Epsom’s lightning-quick five furlong track is just about the last place you’d want to give away ground and challenge from the back of the field. As such, it wasn’t looking promising for Stormy Impact in the 3YO Dash on Derby Saturday – Simon Holt noted in commentary that the filly had “lots to do” – with all except one of her 15 rivals in front of her with two furlongs to run.
Yet under star apprentice Warren Fentiman, Stormy Impact powered down the outside as the leaders began to tire, edging ahead near the finish to take the valuable prize by a length, to the delight of owner Steve Bradley.
He says: “Two furlongs out it looked embarrassing, I thought she’d be tailed off! Then Warren conjured a run down the outside – the finishing speed she showed was unbelievable.
“The race was run to suit because they went too fast and feel in a heap.
“John Williams, the former jockey who is a close friend, urged me not to run her at Epsom, but I decided I would – and I’m glad I did!”
He continues: “Warren’s a very talented rider. I think he’s got a good chance of being champion apprentice this season.
“He rode one for me last year, I think it was his third or fourth ride, and fell off coming out of the stalls! But he’s excellent and I have a lot of faith in him.”
Bradley is no stranger to success on the big stage, having seen his red and black silks carried to victory at Royal Ascot by Stormy Impact’s half-brother The Ridler – the siblings are homebreds under the Smarden Thoroughbreds banner – in the 2022 Norfolk Stakes.
On that occasion, The Ridler had to survive a stewards’ enquiry after Paul Hanagan’s mount hung badly left inside the final furlong, hampering the placed horses. Kia Joorabchian, owner of the second and third, then lodged an appeal that was spun out until the end of that August when it was dismissed by an independent panel.
“I watched The Ridler’s Norfolk win on the big screen in the paddock with my son and daughter,” Bradley relates. “The victory wasn’t tainted by the enquiry, but it dragged on and took six weeks to get a decision. This was during Covid, everything was carried out remotely, and they threw the kitchen sink at it!
“It was an absolutely brilliant day – that win was on a different planet. It’s a bonus to win any race at Royal Ascot, but if you’ve bred it too it’s extra special. We were invited back to the course for a celebratory breeders’ lunch – I think out of all the winners at that year’s meeting, only us and one other breeder still owned their horses.”
Bradley’s interest in racing started in the late 1960s on the family farm in south Wales – the land is now occupied by an exclusive golf club and spa.
His parents, who raised cattle and horses and managed a haulage business, bought and raced both ponies and thoroughbreds, which ran in the name of his mother.
Having decided the farming and haulage world wasn’t for him, Bradley made his mark in financial services, initially with Prudential, moving around the country – “I was very lucky in my career as I was headhunted a couple of times” – before starting a company called UKinsuranceNet with two colleagues. The business was developed to become one of the leading online insurance brands and was sold in 2020; it’s now part of PIB Group.
Bradley, who now lives in Yorkshire and has interests in commercial property and a firm called Seegrow Solutions that produces ozonated water to treat turf in sports arenas – “Arsenal and Chelsea have our machines; I think the principles of running a business are the same if the idea is good” – first dipped his toes into ownership through syndicates.
Deadly Encounter, shared 50-50 with a friend, won a couple of decent handicaps with Richard Fahey – trainer of The Ridler and Stormy Impact – while others owned in partnership included Emperor Caradoc and Parisiac, the latter with late Levy Board Chairman Paul Darling.
“Paul was a lovely guy – how the sport needs him now,” Bradley says. “He was a huge support to me when The Ridler enquiry was going on.”
The move into breeding occurred when Bradley met Hilary Fitzsimons by chance at Jane Chapple-Hyam’s yard 14 years ago. Fitzsimons, who owned a homebred in training that he took a half-share in, also had some broodmares. “They were okay but I didn’t want to breed from them,”
Bradley recalls. “I wanted to buy new mares and Colorada was the first one.”
Colorada, acquired for the princely sum of 2,500 guineas at Tattersalls in 2016 – “I liked the pedigree of Lope De Vega out of a Sadler’s Wells mare” – has proved an exceptional purchase. To date she has bred four individual winners – The Ridler, Stormy Impact, Dylan De Vega and Colorada Dancer – while her son by Bated Breath made 170,000 guineas at Book 2 of the Tattersalls Yearling Sale in October, bought by Jamie McCalmont for owner Marc Chan. Named Suspicious Mindz and sent to Jessica Harrington, the two-year-old showed promise on his first start at the Curragh early last month.
Bradley says: “The mare has been brilliant for us – Smarden Thoroughbreds is shared with Hilary – and we paid next to nothing for her. Suspicious Mindz is the first one we’ve sold for decent money. As for Stormy, the object now is to get some black type.
“When you’re lucky enough to have a good horse, you can look at all the programme books you want, but sometimes you’re better off following the route of another horse that’s progressed from three to four.
“The one that springs to mind is No Half Measures. Look at what she did last year, ending up at Longchamp [in the Prix de l’Abbaye]. Richard Hughes has already done the planning for us!”
Despite being a daughter of French Derby winner Study Of Man, Stormy Impact, whose dam recorded one placing from seven outings at up to seven furlongs, is showing her talent over sprint trips.
“I think perhaps Kirsten [Rausing] and the team at Lanwades [where Study Of Man stands] were gobsmacked,” says Bradley.
“It was on their website when Stormy Impact won at Epsom over five furlongs on the same day that Many Men landed a valuable handicap at Doncaster over 1m6f! Both are by Study Of Man – it’s given a different perspective to the stallion.”
In the pipeline is Colorada’s latest progeny – a Too Darn Hot yearling filly – along with a two-year-old Bated Breath colt bought last year and a homebred two-year-old son of Almanzor out of Sous Le Soleil. Four foals were also purchased in 2024.
Sous Le Soleil is the dam of Wootton’Sun, who landed the Old Newton Cup in Bradley’s colours before being sold to Prince Faisal Bin Khaled, for whom he contested the Saudi Cup in February.
Bradley thought so much of Wootton’Sun that he purchased his dam in France to breed from. He sold Sous Le Soleil’s Waldgeist colt as a yearling for €80,000 at Arqana – he made €360,000 when re-offered at the breeze-ups – while her first colt by Almanzor, The Sheriff, was entered in the German Derby at the time of writing.
Sous Le Soleil was subsequently sold but sadly died earlier this year while foaling.
There’s plenty to look forward to for Bradley, 75, who enjoys the social side of racehorse ownership but takes issue with the way racecourses distribute their income from media rights – “Stormy Impact is my Madonna, and she wouldn’t perform at a venue for free!” – and feels the sport has suffered under the current Labour administration.
“This government are an absolute shambles,” he says. “Trying to tempt someone under 40 to take a leg in a horse is a bloody sight harder now than it was three years ago.”
He adds: “I think the best aspect of ownership is the camaraderie with the other owners. There’s never any animosity. We all know it’s costing us a lot of money, whether you’ve got millions or not.
“If you have a big or a small share in a horse, you’re still there to win that race. Look at Middleham Park at Epsom on Derby day – they had over 100 people there. That’s what we need.”
