How on earth does Ringfort Stud do it?
The farm, founded by Derek and Gay Veitch on 300 acres of rich limestone land in County Offaly in 1999, has in recent years produced Champion Stakes hero Anmaat, Haydock Sprint Cup victors Minzaal and Big Mojo, Group-winning two-year-olds Black Caviar Gold, Miss Amulet, North Coast, Threat and Ubettabelieveit, as well as the smart performers Indie Angel and Youth Spirit.
It’s not just the quantity of talented athletes being turned out by the operation from a relatively small number of broodmares that is so impressive, it’s also how they were bred. Nearly all of them are by sires at the affordable end of the spectrum, and their dams didn’t have the most obvious credentials.
Anmaat, for example, hails from the first crop of Awtaad, who stood at a fee of €15,000 that year, out of African Moonlight, a daughter of Halling who was beaten 50 lengths in total on her two outings, and Minzaal came from the debut generation of Mehmas, who started out at a €12,500 fee, out of Pardoven, a Clodovil mare who was bred at Ringfort Stud and bought back cheaply after failing to make the track.
When Derek Veitch is asked for the secret of his success, he suggests that a lack of spending power compared to the breeding big guns has forced him to box clever. “I’m not really sure what we do differently but I do know that our financial clout at the sales is very small,” he says. “Our ability to buy the best broodmares is poor. Because of that, we’ve had to try to identify individuals who look suitable for breeding on physique and have the nicest pages we can afford.
“I tend to buy mares with very deep pedigrees. Even if they haven’t been any good in their racing careers they could still make decent broodmares if they’re by leading sires or from strong distaff lines. Then it’s just a case of choosing the sires and sire lines that might click with them. I like looking at what’s worked historically using various search engines.”
He adds with a laugh: “There’s lots of little ideas that swirl around my head. It would take all day to put flesh on the bones of all of them.”
We wouldn’t have done nearly as well without the land
Some of those breeding theories will no doubt be proprietary information that have given Ringfort Stud its competitive edge, so you can’t blame Veitch for not sharing them in too much detail. He doesn’t need much encouragement to extol the virtues of one of the farm’s other main advantages, though.
“We’ve done respectably and we wouldn’t have done nearly as well without the land,” he says. “We live in the village of Rhode and besides us are Paschal Kellaghan and the late Tom Lacy’s family, both very good breeders, and within a few square miles is Tally-Ho Stud. Loads of Group 1 winners have been bred within a small area relative to the size of the industry, both in terms of geography and the number of mares stabled here.
“If there’s a reason for that, it’s got to be the natural features – the limestone land, the water and the constant, temperate climate. Whenever the minerals in the soil have been tested the results are excellent. That said, you can mismanage good ground or manage bad ground well, there are ways around it. “But, generally speaking, we were lucky we bought the farm here, because the quality of
the land makes a big contribution to a high percentage of sound horses coming off the place.
“I look at studs in other areas that are run by good people and have nice mares, and produce similar-looking horses who are always well presented and make a lot of money at the sales, but they don’t produce as many winners as they should relative to the standard of stock they’re breeding from. I think that has to be down to the land.”
Ringfort Stud also allows its young stock to reap the benefits provided by the land rather than interfering with their development. Rearing racehorses rather than sales horses is the aim there.
“We bring the horses forward in a more wild, natural way during their rearing period from birth to the yearling sales,” says Veitch. “They fight, they play, they run and they gallop, and they do that every day, so they develop organically for racing.
“There’s no putting the horses in a barn for four months in the winter, with three feet of straw underneath them, so that they’re not fit to move outside the barn come spring time. That’s not conducive to making racehorses.”
Every December we get around a table and review
Something else that makes Ringfort Stud stand out from the crowd is its strict financial planning, which ensures that mare purchases and mating plans are made for the right reasons and not out of convenience. That sort of probity ought not to be uncommon in the industry, but many newer entrants do seem only to trade horses on the never-never.
“People might call it boring, but it’s just the way I was brought up by my parents: to have money before I spend it,” says Veitch. “Every December we get around a table and review what’s happened in the last year and think about what we’re going to do in the next year. We’re always careful with our budgets and ensure we leave a good buffer of cash flow, so that if something were to go wrong and we weren’t able to sell a horse for whatever reason, we’d manage for two years.
