Prince Khalid bin Abdullah inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame

Prince Khalid is just the second person to be recognised within the Hall of Fame’s Special Contributor category, following in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth II, who was inducted in 2021.

Official press release - Monday 21st August 2023

The late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah has been posthumously inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame – the official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing. He was chosen by an independent panel of industry experts in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the sport, his achievements through his breeding and racing operation, Juddmonte, leaving a legacy that will undoubtedly continue to shape British horseracing for many years to come.

The Prince’s induction will be officially marked through a special presentation moment at York Racecourse on Wednesday 23^rd August 2023, on the same day as the Juddmonte International, a race that the organisation has supported since 1988.

Douglas Erskine Crum, Chief Executive of Juddmonte, commented:

“Prince Khalid was an owner-breeder like no other, with his numerous cherished champions, including perhaps the greatest thoroughbred of them all in Frankel. Through his racing and breeding operation, Juddmonte, the Prince has left a legacy which, now under the direction of his sons, Prince Fahad, Prince Saud and Prince Ahmed, continues to have a massive influence on the sport globally, at the same time as giving great pleasure and entertainment to his family. Prince Khalid would have been very pleased to be recognised by the British horse racing industry in this way and, on behalf of his whole family, I thank British Racing and the QIPCO Hall of Fame for this exceptional accolade”.

Launched in 2021, the Hall of Fame sets out to immortalise the Modern Greats of the sport, both human and equine, from 1970 onwards. Prince Khalid is the fourth member to be inducted in 2023, following the inductions of Sir Michael Stoute and Sea The Stars ahead of the QIPCO Guineas Festival in May and this year’s public vote winner Stradivarius, recently inducted on Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup day at Glorious Goodwood.

Never one for fanfare or self-adulation, the unassuming Prince let his horses do the talking in his famous pink, green and white colours. Over the past four decades, these silks have become synonymous with horses of rare ability, with Juddmonte a byword for excellence.

Prince Khalid started his breeding programme from scratch, buying four yearlings at the Newmarket sales in 1977, with all four horses going on to become winners. These days, Juddmonte has approximately 250 horses in training worldwide, around 200 broodmares and employs 250 people, with headquarters near Newmarket (Banstead Manor Stud), County Meath (Ferrans Stud) and Lexington, Kentucky. It currently stands five stallions, headed by Frankel in the UK, together with Kingman, Oasis Dream, Bated Breath; and Mandaloun in the US. Their elite stallions are homebred to at least two generations and, in the case of Bated Breath, four generations. They enjoy support from breeders worldwide and outstanding sustained success on the track.

There are never any certainties in racing, especially when it comes to equine chemistry, but Prince Khalid had the uncanny knack of getting the formula right time after time. Before his death, at the age of 85 in January 2021, he had the distinction of breeding and winning all the British and French Classics. Of the 560 stakes winners bred by Prince Khalid, there are 119 (and counting) Juddmonte homebreds who have won at least once at the highest level, with 30 of them winning a Classic in either Europe or America in the Juddmonte silks.

These achievements go some way to expressing the Prince’s phenomenal influence on the British – and global – racing landscape.

The flawless Frankel, trained by Sir Henry Cecil, was his masterpiece, winning all 14 of his races, including ten at Group 1 level. Frankel’s dam was Kind, and his grand-dam was Rainbow Lake, who was sired by Rainbow Quest. The Prince owned them all. “He’s the best I have had. I am lucky to have this horse,” he would say of the colt in a rare interview, flashing his warm smile in between questions. “Let us hope another like him comes along in the future,” he added.

It seems a fanciful notion there will ever be another quite like the imperious Frankel, although the colossus is himself doing his best to achieve the feat in his second vocation. He has already sired 31 Group 1 winners (nine of them in 2023 alone); was Champion Sire in 2021; and is the joint-fastest stallion in history with another Juddmonte homebred stallion, Danehill to sire 100 stakes winners.

If Frankel was Prince Khalid’s King, then Enable was his Queen. Trained by John Gosden, she embodied the Prince’s vision and ambition, with her sequence of big-race triumphs including a record three King George VI and Queen Elizabeth triumphs, two Prix De l’Arc de Triomphe victories, plus the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Turf.

In addition to Frankel and Enable, there were a plethora of other priceless treasures to savour, such as Dancing Brave, Zafonic and Arrogate. What an explosive equine five-a-side team they would have made, with numerous other stars such as Known Fact, Warning, Rousillon, Rainbow Quest, Oasis Dream, Midday, Twice Over and Kingman to also reflect on.

The racing and breeding operation of Juddmonte, Prince Khalid’s creation, continues as a world-leading international horse racing and breeding enterprise under the direction of his sons, Prince Fahad, Prince Saud and Prince Ahmed. Juddmonte-owned horses have won 76 races this year with Gr.1 wins from Elite Power, Whitebeam, Westover, Chaldean and Set Piece.

The tribute video can be watched here with further information about the Hall of Fame here.