Diversification Key At Cheveley Park

As an owner/breeder of both flat and National Hunt horses, a seller at public auction and stallion farm, Cheveley Park Stud has its fingers on a lot of pulses in the Thoroughbred business, and indeed David and Patricia Thompson's operation enjoyed notable successes in all these areas in 2018. In their own silks they enjoyed pattern-race wins with the likes of Angel's Hideaway (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), Pilaster (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Regal Reality (GB) (Intello {Ger}) and Veracious (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who they sold as a yearling, won the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. and the G2 Arqana July S. On the stallion front, Pivotal (GB) continued to cement his legacy as a sire, sire of sires and broodmare sire; young stallions Intello (Ger), Mayson (GB) and Garswood (GB) had promising results on the track and Twilight Son (GB) had encouraging returns with his first foals at the sales.

Progress doesn't happen looking backwards, however, and Cheveley Park is set to cover just under 160 of its own mares this year.

“About 40% will go to outside stallions, and 60% go to our own stallions, of which we have eight,” said the stud's Managing Director Chris Richardson. “We have a busy season ahead. We have 10 foals on the ground and another 100 to foal in the coming months, so we have plenty to look forward to.”

In running through some of Cheveley Park's mating plans for 2019, Richardson began with one of the stud's brighter stars on the racecourse in recent years, the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. winner Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

“Starting with one of the mares who has foaled we have Persuasive, who won the G1 QEII beating the colts,” Richardson said. “She had a very nice Frankel filly so we're delighted to have a filly out of a mare like that. She foaled on Jan. 18 and she goes back to Frankel.”

Another Grade I-winning mare, the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Queen's Trust (GB) (Dansili {GB}), visits Dubawi (Ire) for her second covering, as does her dam Queen's Best (GB) (King's Best). The latter was rested last year so will not have a foal of 2019.

One of the more recent additions to the Cheveley Park Stud stallion roster is the Niarchos-bred G1 Juddmonte International and G1 Coral-Eclipse S. winner Ulysses (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). Cheveley Park supported him with 50 mares in his first season last year and will send around 40 this year. Visiting the horse in both years will be a pair of mares bought for seven figures from the U.S. in 2017.

“We have a nice mare that cost $2-million at Fasig-Tipton called Mesa Fresca (Sky Mesa), who we bought in foal to War Front,” Richardson said. “We have a very nice yearling filly by War Front out of her, and she's the dam of the GI Del Mar Oaks winner Harmonize. She is in foal to Ulysses, and goes back to him.

“Fools In Love (Not For Love), who is the dam of Seahenge, winner of the G2 Champagne S., is currently in foal to Ulysses and goes back to him,” Richardson added. “We paid $1-million for her at Keeneland so we're looking forward to seeing her foal in due course.

“We're very keen to support our young stallion Ulysses, who I think is very exciting, bred as he is. We sent some nice mares to him last year and we're looking forward to seeing the foals. We have a few on the ground already: we have a very nice filly by him out of another mare we bought in America called My Hope. She is by Afleet Alex, we paid $525,000 for her at Keeneland and she's a half-sister to a colt called Carve, who was a multiple stakes winner in the States and it goes back to the family of Bound, Archipenko, Blame; it's a great family.

“Ulysses covered 115 mares in his first season so we're looking forward to seeing plenty more foals on the ground in due course,” Richardson said. “He had six Group 1 winners visit him last year and the dams of eight Group 1 winners, along with over 30 stakes-producing mares.”

The Cheveley Park team are also awaiting Ulysses foals this season out of the dams of the aforementioned Regal Reality and Advertise. Both mares will visit outside sires after foaling; Regal Realm (GB) (Medicean {GB}) is booked to Caravaggio (Ire), while Furbelow (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), Advertise's dam, returns to his sire, Showcasing. Another outside stallion Cheveley Park will patronize this year is Shadwell's popular sprinter Muhaarar (GB), who has his first runners in 2019.

“Integral (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), the G1 Sun Chariot S. and G1 Falmouth S. winner, is in foal to Ulysses and goes to Muhaarar,” Richardson said. “Her first foal is a Dubawi colt that has gone into training with Sir Michael Stoute and he's called Inherent. So we have a bit of action coming through on that.”

Joining Regal Realm on the trip to Ireland will be Infallible (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), the dam of black-type winners Veracious, Intimation (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Mutakayyef (GB). She returns to the latter's sire, Sea The Stars (Ire). Richardson noted that Veracious remains in training with Sir Michael Stoute.

After enjoying so much success with its stallion barn flagbearer Pivotal, Cheveley Park is supporting his leading son in France, Siyouni (Fr), with the 2017 G2 Rockfel S. winner Juliet Capulet (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) for her first covering.

