Hope springs eternal as Newsells Park Stud breeds the best to the best

Even by its own high standards, 2018 must rank as a vintage year for Newsells Park Stud. Not only did four of the Hertfordshire nursery's graduates go on to land a Group 1 prize – namely Lightning Spear, The Tin Man, Waldgeist and Without Parole – but it also topped the consignors' table at Tattersalls' flagship yearling sales, including when selling four seven-figure lots during Book 1.

"We were very fortunate that we had a fantastic year at the sales last year and, more importantly, that we had a great year on the track with four Group 1 winners," says general manager Julian Dollar, who expanded on the process behind choosing this season's matings for Newsells Park's blue-chip broodmare band.

"We try and balance between breeding the best horse we can and breeding a commercial animal. We try and match the mare and the stallion physically - but also the temperament. I think a horse's attitude to life is so important. Stallions like Dubawi, Galileo and Pivotal all produce horses with great temperaments who give everything.

"When you analyse the market it's clear it's at its healthiest at the top, but we're not afraid to spend money as it's very important to invest in these mares."

Aljazzi
6yo b Shamardal - Nouriya (Danehill Dancer)
2019 covering sire: Galileo

A new addition to the Newsells broodmare band, Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes winner Aljazzi topped the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale when she fetched an auction-record 1,000,000gns.

"She's going to go to Galileo, and to be able to start a mare off with a stallion like him is great – Dr Andreas Jacobs [Newsells Park owner] is very keen to support the horse while we still have the opportunity," says Dollar.

"She's by Shamardal and out of a Danehill Dancer mare, so there's lots of influences that we hope will work well with Galileo, and at the end of the day he's the best stallion in the world.

"We bought Luminate in partnership with Merry Fox Stud [for 900,000gns at Tattersalls last month], and Coolmore asked us if we'd like to send her to Galileo too, so we're doing that as well. You want to give a young mare the best possible chance, and who's better than Galileo?"

Date With Destiny
11yo b George Washington - Flawlessly (Rainbow Quest)
2019 covering sire: Dubawi

The Listed-placed Date With Destiny is the only offspring of George Washington, and is responsible for the Group 3-winning Galileo filly Beautiful Morning, herself a 1,400,000gns broodmare prospect buy at the Tattersalls December Sale.

"She's going to go to Dubawi and she deserves a good chance," says Dollar. "Everyone always asks me if we bought her because she's by George Washington, but I have to tell them it's got nothing to do with him!

"Her half-sister, Flawly, is one of the first horses we had for Mr Jacobs and she produced three stakes winners and a number of good sales horses. When she was getting old and we didn't have a daughter of hers it was good to be able to buy Date With Destiny, who has a very nice yearling by Iffraaj and is in foal to Churchill."

Julian Dollar: 'it was nice to be able to buy Date With Destiny'Credit: Laura Green

Giants Play
12yo b Giant's Causeway - Playful Act (Sadler's Wells)
2019 covering sire: Siyouni

Out of a Group 1 winner and from the family of Nathaniel, Giants Play has produced two black-type performers in Playful Sound and Ispolini, the latter of whom, by Dubawi, was 1,200,000gns yearling.

"She's in foal to Siyouni and is believed to be carrying a colt, and that's who she'll go back to this year too," says Dollar. "We like the idea of that cross and we'd love to produce a daughter.

"She's from a lovely family, one that's very important to Newsells, and she's already produced a couple of black-type horses. Ispolini is a decent horse and Vivionn looks useful, and the yearling [also a 1,200,000gns Dubawi filly] that Godolphin bought was a real queen.

"We've also got Giants Play's daughter Playful Sound, who's in foal to Kitten's Joy."

Purr Along
9yo b Mount Nelson - Purring (Mountain Cat)
2019 covering sire: Roaring Lion

Dual Group 3 winner Purr Along got off the mark at stud when her first foal, a Dubawi colt named Zuba, landed a Chelmsford maiden in late October.

"She's owned in partnership with Qatar Racing and she'll be going to Roaring Lion," reveals Dollar. "She has a nice Dubawi yearling filly that may or may not go to the sales, and she's in foal to Dark Angel. She's made an encouraging start and at her stage in life she's ready to give a first-season sire a bit of support.

"Tweenhills have developed an exciting young stallion roster and we've also got a mare going to Zoustar in Meandering, a Galileo half-sister to Dutch Art who we own in conjunction with Ecurie des Monceaux.

"You have to be impressed with what Zoustar has achieved in Australia. You have to support Tweenhills and Qatar Racing for bringing these horses over, otherwise life does get quite boring.

"Langs Lash will go to Tweenhills' Lightning Spear, who's close to our hearts as we bred him."

Notable names for Nathaniel

As well as a blue-chip broodmare band, Newsells Park Stud is home to two stallions, Equiano and Nathaniel, with the latter-named in particular set to receive some strong home support as he continues to ascend through the sire ranks.

