The National Stud in Newmarket has undergone a management restructure ahead of the 2022 breeding season, with Tim Lane leaving his role as manager and Anna Kerr assuming the day-to-day running of the stud. Lord 'Teddy' Grimthorpe, who was announced as the new chairman in November, will become executive chairman for the forthcoming season, and former manager Joe Grimwade has returned as head of stud operations.
Outlining the changes on Monday, a statement from the Jockey Club, which owns the National Stud, clarified Grimthorpe's role for the 2022 breeding season as leading the management team and acting in a senior executive capacity for clients and stakeholders. Joe Grimwade, who was also the former manager of The Royal Studs at Sandringham, will in turn “until further notice, support the management of The National Stud and acting as a key point of contact for clients”. The stud's board plans to confirm permanent appointments “at a future date”.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to express our thanks and support to Anna Kerr and Joe Grimwade,” said Lord Grimthorpe. “Anna is an instrumental member of the senior team who has helped The National Stud to navigate well through the challenging pandemic period and contributed to the reputation it has developed over recent years. Joe brings exceptional skills and experience for our clients and his colleagues and we are delighted he has come onboard. I am pleased to accept the invitation to switch from a non-executive to an executive role for this breeding season. Our stallions, boarding, sales and education have all been proving very popular and I'm sure we can build on that progress in the time ahead.”
Tim Lane succeeded Brian O'Rourke as manager of the National Stud in January 2017. Later that year the stud bought Time Test (GB) from Juddmonte. The son of Dubawi (Ire) has risen to become one of the most sought-after young stallions in Britain following some promising results from his first crop of runners in 2021. This season it has welcomed a new recruit to the stallion wing in Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who represents a partnership between Coolmore, Whitsbury Manor Stud, Nick Bradley and the National Stud.
Anna Kerr was appointed as chief operating officer of the National Stud in January 2020. Ten days ago it was announced that Lord Grimthorpe, the former longstanding racing manager to Prince Khalid Abdullah, would take up the same role for Imad Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud. He is also deputy senior steward of the Jockey Club and sits on the board of York Racecourse.
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