This article first appeared in the May edition of Owner Breeder magazine
It is easy to become wrapped up in the commercial aspect of the business but it remains that owner-breeders continue to be very much the backbone when it comes to class. That is despite a seemingly dwindling number of such operators, sadly not a surprising development if the expense and length of time required to cultivate a successful stud is taken into account.
Thankfully a number are on track for a good season if this season’s early British Flat action is are any indication.
In Feilden Stakes winner Almeric, Kirsten Rausing appears to have unearthed another Classic candidate, one who may attempt to emulate the victory of his sire Study Of Man in the Prix du Jockey Club. Foaled when his Listed-winning dam Alvarita was 20, the Andrew Balding-trained colt is yet another talented member of Rausing’s Alruccaba family and is inbred to Alzao, a pattern he shares with one of Deep Impact’s first good European representatives, Group 3 winner Aquamarine.
Prince AA Faisal was also on the mark at Newmarket’s Craven meeting as the owner-breeder of Abernant Stakes winner Sajir. The colt is one of four stakes winners by Make Believe bred by the Prince’s Nawara Stud, in whose colours the stallion won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains; the best of the quartet is champion Mishriff. In addition, Sajir is out of a mare by Invincible Spirit, another bred and raced by the Prince. Similarly, his Nell Gwyn Stakes third Remaat represents the fusion of two high-class Nawara horses, being by Kodiac out of an Olden Times mare.
It was also a remarkable few days for Juddmonte Farms. The operation celebrated a quartet of Classic trial victories starting with Better Together’s success in the Prix Imprudence at Deauville. By veteran Juddmonte stallion Oasis Dream, who also supplied the second home Ghoufrann, she belongs to the Peace family that has been such a Juddmonte mainstay since its incorporation during the early 1980s following the death of John ‘Jock’ Hay Whitney. The acquisition, for which trainer Jeremy Tree was influential, gifted the operation with its Rockfest line responsible for Frankel and now Jonquil, who looked a Guineas colt when taking the Greenham Stakes at Newbury for Andrew Balding. The Lope De Vega colt, who is the first foal out of the Listed-placed Jovial, ultimately sidestepped the 2,000 Guineas in favour of a crack at the French equivalent. That left the operation’s emphatic Craven Stakes winner Field Of Gold as its sole representative in the Newmarket Classic, where he came within half-a-length of running down the winner Ruling Court.
There is also the well-regarded Cosmic Year, a Kingman colt from the Lost Virtue family who made it two from two in impressive style at Kempton during April, to consider. He later ran out the taking winner of the Listed King Charles II Stakes at Newmarket.
Meanwhile, Juddmonte’s hand within the fillies division was further strengthened by the win of Zanzoun in the Nell Gwyn Stakes. The Dubawi filly is the first foal out of Lyric Stakes winner Franconia, a half-sister to Nassau Stakes heroine Winsili from Juddmonte’s Suntrap family.
As is generally typical of Juddmonte, Zanzoun, Jonquil, Better Together and Cosmic Year are products of those older established families that have been cultivated over at least four decades. In the case of Field Of Gold, he represents the newer strategy of selectively adding new blood, an approach which has reaped dividends in recent years through 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean, a foal purchase, alongside the champions Arrogate and Elite Power in the US.
In the case of Field Of Gold, he was one of the highlights of the 2022 Goffs November Sale when purchased for €530,000. Of course, no operation would be more in tune with the capabilities of Kingman than Juddmonte. They would also be keenly aware of the depth of his female family, which represents several generations of accomplished cultivation by Bobby and Honora Donworth’s Roundhill Stud.
As with plenty of this family, Field Of Gold is grey, his colour most likely stemming from the presence of Unbridled’s Song as the sire of his granddam Princess Serena.
Princess Serena was bred in the US by Arthur Appleton’s Bridlewood Farm although she ran in Britain for Brian Meehan, for whom she showed limited form. She duly wound up back in the US but was back on her travels not long after when picked up by Roundhill for $150,000 at the 2003 Keeneland November Sale.
Princess Serena had plenty to recommend her on pedigree being out of a sister to champion Serena’s Song, whose 11 Grade 1 wins for D Wayne Lukas included the Oak Leaf Stakes at two to the Haskell Invitational over colts at three. The daughter of Rahy also became a remarkable producer as the dam of six stakes winners including Coronation Stakes heroine Sophisticat, one of the first examples of the global versatility of this family.
Princess Serena has also done plenty to extend the line’s influence on turf in Europe since. She was particularly effective with Shamardal (which produces inbreeding to Rahy), to whom she foaled Australian Group 2 winner Puissance De Lune and Middleton Stakes scorer Queen Power. To Shamardal’s son Lope De Vega, she also foaled 2019 Prix d’Ispahan winner Zabeel Prince.
Her first foal, minor winner Serena’s Storm, has also added her own chapter for Roundhill as the dam of Moyglare Stud and Coronation Stakes winner Rizeena and Dubai Group 2 scorer Summer Romance – like Field Of Gold, a grey Kingman.
