Chaldean's first Southern Hemisphere foals turning heads at Karaka

Cover image courtesy of Cambridge Stud

Thursday's 2026 New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale will feature two opportunities to buy stock from the first crop of Cambridge Stud’s shuttler Chaldean (GB), whose first Southern Hemisphere-bred weanling to be offered at auction made $180,000 at the Inglis Great Southern Sale earlier in June.

The reception that has been given to the record-breaking G1 Dewhurst Stakes winner’s first crop has Cambridge Stud enthused about the stallion’s future in New Zealand.

In the mould of his father

Haunui Farm will present Lot 3, a colt out of winning Showcasing (GB) mare Novashow, a granddaughter of G1 Emirates Stakes winner Bonanova (NZ) (Star Way {GB}), while Curraghmore will offer Lot 54, a filly out of Top Note (NZ) (Burgundy {NZ}) from the family of NZ Bloodstock Filly of the Year Belle En Rouge (NZ) (Burgundy {NZ}).

“Having seen them in person myself on the sale grounds, I think they are both going to go down very well with the buying bench,” said Cambridge Stud’s Scott Calder. “The colt is a chip off the old block. He’s close to a clone of his father, and the cross with Showcasing has already worked very well for Frankel, producing horses like four-time Group 1 winner Lake Victoria. He is a genuine representative of the stallion.

“Curraghmore’s filly is a real sharp looking filly. It looks like she will get up and go quite quickly, and I think that is one of the hallmarks we are seeing in Chaldean’s foals.”

Gallery: Featured weanlings of Chaldean for 2026 New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale, images courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock

“It is a really good physical match,” said Haunui Farm’s Mark Chitty of the mating decision for Lot 3. “I have actually bred a couple of Showcasing mares to him. This mare was quite sharp, she was fourth in the G2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes. I bred her first to Proisir, and then I had committed to send some mares to Chaldean for the first three years, so I selected her.

“He is a great physical match for her, and he is a horse that you would hope would produce an earlier type, especially with these young mares with nice pedigrees.”

Novashow is a half-sister to Listed Geelong Classic winner Extra Choice (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice), out of Bonanova’s Listed Bonecrusher Stakes-winning daughter Bonaichi (NZ) (Fusaichi Pegasus {USA}). Bonanova herself is one of three Group 1 winners for Listed Belle Of The Turf Stakes victress St Klaire (Bletchingly), along with her full brothers G1 Chipping Norton Stakes winner Telesto (NZ) and G1 Spring Champion Stakes winner Fraternity (NZ).

“We like him a lot,” Chitty said of the colt. “I put him in the weanling sale as he has continued to thrive all the way through his preparation, and this seemed like a good opportunity for him. He is in the mould of his father and he is here to meet the market.”

Chitty believes that what buyers will find most appealing is that the colt still has a lot of improvement to come between now and January’s yearling sales.

“He has been admired by a few, and his x-rays rate very well,” he said. “There is plenty of improvement ahead of him, and I think people can see that.”

Making the right impression

A son of Frankel (GB) bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, Chaldean caught the eye of breeding giant Juddmonte Farms as a weanling, selling for 550,000 gns ($1.1 million) to the entity at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in 2020. In the same silks as his father, the chestnut won four consecutive starts as 2-year-old, rising from maiden grade to win the G3 Acomb Stakes, the G2 Champagne Stakes, and finally the G1 Dewhurst Stakes in race record time.

“He was almost the perfect 2-year-old,” said Calder. “He improved with every step up, and then he came back in the spring to win the Guineas.”

Returning at three, he emulated his father in completing the Group 1 double of securing the G1 2000 Guineas over a mile, cementing himself a spot at stud in both hemispheres. His first book in New Zealand was capped at 120 mares, and he served a capacity book, returning in 2025 to cover 128 more.

“His book size would no doubt be bigger if not for the cap,” Calder said. “On the other hand, he is going to have a nice number of foals without saturating the market, and for anyone buying one, that definitely comes into play with next year’s yearling sales. There are some very nicely bred horses headed to those sales, but he won’t be overrepresented.

“I think what has gone to market in the Southern Hemisphere has certainly been very positive. We had a lovely filly sold at Melbourne by Burnewang North Pastoral for $180,000, she was a quality filly who was very well received.

“Even though he himself was a late foal, he was forward and developed enough to make a lot of money as a weanling. He had a really good weanling sales season in Europe, so he is stamping his crop with the same maturity, and we hope to see similar results down here too.”

Improving the breed

Chaldean’s strong 2-year-old profile combined with a successful dual hemisphere sireline is what stood out to Cambridge Stud.

“He has a real 2-year-old profile, and he is the best 2-year-old son of Frankel,” Calder said. “That was a huge draw card for us. The shuttle horses who have worked best down here, they bring similar profiles and strong 2-year-old form with them.

“Physically, he also has a lot of his damsire Dutch Artist about him, he has a real strength that he is passing on to his foals. They have good hindquarters, they are all good movers, and I think they will really appeal to the Australasian market by inheriting their sire’s precocity.”

Fast, new blood is of particular importance to the New Zealand gene pool, and Calder expects to see that play a role not only in how the two Chaldean weanlings sell on Thursday, but in what mares he serves in his third season at Cambridge Stud.

“You have to appreciate in New Zealand that we breed a lot of middle distance horses, and so a lot of our broodmares throw to that,” he said. “We definitely can see him producing spring 3-year-olds and middle distance types as well when bred to our mares, but it really helps to have that speed and precocity in his profile.”

Chaldean will be joined on the Cambridge Stud roster in 2026 by Charyn (Ire), who finished third when Chaldean finished second in the G1 St James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

“It is funny how things go full circle at times, with Charyn joining our line-up,” Calder said. “They raced each other a few times, and soon they will be in the same barn as one another on the other side of the world.”

The intention is that Charyn, a world champion miler and a Group 2 winner at two over 1200 metres, will continue New Zealand’s long history of success utilising European stallions to improve their genetics.

“If you look at the bigger picture, we are a small country at the end of the world, and yet you can breed to some of the best bloodlines in the world here,” said Calder. “You have access to horses like Chaldean, Charyn, Paddington, Auguste Rodin. It is a real boost to the local breeder to have access to these highly credentialled horses, and it is important to get these kinds of horses into our sales rings and onto our tracks.

“The global world of breeding is getting smaller, and Brendan and Jo Lindsay have invested hugely in this direction, bringing stallions down here like Almanzor and Hello Youmzain, and now Charyn and Chaldean. These are world class bloodlines and really well credentialled sons of some of the world’s best sires.”