Wathnan Racing Breaking New Ground in Breeding

There can have been no ignoring the explosive entrance of the Emir of Qatar's Wathnan Racing to the European racing scene in particular over the last 18 months.

The 2023 Royal Ascot winners Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) gave advance warning as to what was to unfold in the ensuing period, with their victories respectively in the G1 Gold Cup and G2 Queen's Vase coming on their first starts in the Wathnan silks after being bought privately from their owner-breeders, Anthony Oppenheimer and Philippa Cooper.

There have been plenty more high-profile purchases since then, notably Kind Of Blue (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}), who won the G1 Qipco Champions Sprint on his first run for Wathnan Racing, and Classic winner Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), who has made two starts for Wathnan since winning the Irish 1,000 Guineas in May.

The ambition is clear: to be associated with top-class racing prospects, whether acquired as horses in training, or at the breeze-ups or yearling sales. The next logical step is for Wathnan Racing to branch out as Wathnan Breeding, especially when one considers some of the fillies and mares either currently in training or recently retired or purchased. 

Official word from the Wathnan camp is that the emphasis is very much on the racing for now, and that after all is where the real fun is to be had. 

But amid the stallion announcements this week came the news that Isaac Shelby (GB), who had been the first runner for Wathnan Racing in Europe when running an agonisingly close second in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains of 2023, would be standing as a stallion next year. The son of Night Of Thunder (Ire) will be at Newsells Park Stud, where Wathnan Racing also now boards some mares. 

“He's a fine horse by a very special young stallion and we'll be very keen to see all his offspring when they come to market,” said Richard Brown, Wathnan's racing manager, in a press release issued by Newsells Park Stud on Tuesday. 

Along with Fallen Angel, Wathnan Racing is now listed as the owner of another two of Steve Parkin's good broodmare prospects, according to Weatherbys' recently published Return of Mares. Romantic Proposal (Ire), winner of the G1 Flying Five in the Clipper Logistic colours when trained by Eddie Lynam, and the dual Group 2 winner Dramatised (Ire) are both listed as having been covered by Wootton Bassett (GB) this year for Wathnan Racing. The latter was mated for the first time earlier this year, while Romantic Proposal produced her first foal, a colt by Dubawi (Ire), in January, bred by Parkin's Branton Court Stud.

Among other potential broodmare prospects for Wathnan Racing are the G3 Fred Darling Stakes winner Remarquee (GB) (Kingman {GB}), whose two-year-old half-sister Revoir (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}) recently made an eye-catching debut at Nottingham. Then there's Leovanni (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}), who was one of four winners for Wathnan Racing at this year's Royal Ascot when landing the G2 Queen Mary Stakes. 

Since Bolthole (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) won the Listed Grand Prix de Bordeaux in May 2023 to become the operation's first stakes winner, a further 19 black-type victories have come Wathnan's way in Europe, headed by the aforementioned Group 1 winners Courage Mon Ami and Kind Of Blue, and including the Group 2-winning colts Shareholder (Not This Time) and Aesterius (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). Another five stakes victories have come in America, where Subsanador (Arg) (Fortify) won the GI California Crown Stakes, while Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) has won both his Grade II starts for Wathnan to date.

With such firepower to work with, it surely won't be long before we see some homebreds racing in the Wathnan silks. Whether or not we see a Wathnan stallion operation launching in the coming years is anyone's guess, but it does not require too much of a leap of faith to see the Emir following the example of some of his close family members in eventually retiring his top colts to stand under his own banner.