Field Of Gold’s dam, Princess De Lune, is a sister to Puissance De Lune and Queen Power, and looked set for a black-type career herself when winning her debut, a division of the traditionally competitive Bridget Drew maiden at Newbury, in the spring of 2017. As it turned out, she didn’t win again in three further starts but is more than making up for it at stud; Field Of Gold is her third foal and follows the Oasis Dream filly Zanbaq, a Listed winner for Shadwell, and 83-rated Lunar Eclipse. Now an 11-year-old, Princess De Lune has a yearling filly by Ghaiyyath and was covered by Too Darn Hot last year.
As for Roundhill Stud, it also have another branch of this family serving them well in Pure Symmetry, a Storm Cat sister to Sophisticat – and therefore daughter of Serena’s Song – who was purchased for $230,000 at Keeneland in January 2015. That mare is the dam of King’s Gambit, who could be a force for Wathnan Racing and Harry Charlton as a four-year-old this year having been Group-placed on multiple occasions last season.
NEWNESS LEGACY CONTINUING TO BLOSSOM
The Wildenstein family’s lengthy association with the turf was a colourful one that brings to mind numerous champions, among them four homebred winners of the Arc.
Yet thanks to the input of Sylvia Wildenstein, widow of Daniel, the name also flows ever more strongly within jumps breeding. The source in this instance is Newness, an accomplished jumper whose dynasty ranges from the leading jumps sire No Risk At All to the current high-class hurdlers Murcia and Nara. Indeed, the reach of this line was very much on show at Aintree’s Grand National meeting at which Murcia, a Doctor Dino great-granddaughter of Newness, won the Grade 1 Anniversary Novices Hurdle and No Risk At All sired the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle winner Salvator Mundi. Both horses are trained by Willie Mullins.
No Risk At All has swiftly become one of the most desirable National Hunt sires for Haras de Montaigu. Salvator Mundi is his second Grade 1-winning novice hurdler of the season following Kopek Des Bordes, who had Salvator Mundi back in fifth when maintaining his unbeaten run in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. His win continued an excellent record for No Risk At All at the meeting, which is headlined by 2020 Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante and dual Ryanair Chase scorer Allaho. Well regarded on both sides of the Channel, presumably the son of My Risk is in strong demand with breeders again this season at a career-high fee of €20,000.
No Risk At All was the penultimate foal out of Newness and helped bring her stud career to a fine close by winning a pair of Flat Group 3s, the Grand Prix de Vichy and Prix La Coupe, for Wildenstein and trainer Jean-Pierre Gallorini. Best when the mud was flying, he was one of no fewer than eight black-type horses out of the mare.
Newness was Wildenstein-bred top to bottom as a daughter of Simply Great and Neomenie, the 1982 Prix La Perichole Steeplechase winner whose wider reach also takes in John Hales’ excellent chaser Politologue.
Simply Great was one of the great white hopes for Daniel Wildenstein and Sir Henry Cecil during the early 1980s. In fact, such was his home reputation that the Mill Reef colt was among the favourites for the 1982 2,000 Guineas before he had even run. Although he ultimately never made it to the Classics, he did land the Dante Stakes before soundness issues intervened. He retired to stud in Ireland in 1985 just months before his younger half-brother Sagace won the Arc; neither sibling would go on leave much mark at stud, with Simply Great’s current prominence more or less owed to the exploits of Newness.
Newness won four races under the care of Gallorini including the 1992 Prix Edmond Barrachin Handicap Chase at Auteuil. However, her race record pales into comparison with her stud career. Her second foal, the Marignan filly N’Avoue Jamais, won the 2000 Prix Alain du Breil at Auteuil and is now a major producer in her own right as dam of the high-class French jumpers Nid d’Amour, Nickelle and N’Oublie Jamais. In turn, Nickelle is the granddam of Nara, a daughter of Glenview Stud’s recent recruit Jeu St Eloi who was last seen winning a Grade 2 novice chase at Thurles in January for J P McManus.
Newness’ third foal, meanwhile, was the Linamix gelding Nom D’Une Pipe, who defeated Bilboa to take the 2001 Prix Sageris at Auteuil.
She clicked particularly well though with Daniel Wildenstein’s 1993 Grand Criterium winner Lost World, a son of Last Tycoon to whom she produced Prix Wild Monarch Hurdle winner Narkis, Grand Prix de la Ville de Nice Chase winner Nom De D’La and most importantly Nickname, an excellent chaser for Martin Brassil whose five-race winning sequence during the 2006-07 season included the John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown and Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown.
Nickname was a bit of a rarity in Ireland as an entire mixing it with the best over jumps. He died young at stud and in hindsight was a major loss given that his three crops contained jumpers of the calibre of Frodon and Cyrname. Thankfully, No Risk At All has picked up the baton.
As for Murcia, she descends from Newness via her classy Flat daughter New Saga, who ran fifth to Divine Proportions in the Prix de Diane before gaining black-type over jumps. Bred by Sarl de Chambure Haras d’Etreham et al, Murcia is the first foal out of Belle Et Chic, a placed daughter of the top dual-purpose sire Poliglote, and has the makings of an important broodmare of the future for her owner Kenny Alexander, whose Scottish-based New Hall Stud of course also houses Honeysuckle.
Newness died at Haras de Victot in 2018 at the grand age of 30. When Sylvia Wildenstein’s bloodstock holdings were dispersed at Arqana in February 2012, the 11 horses belonging to the line realised over €400,000. Over a decade on and her tremendous legacy continues to blossom, its aptitude for jumping and regular output of class making it one of the most elite and desirable families within its field.