“I think it’s just normal, and it’s rash and impetuous to do otherwise. People should treat success and failure the same way. I’ve seen several people fail in this business and they wonder why, but they never took stock. For me, the best people in this industry, and in life generally, are those who handle failure well and learn from it.
“In fact, I like to see the younger generation come out and make mistakes because God knows I made plenty along the way, and if they learn from it, it’s not a bad thing. It makes them more capable operators in the long run.”
Ringfort Stud evidently has the right natural environment and business principles, but that doesn’t quite answer the question of why its stock selection is so successful. Maybe a closer look at the pedigrees of some of its recent star graduates will throw up some clues to the winning formula.
The dam of Anmaat – who was recently retired by Owen Burrows after winning half of his 18 starts and finishing out of the top three on only one occasion – might not have been much cop but she was well-bred and, even better, she was free.
He’s been a fabulous horse for Shadwell
“African Moonlight was part of an exchange,” Veitch explains. “A fella gave her to me after she’d hurt her pelvis, in return for an average yearling I bred. I started by sending her to stallions standing at very low fees, the sorts you really wouldn’t expect to produce stakes horses, but she upgraded them. She produced the US Grade 3 winner Syntax to Haatef and the Listed runner-up Sir Gin by Moss Vale, who I also bred.
“I thought I was stepping her up in quality by sending her to an Irish 2,000 Guineas winner in Awtaad, and it seemed to work. Anmaat was a big, strong, good-walking colt who deserved to make a lot of money, and he did, as I sold him to Angus Gold for 140,000gns. He’s been a fabulous horse for Shadwell. If he’d had a bit more luck he could have won three more Group 1s this year but he finished second each time as he kept running into a good one.”
Ringfort Stud lost African Moonlight at the age of 19 this year, but the dam of eight winners in total has left the operation some well-bred youngsters.
“In the spring she produced a big Havana Grey colt foal who had hip lock,” says Veitch. “She was fine for three days, but it turned out that the colt had put a pinhole in her colon, maybe because of the hiplock, and she died of septicaemia.
“We have her Palace Pier two-year-old filly who we tried to sell as a yearling last year but nobody wanted her, even though we were looking for only €30,000 for her. I’d say she’s worth €150,000 in the ring as a broodmare prospect without racing, but we have her in training with Ross O’Sullivan, and we’re going to see if we can get her forward enough to run. It won’t be this year, though, as she’s not precocious.
“The Havana Grey colt is a strong, strapping lad, not a typical five or six-furlong horse. There’s a lot of Teofilo coming through. Everyone sees Havana Grey as a two-year-old sire, getting short runners, but I don’t. I think if he gets the right mares he’ll be able to get milers, even Classic milers, no problem.”
It was also a quirk of fate that brought Pardoven, the dam of top two-year-old turned champion sprinter Minzaal, back to Ringfort Stud to be bred from.
“We bought Pardoven’s dam Dancing Prize from Cheveley Park Stud [for 38,000gns in 2001] and sold Pardoven at the foal sales,” recalls Veitch. “She was bought by Stephen Hillen on behalf of a Scottish client who was going to race her, but she fractured a bone in her knee and never ran.
“Then the owner developed cancer, and had to sell his horses, so Mark Dwyer was given the responsibility of moving them on. Mark rang me and said he had this filly standing in her box with a bad knee, he couldn’t take her to the sales, so would I be interested in buying her back? I said I was, and we agreed on a price.
Finally, I’m a fashion icon!
“We bred a Cape Cross colt out of her who Flash [Conroy] bought and resold for a fortune – he became a good horse in South Africa called Cabo Da Cruz – and then we sent the mare to Mehmas in his first season and got Minzaal, who we also sold to Shadwell. I keep telling Tony and Roger [O’Callaghan] at Tally-Ho Stud to send Mehmas as many Danehill-line mares as possible, as the more he gets the more successful he’ll be. But that’s just another of my little theories.”
Pardoven, now 16, has a Blue Point colt who is heading to the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. “A lovely individual who could do with a wee bit more power behind the saddle but he’s very nice and could be another good horse,” is Veitch’s verdict.
