'We wanted to support him with some lovely mares' - Warren on Highclere plans

Highclere Stud, whose hall of fame includes world champion miler Palace Pier, 2,000 Guineas and Derby hero Camelot and champion older performer Postponed, has much to look forward to with the breeding season getting under way this month.

Also a potent force as consigners, the team is headed by Jake Warren, his father John Warren and his mother Lady Carolyn Warren, and the trio are ready to send some of their leading mares to the finest sires around. Resident stallion Land Force, meanwhile, is also in for a big year with his first crop of two-year-olds.

Jake Warren says of the stud's Richmond Stakes-winning son of No Nay Never: "His first yearlings sold really well - he had a very strong average as well as a top price of 180,000gns. His bookings have come in heavily this year, which is exciting, with good reports about his stock so far."

Among the mares being sent to Land Force are Insoumise, a Galileo half-sister to the top-class Plumania who is in foal to Too Darn Hot, and Selinka, the dam of dual Group 3 winner Hit The Bid.

His dance card also includes Ruthin, an American Listed winner by Ribchester and a half-sister to Hit The Bid; La Foglietta, by Lope De Vega and a half-sister to Listed winner and Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes runner-up Master Of War; and High Luminosity, by Elusive Quality and out of Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Denebola.

Land Force: big year with his first two-year-oldsCredit: Highclere Stud

The Warrens have a broodmare band with plenty of strength in depth and some of the world's best stallions are set to be utilised over the coming months.

One such mare is Hostess, who they own with Mike and Michelle Morris, a Grade 3-winning daughter of Iffraaj who sold to Badgers Bloodstock for 725,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2019. A half-sister to the dam of dual Group 1 winner Wonderful Tonight and two black-type performers, she has been booked in to visit Frankel.

Warren says: "Her Siyouni yearling colt sold to MV Magnier and White Birch for 375,000gns at Book 1 last October, while Frankel has been doing it all in the northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, in the sales ring and on the track. He's having a serious impact on the breed."

By Starlight was another purchased from the December sales, this time for 82,000gns from Salcey Forest Stud in November. The daughter of Sea The Stars hails from a quality black-type family and will head to Ireland and to one of the country's most high-class sires.

Warren says: "She's a stakes mare having been placed in the Upavon and Pinnacle Stakes. Her grandmother won the Blandford Stakes and was placed in the Oaks, while she's also from the family of Fillies' Mile winner Shamshir.

"We're going to send her to Wootton Bassett to get her going with a smart and proven sire."

The well-related Tidal Stream's family was in the news recently when her Sea The Stars half-brother Chalk Stream struck in Listed company in Australia - the first winner down under for the King - and the unraced daughter of Redoute's Choice will go to Sea The Moon, in line with the family's success with Sea The Stars.

Chalk Stream (black cap): recent stakes winner in Australia and half-brother to Tidal StreamCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Her other half-brother, Reach For The Moon, won the Group 3 Solario Stakes at two and has placed a further four times in black-type company.

Warren says: "To go along with Chalk Stream and Reach For The Moon being so successful from the Sea The Stars line, it seemed like the sensible thing to do with Tidal Stream.

"She's got a Land Force yearling and two-year-old as we really wanted to support him with some lovely mares."

One of the most established producers at Highclere is Mischief Making, the dam of Group 2 Lancashire Oaks winner Horseplay and Listed winner More Mischief from four individual winners overall. The daughter of Lemon Drop Kid, herself a stakes winner for the Ed Dunlop yard, will not have to travel too far for her 2023 mating.

Warren says: "She's had a few difficulties getting in foal the last couple of years; the last foal we got out of her is a Kingman colt who looks to have a bright future. He's called Tony Montana and is with John Gosden, having sold for 425,000gns as a yearling a few years ago.

"We really like the idea of a Nathaniel mating with her, we think he's going to be a very good broodmare sire. The swing towards middle-distance horses is becoming more apparent in the marketplace and he's a UK-based stallion who we think will be very good for her."

Mischief Making's five-year-old daughter Tantalize joins her at the Newbury stud, with the unraced Camelot mare heading to the source of some of Highclere's biggest successes in recent years.

"Tantalize is in foal to Sea The Moon for the first time and will then go to Kingman," reveals Warren.

