The 2023 foaling season is over and 19 Royal foals have been reported so far:-
Colt by Frankel out of Castle Lady
Colt by Lope de Vega out of Sweet Idea
Colt by Siyouni out of Companionship
Colt by Showcasing out of Make Fast
Colt by Kingman out of Award Scheme
Colt by Frankel out of Portfolio
Colt by Kingman out of Desert Breeze
Filly by Dark Angel out of Kinematic
Filly by Palace Pier out of Memory
Filly by Dubawi out of Thought Process
Filly by Ulysses out of Good Hope
Filly by Night of Thunder out of Light Music
Filly by Sea the Moon out of Approximate
Filly by Sottsass out of Queen’s Prize
Filly by Camelot out of Daphne
Filly by Camelot out of Desert Flyer
Filly by Too Darn Hot out of Shama
Filly by Sea the Stars out of Diploma
Filly by Dubawi out of Magnetic Charm
No returns for these mares:-
Nathra (covered by Dubawi)
Light Refrain (covered by Dubawi)
Estimate (covered by St Marks Basilica)
Enticement (covered by Night of Thunder)
Medley (not covered)
Momentary (not covered)
Hypoteneuse (not covered)
Golden Stream (not covered)
Craftiness (not covered)
Star Value (not covered)
Not covered mares (in 2022) could have been rested, retired or dead.
So out of 29 possible mares, 23 were covered of which 19 have produced live foals. The remaining 4 are unlikely (though not too late) to be reported to have produced a live foal. 6 mares were not covered.
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At the end of last year much was made, in the press, of the King reducing his racing interest. So, I thought I’d look back 5, 10 and 15+ years to see corresponding figures for mares in the Royal Stud and to get some perspective.
Five years ago, 2018, The Queen had 29 foals, 5 no returns (probably barren) and one dead mare, there were no rested mares that year.
In 2013 there were 23 live foals, 3 no returns (all barren) and one dead mare.
In 2008 there were 17 live foals, 3 no returns and one dead mare. One mare was rested.
In 2005 there were only 14 live foals and 4 barren mares, there were no rested mares.
This means that in the last 18 years the broodmare band grew from around18 mares in 2005 to 27 in 2013. The band grew further to 35 in 2018 but reduced to 29 mares this year. So, the Queen doubled her involvement between the mid-noughties to say 2020. The culling of mares and fillies of breeding age seen last year only brought the numbers back to where they were in say 2014/5. Importing of new blood started in the mid to late noughties (mentioned over the years by me) drove that growth of the number of broodmares in the Royal Stud. With a few exceptions it hasn’t been particularly successful. So perhaps a period of consolidation is needed. Personally, I’d like to see the number of broodmares trimmed to perhaps 24 to 26.
The King had 2 new mares join the ranks this year and presumably Mellow Yellow and Perfect Alibi have been covered this Spring. That raises the figure to perhaps 31 (I don’t know if some of the band were retired this Spring) plus he has 9-10 3yo fillies in training. I would not be surprised if a dozen mares and fillies of breeding age are sold this Autumn and December. He also has 14 2yo fillies, which means there are more opportunities to sell breeding stock next year (he may even sell some 2yo fillies this year, as he did last year). There’s no point in keeping poor or unsound stock.
