FRONTIERSMAN, who carried the silks of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin to victory in the Listed Mukhadram Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket, is a blue-blood, being a son of the outstanding stallion Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) and the dual Group 1 classic heroine Ouija Board (Cape Cross), herself deserving of the adjective outstanding, as seven of her 10 wins were at racing’s elite level.

This makes Frontiersman a half-brother to the Group 1 Derby winner Australia (Galileo), sire of seven Group 1 winners, and when he joined the stallion roster at Overbury Stud in Gloucestershire, he was going there to stand alongside two other former Godolphin runners in Kayf Tara and Jack Hobbs.

Bred by Lord Derby’s Stanley Estate and Stud, Frontiersman was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed as a yearling in a private deal, and joined Charlie Appleby. He did not possess the ability of his better-known sibling, but he proved to be useful, running 16 times and winning four. He landed a 10-furlong Newbury maiden on his second start at three, and at four raced in handicaps before putting up a career-best performance when runner-up to Highland Reel in the Group 1 Coronation Cup.

Frontiersman came close to gaining what would have been the biggest win of his career when he followed that Epsom run and took second to Hawkbill in the Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes, beaten three-parts of a length. He ran third in the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes before scoring in the Listed Godolphin Stakes that season. He made three early season starts at five, getting closer to Hawkbill when beaten a head in the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold and running fourth to Vazirabad in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup, both at Meydan.

Speaking at the time of his retirement, Overbury Stud’s Simon Sweeting said: “He’s an intriguing stallion prospect; he’s well-made and very eye-catching, plenty talented enough and with that amazing pedigree. The history books say that a stallion this well-bred doesn’t have to be a Group 1 winner to excel at stud. Kodiac and Fairy King spring to mind, and Dubawi himself is out of a mare by Deploy; like Frontiersman, he was a Group 1 runner-up who was a half-brother to a Derby winner out of a great racemare.

Mr Prospector

“Frontiersman is a descendant of Mr Prospector, a non-Group 1 winner, and, funnily enough, goes back in direct male line to Sickle, bred by the current Lord Derby’s grandfather. He was the half-brother to Derby-winner Hyperion who, despite never winning at the highest level, nonetheless became an influential stallion in his own right. It’s something for Frontiersman to live up to!”

Sweeting’s enthusiasm for his new sire seemed justified when the sire showed an early ability to get winners, not only over jumps but also on the flat. His daughter Asian Daze, from his second crop, was runner-up in the Listed Kooyonga Stakes days before the Goffs London Sale in 2024, and then sold there for £200,000 to Gai Waterhouse.

That second crop, now five-year-olds, also includes Tally Ho Back, second in a listed bumper at Ascot in December, and who holds an entry in the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper next week. However, the star of that second crop is Montemares, trained by Tom Lacey for his good owners John and Gay Chinn, and he took his race record to three wins in four starts with a clear win in the Grade 2 Premier Novices’ Hurdle at Kelso.

This was a nice return to the winners’ enclosure after the gelding was fourth to No Drama This End in the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle, his only defeat. Plans would appear to be that he will now head to Aintree or even Punchestown to test his ability again at the highest level, and eventually a career over fences is clearly his calling.

Jane Way

Montemares, bred by Jane Way in Warwickshire, made just one appearance in a sale ring, at the 2024 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale. He was consigned by Hugh Bleahen’s Clifton Farm in Tipperary, a place he has had for more than 20 years. The farm is having a good run currently with horses that have passed through their hands, and Hugh sold Montemares to Tom Lacey for €45,000.

Obviously, the gelding had impressed Bleahen as he also traded his half-brother last year, and that son of Planteur (Danehill Dancer) was purchased by JJ Bowe and Monksgrange Stud. Jane Way paid £7,500 for Montemares’ twice-raced dam Mawaweel (Authorized) at Ascot as a four-year-old when she was carrying her first foal.

Way then took Mawaweel down the National Hunt route, and her second offspring, which was kept, is another filly, Rightofway (Clovis Du Berlais). Way is racing her and she has finished second once. Any type of a win with her would be a boost to her breeding prospects ultimately. Mawaweel has a two-year-old son by Jack Hobbs (Halling), and was covered by that Overbury stallion last year.

While this is a female line associated with the Loder family for generations – Marwell (Habitat) and her daughter Marling (Lomond) are two of its best members – Way’s decision to try the jumping route was no doubt influenced by the fact that Mawaweel’s half-brother Mustamir (Medicean) was a listed chase winner in the Czech Republic and a Grade 2 hurdle runner-up in Italy, while their half-sister Risaala (Alhaarth) was second in a listed bumper at Sandown Park.