Ringfort Stud has supported Minzaal since his retirement to Derrinstown Stud in 2023. Asked if he is proud of breeding from a homegrown sire, Veitch says: “I don’t know about that but it makes me chuckle when I see a lot of gilets and hats at the sales with his name on them. Finally, I’m a fashion icon!
“It’s funny how something born in the stable at the back of the house here ends up standing at one of the greatest studs in the world and becomes one of the most sought-after first-crop yearling sires. It was brilliant to see Jimmy Murphy get paid 550,000gns for his half-sister to Asymmetric and Mill Stream [at Tattersalls October Book 1]. That’s an enormous price for a debut sire who stood at €12,500 in his first season.”
Ringfort Stud sold two lots by Minzaal of its own at the yearling sales in recent weeks, with a colt who is the half-brother to this season’s easy Tyros Stakes winner North Coast being knocked down for 100,000gns at Tattersalls October Book 1.
“The colt is going to Tally-Ho Stud and he’s way above average – I will be amazed if he’s not as good as Minzaal himself or Big Mojo,” says Veitch. “People don’t know that yet, but I know it. I’m glad he’s going to Tally-Ho as they do a really good job with horses from yearling to breeze-up stage. They know what they’ve got when it comes to horses, and they’ve got great riders and great facilities.
“The horse will be developed nicely there, probably better than most trainers’ yards. I really think he’ll end up with a very good trainer somewhere along the line if they don’t keep him themselves. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if they kept a leg in him and he ended up standing at Tally-Ho. He’s that good.
“Two weeks after Minzaal was born I was over at Tally-Ho getting a mare covered and I told Tony and Roger he was the best foal I’d ever bred. They laughed, but they’re not laughing now. They’ve made a lot of money out of him already.
He was a really good-looking colt all the way through
“We’ve had a few Minzaals. Their minds are really good, just like their dad. He had a super temperament, Owen Burrows would tell you the same. He was just so easy to manage. All he wanted to do was please you and give you every ounce of energy he had. The ones I’ve had are exactly the same. Nothing fazes them, they’re as tough as nails but intelligent with it.”
Big Mojo’s dam JM Jackson, a Listed-placed daughter of No Nay Never, also arrived in Ringfort Stud in a somewhat unconventional manner.
“She was purchased as a yearling by my son-in-law John Kilbride, and proved to be a pretty decent two-year-old for Mark Johnston,” says Veitch. “She was then sold to Stephen Hillen, who I believe wanted to race her on but didn’t get to, so he put her in foal to Mohaather and sold her in France. I bought her through Hamish Macauley [for €65,000] as I wasn’t in Deauville.
“She was a bit of a risk as it was a lot of money for a mare by No Nay Never when he didn’t have a Group winner as a broodmare sire at that point. Also, although I liked that she was in foal to Mohaather, Shadwell were in the middle of downsizing, and it wasn’t clear whether they would continue buying, whereas in the old days if you had a nice colt by a Shadwell sire you knew Angus [Gold] would buy him.
“Anyway, we brought JM Jackson home and foaled her and the produce turned out to be Big Mojo. He was a really good-looking colt all the way through.”
Big Mojo, who was bred by Derek and wife Gay with his daughters Stephanie and Victoria and daughter-in-law Judith, was not accepted for the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale but was all set for Goffs Orby, only to meet with a setback.
“Ten days before the sale he got cast in his box and pulled his gracilis muscle on the inside of his thigh, and was lame for four days,” says Veitch. “With physio and some light work he improved dramatically just in time for the sale, but he was just a little short turning and I didn’t want to take the risk of taking him. I really liked him, and was worried that I was only going to expose him, as everyone would say he was lame or he’d have so many shows he’d get worse.
“He went to the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale and ended up being the second top lot of the sale, behind the Pinatubo colt who was bought by Clive Washbourn when he famously shouted ‘show us your money’ in the ring. Big Mojo hasn’t put a foot wrong since he was bought by Conor and Kathryn Quirke and went to Mick Appleby.”
Big Mojo’s owners, Paul and Rachael Teasdale’s RP Racing, are in for another bumper payday as the colt is of immense value as a rare independently-owned stallion prospect.