"She's a big, strong and athletic mare who will really suit Kingman physically. He's a phenomenally successful sire and we've had a lot of success with him having bred Palace Pier and reared Commissioning on behalf of Shaik Isa and Abdulla."

Palace Pier: set to receive support from Highclere

Palace Pier's exceptional CV included five Group 1 victories and the Warrens are all too familiar with the Dalham Hall resident, having bred and sold him to John Gosden for 600,000gns at Tattersalls Book 1.

Highclere's representative in his second book of mares will be Musical Art, a winning and Group 3-placed daughter of Dutch Art out of a winning Barathea half-sister to English and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Finsceal Beo.

"She was placed in the Princess Margaret and is from the very fast family of Finsceal Beo," says Warren. "She's got an outstanding Wootton Bassett yearling colt who is one of the best we've got on the stud and we're going to send her to Palace Pier.

"Having bred and sold Palace Pier, we took a breeding right in him and have every faith in what he'll become as a stallion."

Bonhomie, a winning daughter of Shamardal from the family of Bosra Sham and already the dam of a black-type winner, is pencilled in for Baaeed's debut book. Both her progeny of racing age have won, the pair being by former Highclere resident Cable Bay.

Warren says: "She's the dam of Laneqash, who was a stakes winner and second in the Hungerford Stakes, and has a Land Force yearling who made 120,000gns last year.

"She's going to visit Baaeed, we're very excited about him and have taken a breeding right in him."

The Highclere-bred Capparis was a dual winner for Richard Fahey and is pencilled in for a visit to Coolmore for her first mating. By Iffraaj, she is out of the fine producer Karen's Caper, making her a half-sibling to three black-type performers including Meydan Group 3 scorer King's Caper.

"She's from the family of Palace Pier and will visit Churchill, who has done very well with two champions from his first two crops," says Warren.

Pamona: visiting Ghaiyyath for 2023Credit: Louise Pollard

Pamona was a stakes winner and third in the Ribblesdale for Highclere Thoroughbred Racing and has produced two winners from as many runners. The 11-year-old Duke Of Marmalade mare has plenty of exciting updates to come through her younger progeny, current pregnancy and mating for this year.

"We were really taken with the Ghaiyyath foals and felt with her pedigree and physique she would really suit him, so we've decided to send her to Ghaiyyath," explains Warren.

"She was a very good racemare who we bought as a yearling through Highclere Thoroughbreds, and then when she was sold at the December sales we purchased her there.

"She won the John Smith's Silver Cup and was placed in the Ribblesdale, while her first two foals are winners. She has a lovely Masar filly and is in foal to Palace Pier."

Another visitor to the Darley stallions is Darting, already the dam of the classy Lysander and a half-sister to Goodwood Cup winner and Gold Cup third Darasim.

The 12-year-old boasts an exceptional pedigree as the granddaughter of Darara, the dam of the ill-fated Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Rewilding and Dar Re Mi, in turn the dam of Too Darn Hot, Lah Ti Dar and So Mi Dar.

Warren says: "She's by Shamardal and is the dam of a good horse called Lysander who was placed in the King Edward VII Stakes and Cocked Hat. He remains in training and is likely to be a stakes horse this year.

John Warren, Lady Carolyn Warren and Jake Warren in actionCredit: Sarah Farnsworth/Goffs UK

"She's from the excellent family of Too Darn Hot and will go to Night Of Thunder."

Other notable mares include the stakes-winning Hertford Dancer, whose first offspring have been well received as yearlings, and Delevigne, both of whom are owned in partnership, with the Morris family and Harry Herbert respectively.

Warren says of Hertford Dancer: "She's from the family of Invincible Spirit and is a young mare just getting started. We sold her Lope De Vega yearling colt to James Ferguson for 140,000gns last year and she's in foal to Night Of Thunder. We're going to send her to Saxon Warrior.

"Delevigne is a half-sister to Regal Parade, who won the Haydock Sprint Cup, and the family goes back to Zafonic. She's had a lovely Showcasing filly who sold for 240,000gns to Roger Varian, while she's also got a Blue Point and Ten Sovereigns on the ground. She'll be going to Havana Grey."

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