Barraquero stud responds to Covid-19 uncertainty with breeder offers

With government-enforced Covid-19 restrictions sending the economy into disarray, breeders will be asking: should some broodmares miss this year of coverings?

Financial markets have fallen sharply and the economy is effectively in hibernation due to the global pandemic. All of which is of acute concern to breeders who fear a slump in demand for their stock.

In response to this, Claremount Stud in Count Clare, which stands the newly-retired Richmond Stakes winner Barraquero at an advertised fee of €4,000, has introduced some enticing incentives for breeders to help them ride through this season.

If the €4,000 advertised fee is paid upfront the breeder can avail of a lifetime breeding right to Barraquero. Claremount Stud will also offer a free of charge service to foal down any mare in foal to the stallion and will arrange for complimentary return transport for mares travelling from Britain.

There is also an option of paying for the nomination upon the sale of the resultant offspring of Barraquero.

Those deals have been added to the existing €2,000 filly foal reduction for the sire.

“We’re trying to facilitate everybody and make the decision to breed their mare easier in the current climate, by reducing their overheads,” Paul Moroney of Claremount Stud said of the offers.

Moroney handles the nominations in conjunction with Sam Sangster, who sourced Barraquero as a yearling and manages Manton Thoroughbreds, which raced the horse.

The syndicate carries the iconic green and blue silks of Sam’s late owner-breeder father Robert, whose success has left an enormous influence on the sport.

“The breeding right is a no-brainer,” added Moroney. “By the time his two-year-olds hit the track, each nomination will have worked out at just €1,000.

"We’ve had a lot of interest from Britain so we’ve tried to help them out with the transport costs. People can pick which offer they’d like, or they can pick them all!”

Barraquero made just three starts at two, but the son of Zebedee still managed to become one of Britain’s best juveniles under the tutelage of Brian Meehan. His victory in the Richmond Stakes at Glorious Goodwood was worthy of an official rating of 111, which left him at the helm of Europe’s leading sprinting two-year-olds.

“It was a fair feat to be rated 111 as a two-year-old,” Moroney pointed out. “Brian and the lads were very confident in the lead up to the Prix Morny but he got a setback and had to miss it.

“That’s how highly they thought of him, though. If you look at the other first-season sires standing for a lot more, he was rated higher than a lot of them at two.

“He’s also a lovely horse. It’s actually a pity that people can’t come to view him. However, we have plenty of photos and videos on our website and on social media. He’s a strong and correct horse and you’d like to think he’ll breed a strong, early type.”

Barraquero's sire, the late Zebedee, was a potent source of two-year-old winners and the son appears to have inherited an abundance of his pace and precocity.

He is also inbred to Green Desert 3x3, reinforcing that speed.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the industry, the incentives will help ease the financial outlay for a mare in foal, Moroney said.

“The aim of the game is to make a few quid and there won’t be many breeders around if they’re not making money,” he summed up. “So we need to help them out where we can.”

Read our Life in Lockdown Q&As with industry figures

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Colm Sharkey: 'I've been torturing myself trying to sort out my golf swing'

Rachael Gowland: 'I didn't realise how much I loved racing until I couldn't go'

Sam Hoskins: 'I've been listening to endless Cold War podcasts on my tractor'

Niamh Spiller: 'Video calls are very important to keep everyone motivated'

Jamie Lloyd: 'Staff have had all their own gear labelled, even wheelbarrows'

Micheál Orlandi: 'The stallions are flying and that gives me great hope'

Richard Venn: 'The French are in a good position to get back racing sooner'

Tim Kent: 'It's difficult to plan when we don't know when racing will resume'

Russell Ferris: 'Weatherbys had contingency plans that we activated at once'

Grant and Tom Pritchard-Gordon: 'Inglis Easter has kept us busy since January'

Peter Hockenhull: 'The social side of meeting and chatting to breeders is gone'

Polly Bonnor: 'We've fulfilled every feed order, including all our exports'

Richard Lancaster: 'We're fortunate that some Shadwell staff live on site'