"Nathaniel will cover six of our mares this year, including Atlantic Drift, Elas Ruby, Long Face and Secret Soul," explains Dollar. "He's very important to us and I couldn't have dreamt for the horse to have made a better start to his stallion career, especially as he's responsible for Enable, who must be one of the greatest fillies of all time.

God Given (near side) lands the Premio Lydia Tesio to give Nathaniel a second Group 1 winnerCredit: Stefano Grasso

"When a stallion produces a horse like that with his first crop you have to sit up and take notice. Because she's so good she can sometimes overshadow his other runners, but he had ten stakes winners last year, including another Group 1 winner in God Given.

"Inevitably we've sent some Sadler's Wells-line mares to him because of what Enable has done, but we also think it's very interesting, statistically speaking, what's coming through with mares from the Mr Prospector line."

Shastye
18yo b Danehill - Saganeca (Sagace)
2019 covering sire: Galileo

A mare with a formidable record in the sales ring with her yearlings sold at Tattersalls alone having fetched 10,800,000gns, including a 3,400,000gns Galileo colt sold to MV Magnier last year. She has also produced four black-type performers, including Secret Gesture, Sir Isaac Newton and Derby contender Japan, all of whom are by Galileo.

"She's had a great partnership with Galileo so her mating doesn't take a lot of thinking," says Dollar. "She's in foal to him and is meant to be carrying a filly, which would be nice. She's not getting any younger, she's 18 now, so this might be the last time she goes to him. She looks great though and I couldn't be happier with her.

"She's been a lifeblood to us as a commercial operation. Whether we'll get a mare as good as her again I don't know. We've got a few daughters of her's we're starting to breed from, which is great.

"Japan looks an exciting horse for this year and the yearling was a lovely horse too, so there's still plenty in the mix that are looking promising."

Spectre
6 ch Siyouni - Inez (Dai Jin)
2019 covering sire: Dubawi

One of the newest names among the Newsells Park herd, Spectre won a Group 3 and also finished second to Vadamos in the Prix du Moulin and fourth to Ribchester in the Queen Anne Stakes, after which she visited Galileo for her maiden cover.

"I really like this mare – she's the most beautiful, well-balanced, strong individual by Siyouni," says Dollar. "She's going to Dubawi and is carrying her first foal by Galileo, who made a lot of sense with the Pivotal and Danehill influences in her pedigree.

"She's had some big matings but she was a top-class racemare and extremely good-looking, so we want to give her every opportunity. You'd like to think Siyouni has a good chance as a broodmare sire."

Waldlerche
10yo ch Monsun - Waldmark (Mark Of Esteem)
2019 covering sire: Dubawi

An exciting young mare whose three winners from as many runners are led by dual Group 1 scorer Waldgeist, who landed the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on the same day as his three-parts sister Waldlied won the Group 2 Prix de Malleret.

"She's a very important mare for us and Dietrich von Boetticher [director of Gestut Ammerland]. She had one late cover to Dubawi last year but didn't take so the plan is to go back to him again this time around.

"She has a full-sister to Waldgeist who's just become a yearling and she'll be raced in the same partnership between Newsells and Ammerland," says Dollar.

"Waldgeist stays in training and we think an awful lot of Waldlied, she was very impressive when she won the Prix de Malleret. John Gosden likes Waldstern too, and the Kingman two-year-old, who we've kept a bit of with Mr von Boetticher, will go to Gosden as well."

Yummy Mummy
14yo b Montjeu - Gryada (Shirley Heights)

The daughter of Montjeu is best known as the dam of Legatissimo, winner of the 1,000 Guineas, Nassau Stakes and Matron Stakes, and achieved her biggest sales ring result when Godolphin went to 1,200,000gns for her Dubawi colt at last year's Book 1.

"She's in foal to Dubawi, having produced a nice colt by him who sold well in October, and also has a yearling by him at foot," says Dollar. "Hopefully she's carrying a filly, but she's due quite late and she has a habit of going over. As she's only 14 there's a chance we might give her a rest and start again early next year."

Others to note…

There is not only quality of the highest order among the Newsells Park broodmare band, but there is also serious strength in depth, with a trio bound for breakthrough second-season sire Kingman.

"One has to be very impressed with Kingman's first two-year-olds. We're supporting him with Ceisteach, Hazarfiya, a Fastnet Rock half-sister to Harzand and Secret Sense, a Shamardal daughter of Shastye," says Dollar. "Also going to Banstead Manor will be Kinnaird, the dam of Berkshire, who'll go to Oasis Dream.

"We're also using No Nay Never and will be supporting him with Elas Diamond, who's in foal to Dark Angel. She hasn't had many chances with fast horses but her first foal, Elas Ruby, is a stakes winner and Group-placed," adds Dollar.

"Elas Diamond is also a half-sister to Pallasator, but I'm pleased to say she doesn't have quite the same quirky mentality! She's a filly who we thought a huge amount of, we always felt she was our Oaks filly until she contracted a respiratory infection early in her three-year-old year, sadly she was never quite the same after that."

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