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GEORGE SELWYN
STALLION SYNDICATION
“The Queen was keen to make sure breeders could own equity in Al Kazeem,” says Her Majesty’s Racing Manager John Warren
>> valuable, less obviously-attractive horse. Having
the Maktoum and Juddmonte stallions is an attractive option for breeders and that has meant there is less of a requirement for the corner-shop type of stallion stud.” The decline in syndication beneath premierleague stallion prospects is lamented by Dena Arstall, who breeds from a handful of mares annually. Arstall has seen both sides of the coin: she profited from joining the Namid and Bahamian Bounty syndicates but saw the flip side with Mister Baileys, whose recovery from a near-fatal attack of grass sickness left him with fertility problems. Owning stallion shares appeals to Arstall, who does not breed for the commercial market. It affords small breeders the chance to exercise their judgement. A successful call on a stallion prospect yields the option of cashing in or guaranteed use of that stallion over his lifetime. “If I had black-type mares I would undoubtedly have bought a share in Nathaniel,” she says. “It was the same with Motivator when he retired, although in his case I was able to use him twice.” Arstall’s priority is to maximise the potential in her mares through the racecourse exploits of their progeny. She went to Motivator primarily because she believed in him, but also because the syndicate was replete with successful breeders. Should Motivator’s profile have benefited from such patronage, she could always sell her yearling if she chose.
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She did that with yearlings by Bahamian Bounty when that stallion’s stock rose, reaping dividends of 80,000gns and 40,000gns. “Because I’m not a commercial breeder I often wait to use a stallion in his third or fourth year, when demand can falter,” Arstall continues. “I don’t think there is enough choice of sire in the £6,000-£10,000 range in Britain. I would like to see more syndication of this type of stallion.
“The feedback was
that the shareholders very much wanted to support the Queen’s initiative” “I believe in the concept of shareholders, but I only ever use a stallion because I like him. Of course it’s very welcome when you make money on a share, as I did when Namid was sold, but from my perspective it’s all about what’s best for my mare.” Arstall and her ilk have less opportunity in Britain to invest in stallion shares at their level as a result of significantly larger stallion books. Access to such stallions is all but assured, while
stallion masters standing them can ‘get out’ financially much quicker than of yore. So much so, indeed, that the numbers game has become a key facet within the breeding business. It applies right across the board, even to horses like Al Kazeem. “We didn’t need to syndicate Al Kazeem,” Warren says, “but the Queen was keen to make sure breeders could own equity in him. She was plucky enough to take the plunge and buy the horse, and the feedback I got was that all the shareholders very much wanted to support her initiative. “They know she represents our industry in such a way that it sends out a really strong message to racing as a whole. It might even help to focus attention on issues like improving prize-money. It can only benefit the sport.” Motivator stood at Sandringham until his relocation to France this time last year. He remains the property of the original syndicate, which decided he was a more natural fit with the rhythms of racing in France. He also has access to a new pool of breeders in that country, all of which may help him reverse the tide of injuries and bad luck that afflicted his early innings. Given a smoother early passage through his stallion life, Al Kazeem may yet elevate Sandringham to the heights it last scaled when Shirley Heights was in residence three decades ago. In that event, the 34 other individual shareholders, named on the opening spread, will also be raising a cup. THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER