In memoriam: Captain Fred Barker and a life well lived

Captain Fred Barker, owner of the picturesque King Edward’s Place Stud on the edge of the Downs near the Ridgeway – once a discreet country retreat of Edward VII as the name suggests – died recently at the age of 88.

Born into a world where hunting, racing and breeding were a way of life, horses were always at the core of Fred’s being. Fred did just enough to survive his five years at Harrow and then spent several very happy years in the 11th Hussars  before taking over the running of King Edward’s Place from his parents, Gar and Nancy Barker in 1962.

Ever the perfectionist, Fred worked hard to maintain the stud and with the help of his fellow ex 11th Hussar, great friend and bloodstock agent, Johnnie Lewis, he spent a considerable amount of money on stallions, which he hoped would reinvigorate the stud and bring it the recognition it deserved.

Stallions like Klairon (Clarion), Soleil (Major Portion), Manacle (Sing Sing), Calpurnius (St Paddy), Prince de Galles (Welsh Abbot), Quiet Fling (Nijinsky II) and latterly Anfield (Be My Guest), passed through King Edward’s Place.

Manacle was the stud’s most successful stallion. He sired the sprinter Moorestyle, undoubtedly the top horse in Europe in 1980 and Mendip Man, winner of the Prix de l'Abbaye.

Nick Angus Smith, a manager at King Edward’s Place remembers that Calpurnius was a particularly dangerous horse and tried to savage his lad many times. He recalls Fred’s ‘tongue in cheek’ comment that it was one thing to have a go at his lad, but to have a go at the owner, or manager was totally unacceptable. In any event, Lewis swiftly had him sold to the West Indies, where he went on to be champion sire.

Quiet Fling sired Old Country, winner of six races including the Group 1 Derby Italiano, Premio Roma and Prix Royal-Oak. He was out of a daughter of Klairon. The last stallion to stand at the stud was Anfield, a three-time Group 3 winner in Ireland by Be My Guest and a half-brother to Group 1 winner, North Stoke. His best horse was the very good German colt, Turfkonig. 

Sadly however, none of the stallions Fred stood proved a huge success, or provided the necessary financial return. By the late 1980s, disillusioned with the racing industry and facing increasing headwinds, as bloodstock became more expensive and it became ever harder to acquire commercial stallion prospects, Fred made the difficult decision to sell King Edward’s Place. Sold to Allied Dunbar, it sadly disappeared off the map as a stud farm. 

“I was born in the house, so it was a very difficult decision to sell," Fred said at the time.

It would be fair to say that to the wider equine community, Fred Barker was probably more renowned for his mastership of the Quorn and VWH hunts before he and his second wife Penny switched their interest to three-day eventing. 

They had horses with Australian rider Paul Tapner and more recently with Tom McEwan, which notably resulted in team gold and individual silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with their horse Toledo De Kerser.

Away from horses, Fred owned and operated the BEAS Helicopters company through the 1970s and loved his farming estate at Lushill in Wiltshire. Always one for an adventure, Fred memorably teamed up with Lewis and another great friend and fellow 11th Hussar, David Dollar to compete in the 1968 London to Sydney car rally, where despite not possessing one iota of rallydriving experience between them, they managed to win the amateur class and finish 18th of the 100 entries overall.

His eldest son Grant succinctly summed up his father at his recent funeral. “Fred was prompt, precise and passionate. He also loved polo, power boats and parties, but most of all he loved beautiful things…and married two of them!”

Fred Barker died peacefully at his home near Minchinhampton, surrounded by his wife Penny, children and his dog, Charlie. His was the epitome of a life well lived.