racemare Beholder no less, was one of those who heeded syndicate organiser Jack Cantillon's call to action when he and Adam Potts bought the seven-year-old daughter of King's Theatre out of Dan Skelton's yard for just £13,000 at the Goffs UK Spring Sale in May.

Transferred to the care of Willie Mullins, Cabaret Queen was a wide-margin winner of the Munster National last month and is around a 7-1 shot for Saturday's historic handicap chase at Newbury.

“I own a part of Cabaret Queen's tail,” says Feld, whose father Bob bred and co-owned three-time Grade 1 winner and regular Royal Ascot visitor Miss Temple City. “I’ve known the Cantillons for a bit and when Jack announced he was going to syndicate her, I looked up her form and figured it was worth a punt.

“She's run twice for us and she has a win and a second. Jack did a great job picking her out and Willie Mullins is a legend.”

Following the revitalised career of Cabaret Queen has been a pleasant distraction for Feld as he prepares for another covering season with the roster of sires he manages across the US and Europe.

Cabaret Queen: the Ladbrokes Trophy fancy is owned by a syndicate of 69 membersCredit: Patrick McCann

Climax Stallions has cornered the market in standing brothers to more illustrious names. On its books at present are Curlin To Mischief, an unraced half-brother to the leading sire in North America, Into Mischief, by the second-leading sire, Curlin, at Rancho San Miguel in California; Editorial, a War Front half-brother to Uncle Mo who won a maiden special weight and is based at Roland Farm in Maryland; and St Patrick's Day, a Group 3-placed brother to American Pharoah at Journeyman Stud in Florida.

It also markets Bullet Train, the Group 3-winning Sadler's Wells three-parts brother to Frankel who formerly stood at Crestwood Farm in Kentucky and is now on dual-purpose duty at Woodfield Farm Stud in County Waterford.

“It just happened organically,” says Feld about the strategy of sourcing siblings to superstars. “We bought Bullet Train and had some success, and then we bought Curlin To Mischief because of my connection to Beholder and [her half-brother] Into Mischief and that suddenly became our business model.

“We keep an open mind when looking for potential stallions, and we've been lucky enough to find some quality brothers. But they need to have the proper physical to match the good pedigree.”

The insistence on unimpeachable conformation helps counter any cynicism towards stallions whose racecourse record either doesn't exist, as is the case with Curlin To Mischief, or inevitably falls short of what their famous brothers achieved.

“Since we're particular about the physicals, people are willing to take a punt on the brother since they like his looks,” says Feld. “Curlin To Mischief was unraced but he had very fast timed workouts, which ultimately helped us that first season. When his pedigree exploded we were getting a lot of mares.”

Curlin To Mischief is off to a positive start with his debut juveniles this year, with four winners from just six runners including Shuster, who scored by more than four lengths for Leonard Powell on his sole start in a Santa Anita maiden last month.

“He was bred to 60 mares in his second year and 79 in his third year,” reports Feld. “We're very excited for his next few crops. We hope he's standing for six figures in the near future.”

The first foals by Editorial, currently on southern hemisphere shuttle service in Peru, were born this year.

“They've been cracking,” says the agent. “He had one sell in Saratoga for $25,000 and has a really nice one selling in the Timonium sale next month. He's throwing good size and massive shoulders.

“People are very excited for St Patrick's Day,” says Feld of the son of Pioneerof The Nile starting out in the Sunshine State in 2020. “I've even sold some seasons to Kentucky breeders, which is hard to do in a regional market. We can’t wait to see his foals.”

And as for Bullet Train, the update is: “He's been very well received in Ireland. He has a few jumps horses in America and they definitely have an affinity for the discipline. Gary at Woodfield Farm Stud has done an outstanding job with him.”

Outlining his ambitions for Climax Stallions, Feld says: “We'd love to keep expanding. The 'brother' business plan has been great but we wouldn’t mind branching out to good racehorses.

“We've made some offers but ultimately didn’t get the stallions. St Patrick's day was one jump away from being a Group 3 winner, though, and Bullet Train was fourth in two Group 1s, so they definitely had talent.”

Even if Cabaret Queen wins by half of Berkshire on Saturday, it is unlikely she will dislodge Beholder as the leading lady in Feld's affections. He helped select the daughter of Henny Hughes at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale during his three-year tenure at Spendthrift Farm, which bought the mare for $180,000 and raced her to 11 Grade 1 victories.

“She was just so athletic as a yearling,” says Feld. “She had a massive walk and the shoulder to match. Into Mischief being her half-brother was definitely a plus but she didn’t look anything like him. She's special.”

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