Ringfort Stud and the Ladies, as the female members of the Veitch family styled themselves when they registered Big Mojo’s birth with Weatherbys, also cashed in when selling JM Jackson to Quirke on behalf of RP Racing for €480,000 at the Goffs November Sale last year.
“The girls had a ten per cent interest in the mare, and they turned their €10,000 investment into €50,000 when she sold, so it worked out well and believe you me they are very appreciative of the success,” says Veitch.
As Anmaat, Minzaal and Big Mojo illustrate, a certain open-mindedness regarding sires has also stood Ringfort Stud in good stead. Veitch doesn’t tend to follow the herd when he plans matings, and is prepared to go out on his own with stallions who are unproven, inexpensive or out of fashion.
The farm’s yearling drafts this autumn, containing lots by a wide range of sires at different points in their careers, underline that point. A particularly fine example of thinking outside the box was the first-crop Stradivarius colt sold to Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for 100,000gns at Book 1.
I like the idea of someone stimulating breeders to use their horse
Asked if he makes a point of ploughing his own furrow when it comes to sires he replies “absolutely!” without hesitation. He continues: “In the case of the Stradivarius colt, Bjorn Nielsen has put up some great breeder bonuses for the sire’s first-crop runners, and as a breeder I’m extremely jealous of the French breeder premiums.
“If I was breeding in France the way I do here, producing 40 or 50 winners a year, and I got a cheque for each one I’d have been able to retire years ago. You don’t get any credit or incentive here, all you get is taxed for this fund or that fund, or made to pay endless registration fees, from the minute you pay your covering fee and decide to become a breeder. That’s a big bugbear of mine.
“So I like the idea of someone stimulating breeders to use their horse, and I decided to go out there and find a mare who’ll suit Stradivarius. I bought a Kodiac mare out of an Anabaa mare to put double Danzig into the cross [Misscall].”
He adds: “Everyone thinks of Stradivarius as a two-mile cup horse, which of course he was, and a very good one too, but if John Gosden was here now he’d tell you he could trap over four furlongs as fast as a miler. He had a lot of natural speed, and he showed it by travelling easily in the early stages of his races and quickening.
“People think of Stradivarius as being an endurance horse but I see Danzig coming through from Green Desert to Cape Cross, and clicking with the Danzig I’ve put into the cross. If I’m right, the horse I bred will win over seven furlongs at two. I just hope it’s a qualifying maiden and I get a bonus from Bjorn and it’s the start of a journey where he has to pay me all the bonuses!”
All things considered, it really is difficult to distill all of Veitch’s expertise and instincts into a few short and sweet tips on how to breed Group 1 winners.
However, in the spirit of ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’, other breeders will be able to lay their hands on some of the carefully selected and nurtured Ringfort Stud stock, as it is coming on to the market in greater numbers this year and next as Derek and Gay plan for the transition of the farm to the next generation.
“Gay and I put a plan in place for our retirement seven years ago, with a view to managing the financial affairs of Ringfort Stud as a company, and taking the maximum tax relief out of it,” says Veitch.
“We initially had the impression that none of our children wanted to take on the farm and we were going to sell it all eventually, but Stephanie married John and after they came back from their honeymoon in February 2024 they rang us up and said they wanted to come and give it a go.
“They organised themselves with their jobs in Britain and came to Ringfort Stud in January, so they’ve had a full foaling season and most of a sales season here, and they seem very happy that it’s what they want to do in future.
“A new company is being set up so that the business is theirs, and we’ll take our personal funds out of it as shareholders and become consultants rather than directors. As part of the transition we’ll be selling 14 mares in Goffs and nine in Newmarket, as well as a bunch of foals, some for clients – 25 in Goffs and 14 in Newmarket. The rest of the stock will be sold next year, and that way my other children, who are also directors of the business at present, will get something too.”
John and Stephanie Kilbride are set to take a more prominent role in the running of Ringfort Stud from next year, with Derek and Gay continuing to guide them, while also pursuing some of the leisure activities that overseeing the farm has prevented them from doing for the past quarter of a century.
Judging by the Ringfort Stud roll of honour, those consultancy services will be invaluable.
