Juddmonte's supersire Frankel has rewritten the record books for a stallion and on the afternoon of Aug. 10 at Newmarket, the champion sire of 2021 and 2023 reached a century of group winners when his daughter Lake Victoria won the Sweet Solera Stakes (G3).
The 16-year-old son of Galileo arrived at his landmark of 100 individual group winners in the shortest time of any sire, while he matched the record for fastest sire to 100 individual stakes winners with another Juddmonte great, Danehill. His first 50 group winners were also compiled in the shortest time by any European sire since the introduction of the Pattern.
It has taken him a little over eight years to hit this mark. His first group winner was also a daughter; Juddmonte homebred Fair Eva in the Princess Margaret Stakes (G3) at Ascot in July 2016 while his second group winner was another filly, the Lowther Stakes (G2) winner Queen Kindly.
Frankel's first group 1 winner came in December of that year when Soul Stirring won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1) in Japan. That was the first of 34 and counting individual group/grade 1 winners that the unbeaten champion has sired from a total of 148 stakes winners and 230 stakes performers.
Frankel retired to Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud in 2012 as one of the greatest runners Europe has ever seen. Campaigned by Juddmonte's Khalid Abdullah and trained by John Gosden, Frankel consistently rewrote the history books with his electrifying feats, ending his career unbeaten in 14 starts. The 10-time group 1 winner captured nine consecutive group 1 races from ages 3 to 4.
Although Frankel's latest group winner was bred and is owned by Coolmore, she has strong Juddmonte connections as her broodmare sire is Juddmonte's 2009 Gimcrack Stakes (G2) winner Showcasing, who has become a successful sire at Whitsbury Manor Stud.
Lake Victoria's dam Quiet Reflection is from the second crop of Showcasing and became the first group 1 winner for her sire when successful in the 2016 Commonwealth Cup (G1). Trained by Karl Burke for Ontoawinner, Quiet Reflection also won that year's Sprint Cup (G1) at Haydock and was third in the July Cup (G1).
Victorious in eight of her 13 starts with seven of those wins coming in black-type races, she was sold through Jamie Railton for 2,100,000gns at the 2017 Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
Lake Victoria is the fourth foal and third winner that Quiet Reflection has produced; her previous three foals were all by Galileo. She has yearling and foal full brothers to Lake Victoria and returned to Banstead Manor this spring to be covered by Frankel.
Her first group winner is the second juvenile group winner sired this year by Frankel, and both are Coolmore homebreds out of group 1-winning sprinters. The other is runaway Chesham Stakes heroine Bedtime Story, who led home a 1-2 for Frankel in the Silver Flash Stakes (G3)at Leopardstown last month.
Frankel commanded a fee of £350,000 for the 2024 breeding season.
