old mill stud
Photography by Debbie Burt
A new era at Old Mill
Racing manager Rob Speers watches the Galileo filly out of Vasilia parading at Old Mill Stud. The filly is a half-sister to recent Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup winner Dream Of Dreams and is catalogued Lot 510 at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, part of a nine-strong Book 1 and 2 debut yearling draft under the new ownership at Old Mill Stud
Old Mill Stud, purchased by Ibrahim Araci and daughter Pinar in 2019, has its first yearlings bound for Tattersalls this autumn. Aisling Crowe chats with bloodstock and racing manager Rob Speers
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OB SPEERS IS ENJOYING yearling prep this summer and autumn. The purchase and development of Old Mill Stud by employer Ibrahim Araci means Speers can become hands on with the horses once more, as he overseas and takes an active part in the preparation of the farm’s first yearlings to sell under the new banner. “It’s a very different process now,” says Speers, who began his career with the Coolmore yearlings before becoming Owner and breeder, Ibrahim Araci
Photo courtesy of Tattersalls
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assistant manager at Highclere and now bloodstock and racing manager to the Aracis. “Until the mares moved into Old Mill last November the yearlings were prepped and sold by the farms where they boarded, so this is the first year Mr Araci is selling as his own brand. “Yearling prep was something I always did and enjoyed and I pride myself on producing a good team of young people here as well as the yearlings.” Working with the youngstock affords Speers valuable insights into the characters and temperaments of the horses, discovering traits that run through the families but also giving a glimpse into how the embryonic racehorses will adapt in the next stage of their careers. “You learn to understand the horses and how important attitude is and the mental toughness. I’m lunging a lot of yearlings and I’m really enjoying the process; it gives you a clear idea of what their futures are and you can be honest with buyers at the sales. You also need to understand character and family traits to be able to choose stallions that suit.” Old Mill Stud, found four miles outside of Newmarket and previously owned by David Shekells, the breeder of Royal Applause, has nine yearlings catalogued at Tattersalls
October Yearling Sale across Books 1 and 2, but the breeding operation. However, the first draft in their own name contains a yearling who will garner attention from the moment she steps off the lorry at Park Paddocks. In Lot 510 of the Book 1 catalogue the farm has a filly who would adorn any leading sale the world over, such is the strength of her pedigree, as a Galileo half-sister to this month’s Group 1 Sprint Cup winner Dream Of Dreams, and her page is also matched by her physical attributes.
