Juddmonte's Lead Artist to Shuttle to Australia in 2026

Lockinge Stakes (G1) winner Lead Artist (GB) will shuttle to Arrowfield Stud in Australia in 2026. The 5-year-old son of Dubawi (IRE) will begin covering his first book of mares at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud in February at a fee of £12,500 and will commence his Southern Hemisphere career later in the year. Arrowfield chairman John Messara said the long-term deal represented a significant acquisition for the farm and described Lead Artist as the most exciting pedigree prospect he had encountered since global phenomenon Danehill. "I haven't been more excited about a stallion since Danehill," Messara said. "I haven't seen a pedigree like this, with that level of prepotency on both sides, anywhere." The John and Thady Gosden-trained Lead Artist was the winner of four of his 11 starts and raced exclusively in stakes company after winning his second start by almost 5 lengths over a mile at York as a 3-year-old. He added successes in the 2024 Thoroughbred Stakes (G3) at Goodwood and Darley Stakes (G3) at Newmarket to his CV that season before returning at 4 to claim the Lockinge at Newbury, where he defeated the classic-winning trio of Rosallion (IRE), Notable Speech (GB), and Fallen Angel (GB). Messara said Lead Artist's pedigree was central to Arrowfield's interest. "He's by Dubawi, who's one of the hottest stallions in the world; he's out of a Frankel mare—it's a pedigree from heaven," he said. "You can get horses who are great but can't pass on their genes. But there's a history here of enormous prepotency in this family." Lead Artist is out of the Frankel (GB) mare Obligate, herself a dual black-type winner at a mile in France, and is a grandson of Hasili, Juddmonte's Broodmare of the Year in 2006 and dam of five group 1 winners. Messara added, "It's a great family, and one that's not often let out of Juddmonte's grasp; they've kept all the females. But we're accessing it via a male." Arrowfield's bloodstock manager, Jon Freyer, was sent to inspect Lead Artist before concluding the deal. "Jon came back with a very positive report," Messara said. "He's just over 16 hands and is a lovely, well-balanced individual. Apart from his physical appearance and his race performance, the fact he's got a family like his made us very eager to secure him." Lead Artist will stand alongside other sons of Dubawi in Australia, and the cohort includes Too Darn Hot (GB), who stands at Darley's Kelvinside base. Meanwhile, Benbatl (GB), another of his sons, shuttles to Woodside Park Stud in Victoria, while Henry Longfellow (IRE) calls Rosemont home during his time in the Southern Hemisphere. Another son of Dubawi, Night of Thunder (IRE), previously stood one season in Australia and has since sired nine stakes winners from 70 runners there. Messara said Lead Artist's profile as a European miler added to his appeal. "When you get a top European miler, you've got a tip-top horse," he said. "A miler gives you good versatility. You can send shorter-distance mares to him and get a sprinter, or mares with more stamina to get a trip." Arrowfield will announce Lead Artist's Australian fee after the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in March and plans to provide strong internal support. "We'll support him well ourselves," Messara said. "I think he'll be a very good commercial horse as well as turning into something pretty special as a stallion." The New South Wales operation has had a long-standing association with Juddmonte, which previously included the acquisition of Danehill and Bellotto, and the shuttling of Zafonic in 2002. "We're delighted to be doing business with Juddmonte again," Messara said. "There hasn't been a time frame set on his shuttling, but it's a long-term situation. They take a long-term view on their breeding programs, and so do we." Juddmonte chief executive Douglas Erskine Crum said the operation was confident Arrowfield would provide an ideal platform for Lead Artist. "Arrowfield's success with shuttling stallions, along with a proven track record for producing champion sires such as Danehill, Redoute's Choice, and Snitzel will provide Lead Artist with the perfect platform to start his Southern Hemisphere career," he said. "In terms of pedigree, this regally bred group 1-winning miler comes from the family of outstanding blue-hen mare Hasili. Lead Artist possesses all the credentials to continue the significant influence of the Dubawi line in Australia."