tweenhills stud
The trainers gather: some of the prospective Pearl Bloodstock trainers at the Tweenhills Open Day – Luca Cumani, William Haggas, Mr and Mrs Brian Meehan
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We could have sent all of the horses to one trainer, but we felt it made more sense for Sheikh Fahad, so new into racehorse ownership, to have a range of trainers
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states to go for the big prizes out there. “Sheikh Fahad does take a world view, but thank God, having been educated in Britain, he finds our sport of horseracing the most attractive.” Going into the winter, the Sheikh will own 25 yearlings, who were all bought this autumn by Redvers, nine two-year-olds and six older horses. The older horses include the likes of stayer Vulcanite (Dubawi), who was bought privately in the summer for Sheikh Fahad’s Pearl Bloodstock and who subsequently won a heritage handicap at Ascot, and Dever Dream, a Medicean filly trained by William Haggas and the winner of two Listed sprints since entering Pearl Bloodstock ownership “I think we have a really good bunch of older horses and the yearlings are a good mix of types and sorts. They are also going into training with quite a spread of trainers
from senior Newmarket men such as William Haggas, Sir Mark Prescott and Luca Cumani to younger, up-and-coming guys such as Ger Lyons and Ralph Beckett,”says Redvers. “We could have sent all of the horses to one trainer, but we felt it made more sense for Sheikh Fahad, so new into racehorse ownership, to have a range of trainers in order to give a broad spectrum of experience and meet more characters. “Besides, it is always a good way to keep trainers on their toes! But so far they have all stepped up to the mark and in the summer we had the most amazing run when we had seven winners from nine runners. Possibly we have set the bar too high to maintain it! “We bought extremely well in the spring and got a great return which is why Sheikh Fahad felt happy to go in again this autumn. The yearlings we have purchased were bought on a fine budget and we were frequently left as the underbidder, but we worked hard to try and get value on every yearling that we bought. In all we bought 25 and, for now, Shiekh Fahad does not want to have more than 35-40 horses in training. “Stephen Hillen, who has done such a good job for Dr Marwan Koukash, has agreed to assist me as a racing manager as now the numbers have increased I felt we would benefit from his expertise.” A new man keen on racing and happy to become financially involved in the sport is great news for the industry – though in many ways nothing out of the norm. What is not usual, though, is that
someone so new to racehorse ownership becomes involved in just his first year in a big financial commitment that is stallion ownership. In this instance it is no less a horse than the 2,000 Guineas winner, Makfi, though this purchase was viewed primarily as a suitable investment vehicle and an opportunity worth taking. “The investors who have bought into Makfi are a group which includes Sheikh Fahad and his brothers. They are not particularly interested in racing, but are interested in getting involved in worthwhile investment opportunities,” explains Redvers. “I suggested buying Makfi after the 2,000 Guineas as I thought he offered the sort of opportunity that they might be interested in. “I got together a syndicate in which the Sheikh and his brothers had a half share – we bid as far as we could but the deal was not done; the owners then were not really interested in selling. Sir Mark Prescott: observes the Pearl Bloodstock yearlings
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