IF I set you the task of writing a template for the ideal stallion prospect, it is probable you would come up with a profile of the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes winner Lead Artist. This Juddmonte homebred may have taken until the age of four to win at the highest level, but in that regards he is rather typical of many horses in his female line.

Lead Artist is a son of the outstanding Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), out of a group-winning mare by Frankel (Galileo), and he has as his third dam the outstanding Blue Hen mare Hasili (Kahyasi), one of just three thoroughbred matrons in history to breed five Group/Grade 1 winners – and she came so close to being responsible for six, or even seven. I am penning this piece in the same week that I will be meeting the Irish National Stud students to talk about great broodmares.