Apr_92_TBA_Forum_Owner 22/03/2012 18:00 Page 78
NH BREEDER OF THE MONTH
www.thetb a.co.uk
Words Alan Yuill Walker
FEBRUARY 2011
GOLDFORD STUD
Riverside Theatre and his happy connections
A repeat performance at the top level by Riverside Theatre has coincided with Doncaster Bloodstock Sales’ Golden Jubilee year and, what is more, the eight-year-old can claim an unusually close connection with the Hawick-based auctioneers. The son of King’s Theatre was bred by Richard and Sally Aston of Goldford Stud and consigned by them as a foal to the 2004 Doncaster November Sales. “After he failed to make his reserve we sold him privately for £17,000 to Jeremy Mactaggart, a director of DBS. I rather bullied him into it I seem to remember,” recalled Richard. In 2007 Jeremy and Kate Mactaggart obtained 44,000gns for Riverside Theatre when consigned from Goldford to the Doncaster Spring Sales en route to Nicky Henderson’s Lambourn stable for whom he won the Grade 1 Ascot Chase in February. He had not raced since winning the same race last year, owing to a pelvic fracture, and he has subsequently won the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. In the interim there have been quite a few developments in and around Goldford Stud, near Malpas in Cheshire. First of all Ballabriggs, who is trained by Donald McCain at Cholmondeley, triumphed in the Grand National, while Goldford Stud celebrated a winner of its own over the big Aintree fences with Stewarts House in the Grand Sefton Chase in December. While Stewarts House is a great grandson of the Astons’ noted foundation mare Carmarthen Honey, Riverside Theatre is out of Disallowed, who was acquired for 16,000gns as an in-foal mare at Tattersalls’ December Sales of 2001. At the time she was carrying to Xaar and the resulting filly realised 24,000gns at the St Leger Yearling Sales. Although Disallowed has a Flat pedigree of American origin, she was bought by the Astons specifically to breed jumpers. The mating with King’s Theatre (who died last year) has been repeated several times, albeit her only retained daughter of racing age, Rock Me Gently, is by Sulamani, and recently made her bumper debut. Always a great admirer of King’s Theatre, Richard Aston is also very keen on Shirocco and is sending him five mares under the terms of the TBA Elite National Hunt Mares Scheme. “We have around 20
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National Hunt mares,” he explained. “I’m strongly supporting Shirocco by sending him five of our best mares this time, Whiteoak, Theatre Girl, One Gulp, Knock Down and Polivalente.” The Astons made their name with jumpers (last May their stores at Doncaster accounted for three of the five top prices), but at one stage it looked as though that aspect of the business would be overtaken by their increasing involvement on the Flat. “There was a time when I saw myself as a leading sales consignor on the Flat but since then I have retreated back into my comfort zone,” said Richard. That is not to say that Goldford Stud does not feature prominently at the yearling sales, and last season they consigned a Danehill Dancer colt which realised 170,000gns at Book 1 of Tattersalls’ October Sale. Richard aded: “We do have two or three high-profile clients and last season one of them Allan Belshaw, who breeds as Times of Wigan, was represented by his homebred Cheveley Park Stakes runner-up, Sunday Times.” However, Richard and Sally Aston keep their feet firmly on the ground and they remain very much hands-on – indeed they share the foaling between them. In late January Richard helped Disallowed (19) to produce an own-sister to Riverside Theatre, who arrived very conveniently at 4pm, just in time for tea.
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