Constitution x Caribbean Babe colt
China Horse Club’s first foray into trading directly into the Middle East was well rewarded when Najd Stud, the Saudi Arabian breeding empire of HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled Bin Abdulaziz, fought off international interest to secure a Constitution x Caribbean Babe colt for AED1,600,000 (USD432,000) at the 2023 Goffs Dubai Breeze Up Sale.
The colt, the third highest priced lot of the auction, is the second China Horse Club bred performer sourced by Najd Stud in under a year. The globally minded operation secured its first when making arguably its biggest splash to date when bidding 3,600,000 guineas (USD4.5 million) for multiple G1 winner Saffron Beach at the 2022 Tattersalls Breeding Stock Sale.
“It is wonderfully exciting to see an operation with the intention of Najd Stud purchase our Constitution colt and we hope he helps them realize their weighty ambitions,” said Eden Harrington, Vice President of China Horse Club.
“As a club whose origins are also from a developing thoroughbred region, we are delighted to see the further diversification and sophistication of racing across the Middle East.
“Dubai is a centre we have long had an association with through our sister company, Teo A. Khing Design Consultants, who designed Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse and grandstand and in more recent times with our racehorses. We hope our racehorses will also allow us to support Saudi Arabia and others in the near future.”
Meydan Racecourse and Grandstand
In its ten years of operation China Horse Club has let its horses be its ambassadors in opening opportunities in new markets and it building relations with leading players. This approach allowed it to transition from initial interest in France and Australia to expanding into the United States, Britain, Ireland, Singapore and Mainland China.
A year ago, its talismanic runner Life Is Good, owned and raced in partnership with WinStar Farm, competed in the USD10,000,000 G1 Dubai World Cup. It was the club’s second assault on the feature meeting having contested the 2015 G1 Sheema Classic with Just The Judge, owned in partnership with Qatar Racing.
Life Is Good
The powerfully made Constitution colt was expected to be a hot commodity at the Goffs Dubai Breeze Up Sale and didn’t let onlookers down when becoming just the third lot of the auction to burst through the AED1,000,000 barrier. Bidding on the handsome bay accelerated quickly from that point as Najd Stud and BBA Ireland’s Mick Donohoe traded AED100,000 bids. At the close, it was Najd Stud who won out.
Najd Stud is fast becoming a notable player in the Sport of Kings. It has sourced stock to support Saudi Arabia’s racing carnival which is headlined by the USD20 million Saudi Cup. It has also moved quickly building a broodmare band and stallion interests in Europe and has expressed its intentions of expanding its footprint into major markets such as the United States and Australia.
“Our strategy is to make Najd Stud, which has been going for four years so far, a global brand and we’ll start, inshallah, in September to do things as well in America,” said Spokesman Saud Al Qahtani in 2022.
“To buy a very good horse is very difficult. If you try to buy a Group 1 winner in America or Europe, there’s only one reason why anyone will sell and that’s to go to stud as a stallion. For racing, nobody will sell.
“Our goal is to breed our own horses to compete in big races, [in Britain], in Australia, Dubai, Europe, America, everywhere.”
If you would like to learn more about the China Horse Club exclusive membership offer, please email your inquiry to horses@chinahorseclub.com.