A decision which turned out to be a Beauty for Highbank Stud

Proof that persistence can turn briefer setbacks into long-term success is exemplified by the goings-on at Highbank Stud, whose owners Martin and Iris Wainwright might easily have been deterred by an event in 2007.

Instead, this small family concern, a stone’s throw from Wetherby racecourse, overseen by the couple’s son Tom, is going from strength to strength.

"Mum and Dad used to own a filly called Roxan who won the Hilary Needler first time out and ran at Royal Ascot," recalls Tom.

"Kevin Ryan thought an awful lot of her, I think he still feels she was one of the best fillies he’s trained.

"Unfortunately they got the news through the following spring that she had died of colic. I think they realised then the chances were that they were never going to own another one as good, so they decided to go down the breeding route instead."

Martin Wainwright, who has a background in the construction industry, developed their site from scratch and they began to assemble mares in a more serious fashion.

It is all hands on deck, with Iris keeping the books and two full-time staff in Zakir Khan and their well-regarded stud manager Siraj Bahadar, whose father Saeed incidentally led up Masar in last year’s Derby.

The likes of Loch Jipp, another Hilary Needler winner, was added from the Tattersalls December Mares Sale for 160,000gns in 2010 and has already produced several breeze-up types who have sold in increments of that outlay.

Their sharpest piece of business, however, was the earlier recruitment of the Malibu Moon mare Miss Delila from Keeneland, even if the Wainwright clan might have been wondering why at one stage. Earlier this month, her Invincible Spirit daughter Beauty Filly gained Listed credentials in the City Plate Stakes at Chester.

Miss Delila with Beauty Filly as a foal

"It’s a big deal for us," says Tom. "We’ve bred a Listed winner in Italy and Ashadihan, who was out of the same mare, won the Chartwell Stakes at Lingfield. All seven of her offspring have won now, so we couldn’t be happier."

"Stephen Hillen found her for us as a yearling in America and we brought her back," he continues.

"She ran only twice, fairly badly, and in hindsight we probably shouldn’t have run her at two at all as she was very backward - when you look at her now she’s quite a big mare.

"But it turns out that she has been so much better as a broodmare, and it shows that you don’t always have to have the form in the book. She’s continued to upgrade the stallions every single time."

MISS DELILA'S ROLL OF HONOUR

2009 Marching On (Rock Of Gibraltar)

Minor winner in Germany

2010 Lady Of The House (Holy Roman Emperor)

Won at Catterick and Thirsk

2011 Mythical Madness (Dubawi)

Won eight times in Britain, earning £134,634

2012 Alsrab (Makfi)

Minor winner in Italy

2013 Ashadihan (Kyllachy)

Won three including Group 3 Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes

2014 Everything For You (Pivotal)

Won three times including at Ripon on Saturday

2015 Beauty Filly (Invincible Spirit)

Won four inc Listed City Plate Stakes

The exploits of siblings Ashadihan and Mythical Madness led to the 280,000gns Book 1 sale of Beauty Filly, from where she headed to Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum and William Haggas. She won a back-end maiden at two but has now earned black type at the age of four.

"She was one we really liked as a yearling," explains Tom. "The information we were hearing from William Haggas was that she was quite immature, but she’s starting to look quite progressive now.

"Miss Delila has a Muhaarar yearling, an absolutely cracking horse, who is going to Book 1, and had an Invincible Spirit foal. She’s now in foal to Showcasing."

Mention of those higher-end stallions gives an inkling as to Highbank’s methods. They are not taking shortcuts, spending 575,000gns on Follow A Star, an unraced Galileo half-sister to Group 1 winners Alexandrova and Magical Romance from a lofty Shirley Heights family.

The day before Beauty Filly's victory, Follow A Star's first foal Big Reaction [by Zoffany] made a winning debut at La Teste de Buche in France, having sold for 160,000gns. She has subsequently visited Fastnet Rock and her colt will be offered at Book 2.

"We’re not completely commercial," says Tom. "We’re not against having the odd horse in training and we’ve still got Miss Delila’s two-year-old Zoffany colt, we’re just deciding what we’ll do with him.

"We’re trying to breed for Book 1, Book 2, it’s that kind of operation. When you’re going into Book 3, that’s when it starts getting difficult to keep things going when you’re on our kind of scale."

Aside from following the fortunes of Leeds United - to such an extent that they have a promising sprinter with Ryan named Bielsa after the team’s iconoclastic manager - the family’s main priority would appear to keep doing things just as they have.

"We’ve got about eight of our own mares, we do board a few, but we’ve got only 60 acres so there isn’t an awful lot of space," says Tom.

"We’ve had some very good results at the sales but we do need them to keep doing it on the track - I think a mare will quickly get found out otherwise."

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