“Siyouni is an interesting son of Pivotal, which brings me on to Pivotal, who has just turned 26 years of age,” Richardson said. “He covered 53 mares last year, only eight of them were not in foal, so his fertility last year was exceptional for a horse of his age. We have just under 50 mares booked to him again this year so hopefully all being well he'll continue to breed a few select mares. He's such a phenomenal sire-he's produced champion sprinters to Classic mile-and-a-half winners. He's a sire of sires and now as a broodmare sire he's taking all before him. We have a mare who is a daughter of Islington that we bought last year called Angel Vision, and she visits Pivotal this year. She's currently in foal to Dark Angel.”

Richardson noted that Cheveley Park's other 'elder' statesman-although he is nine years Pivotal's junior-Dutch Art (GB) is under a bit of a fertility issue cloud after returning some concerning figures end of last year. He will be closely monitored during the early part of the season but it could be that the six younger members of the roster may need to take up the baton. In addition to Ulysses those include Intello, who in addition to Regal Reality had G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Intellogent (Ire) and dual Group 3 winner Young Rascal (Fr) from his first crop of 3-year-olds last year. In an agreement with Intello's owners the Wertheimer brothers, the G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner has thus far alternated every second season between Cheveley Park and Haras du Quesnay in France. He is at Cheveley Park this year and will be visited by Troarn (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), the full-sister to Almanzor (Fr) bought by Cheveley Park for €600,000 at Arqana December in 2017.

Garswood is an interesting prospect heading into his first year with 3-year-olds, having sired two stakes winners last year off an opening £7,000 covering fee. Lethal Force has been a reliable source of winners but is still looking for that first stakes winner to raise his profile further, while Mayson has sired five stakes winners from four-figure fees from three crops of racing age. The youngest members of the roster are Group 1-winning sprinters Twilight Son (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) and Unfortunately (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}).

“Garswood is a son of Dutch Art, a very good-looking horse and a horse we bred. He had two stakes winners in France last year so we're hopeful that he can build on that going forward,” Richardson said. “We have Lethal Force who has lots of winners but probably just needs a good stakes horse. Mayson is teetering on the verge of making that big step up. He had another phenomenal year last year. Twilight Son, we were delighted with his first foals, they sold extremely well averaging nearly £30,000, which is treble his stud fee. They look really rather similar to his sire Kyllachy; his stock were always considered to be real trainers' type horses and hopefully Twilight Son can emulate that.

“We have Unfortunately, who was a champion Group 1-winning 2-year-old in France by Society Rock, who once again could rekindle what Cheveley has always been associated with, which is speed stallions.”

As an added incentive for breeders to use the G1 Prix Morny winner Unfortunately, Cheveley Park is offering a £10,000 bonus to the breeder of Unfortunately's first 2-year-old winner from his first crop. The breeders of all 2-year-old winners from his first crop will receive a free return.

One could imagine that a reputation of producing precocious sprinters in a market that is increasingly craving such could put Cheveley Park on the front foot, but Richardson said the stud is actually looking to diversify its portfolio in the interest of its own racing ambitions and the greater good of the business-hence the introduction of stallions like Ulysses and Intello.

“Pivotal has been a prime example of the fact that most good horses that stay need to have some speed,” Richardson said. “That's one thing that he's been able to introduce to the industry and his legacy will live long as a result of it. It's worked for us and there's been a number of people to say, 'Cheveley has always been associated with sprinters, stick with it, if it ain't broke don't fix it.' But we're conscious with our own breeding program for the future. We want to have the opportunity to be running in mile-and-a- quarter, mile-and-a-half races and competing on a more international front, as we have done as an example with Queen's Trust coming to the Breeders' Cup.”

Factors such as Brexit and the extreme polarization in the breeding stock market last year mean that breeders face some uncertainties heading into the season, and Richardson said it will be important to control numbers and focus on quality.

“I think we're all very aware of the fact that we are facing some challenging times, especially in the UK,” he said. “There are a lot of uncertainties over Brexit, which is something people are genuinely nervous about. The economy is indicating quite a lot of potential concerns going forward and we have to bear all those things in mind.

“The markets were very selective, it's certainly challenging times, but I think the important thing is we have to remain focused on controlling numbers. Within the industry there are a lot of people suggesting they want more fixtures, more races, more runners, which frankly is going to be difficult to maintain because there are only so many breeders and owners that can accommodate the number of horses that are being bred. We have to be conscious of the fact that we don't want to get back into a scenario where we're suffering from overproduction. In the States, there is a wealth of people who are prepared to invest in racing and breeding, and the markets are much more sustainable, whereas in Europe it's much more a delicate balance. I think the industry has to be careful. There is plenty of work going on behind the scenes with regards to prizemoney issues, and we're also trying to encourage people to have a longer-term view, using more middle-distance stallions, which I think is important for the future of the industry. It's not all about the commercial angles or precociousness. We do need to be looking at the industry with a long-term view, hence why we've tried to diversify into a few more middle-distance stallions.”

With a diverse portfolio of young stallions and a strong band of top-quality broodmares working for them, Cheveley Park Stud has plenty of reasons to be optimistic heading into 2019 and beyond.