Strawberry Fields Forever

“The Derby is a different game,” breeder Gary Robinson told TDN's Alayna Cullen on camera last week, and he now knows that for sure, for his Strawberry Fields Stud just outside Newmarket can proudly boast of being the birthplace of the Derby winner Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}).

While most of Robinson's team from the farm travelled to Epsom to watch their graduate's crowning moment, the stud owner himself took a leaf out of The Queen's book and watched the race at home from the comfort of his own sofa.

As the horse's trainer Sir Michael Stoute received three cheers from the Epsom crowd so delighted to see him back in the winner's circle he first visited on Derby day with Shergar (GB) 41 years ago, Robinson said via telephone, “I'm going to the pub now to tell everyone I don't do handicaps.”

He added, “I stayed at home with my daughter and her partner and it was just so exciting to watch. I wasn't a bit nervous, I have nerves of steel.”

The breeder said that he had believed in the horse from the start, and indeed he had employed a bold marketing approach when offering Desert Crown during Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, with an advert including the strapline, “A future Classic winner?”

It worked, as Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock went to 280,000gns to purchase the half-brother to Hong Kong Group 3 winner Flying Thunder (GB) (Archipenko) for owner Saeed Suhail.

Robinson can now remove that question mark, with Desert Crown having freewheeled around Tattenham Corner and down the hill to a sixth Derby success for Stoute and a second for Suhail, who also owned the 2004 winner Kris Kin (Kris S.), as well as 2000 Guineas winner King's Best (Kingmambo).

“When I sold him I said to people, 'do yourself a favour and buy something for the weekend'. I always knew he was going to be a Classic winner,” Robinson said with a laugh. “But joking apart he was a lovely horse and he went to a fantastic stable.”

Desert Crown's Juddmonte-bred granddam Foreign Language (Distant View) is a half-sister to Binche (GB) (Woodman), whose four stakes-winning offspring for Prince Khalid Abdullah include the Group 1 winners Proviso (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and Byword (GB) (Peintre Celebre).

“We're not breeding sprinters, we've gone for Classic types if we can,” Robinson added. “We're in to the end.”

Those are words that Julian Dollar of Newsells Park Stud would doubtless be pleased to hear more often from breeders of varying sizes, and indeed Robinson has returned to that particular well twice, as Desert Crown's dam Desert Berry (GB) (Green Desert) has a full-brother to the Derby winner at foot and is now back in foal to him. The well-bred Nathaniel, a Group 1 winner at 10 and 12 furlongs and one of the stud's three resident stallions, has had dwindling support from Flat breeders despite producing one of the standout performers of the modern era, Enable (GB), from his first crop. The 14-year-old son of Galileo (Ire) has been busy this season but an increasing number of mares sent to him in Royston are from the National Hunt sector.

“I feel a bit of vindication,” said Dollar as he left Epsom on Saturday. “People have started to doubt him and that has made me question if we can stand him at Newsells Park Stud as he is not fashionable enough.”

He continued, “The owner/breeders who should be supporting him have not been supporting him as much, but he has proven himself over and over again. He's had Enable, and now this horse, who looks seriously exciting, but it's not just them, he's had a French Oaks winner and plenty of other good horses.

“I can't change things and we all know how the market is but it does frustrate me when some horses get so hyped and Nathaniel doesn't get the respect he deserves. But we are governed by the market, and that is just the way it is.”

Prior to Saturday, Nathaniel's five other Group/Grade 1 winners were all fillies: the Classic winners Enable and Channel (Ire), along with last season's Nassau S. victrix Lady Bowthorpe (GB), God Given (GB), and the former French-trained Mutamakina (GB), who won the EP Taylor S. at Woodbine.

Dollar added, “A day like today makes me feel like it's a bit of a two fingers up to the market and to the sales houses who won't take a Nathaniel. I'm overwhelmingly proud of him and it is my privilege to work alongside him. He has three mares left to cover today, and another three tomorrow, and probably three the day after that given the type of mares he is covering these days.

“This is a fantastic day for the breeders. I saw the team from Strawberry Field Stud and had a glass of champagne with them. They are all delighted and so they should be. It's what we all still want to do, to breed a Derby winner.”

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Newsells Park Stud’s Blue Hen Shastye Dies After Foaling

By Brian Sheerin

Newsells Park Stud manager Julian Dollar has led the tributes to the multiple Group 1-producing Shastye (Ire) (Danehill), who has died at the age of 21 shortly after giving birth to a Dubawi (Ire) colt on Sunday.

The dam of five individual black-type performers, including Group 1-winning brothers by Galileo (Ire), Japan (GB) and Mogul (GB), who are now stallions, the progeny of Shastye have been sensational on the track and in the sales ring.

Described by Dollar as “one of the most inspirational and life-changing horses” he has ever been associated with, Shastye's progeny fetched over £15 million at public auction and they also delivered where it mattered most.

Japan, a 1.3m guineas yearling, famously put Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) to the sword in the 2019 G1 Juddmonte International at York a month after winning the G1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.

Mogul, who fetched 3.4m guineas as a yearling, also won the Grand Prix de Paris in 2020 and bolstered Shastye's reputation as a Group-1 producing phenomenon by snaring the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin in 2020.

Dollar said, “Many an hour has been spent with Shastye or her progeny. Often because they were special, and you often knew you were in the presence of something special, but mostly because Shastye was just such a lovely mare and such a pleasure to be around. She was the best therapy any man could have and I already know I owe her more than I will ever realise.”

Shastye, a half-sister to the 1998 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triompohe winner Sagamix (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}), was a dual winner and was placed at Listed level when in training with John Gosden. She was bought by Klaus J Jacobs and John Warren as a 4-year-old at the Tattersalls December Sale in 2005 for 625,000gns and almost single-handedly put Newsells Park Stud back on the map after it was renovated by the Jacobs family in 2000.

Her terrific relationship with Galileo, highlighted by Japan and Mogul, was the overriding theme of her brilliant career as a broodmare.

Sir Isaac Newton, the top-priced colt when sold for a whopping 3.6m guineas at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2013, was also by Galileo, as was while Secret Gesture, who finished second in the Oaks at Epsom in 2013 and was controversially demoted to third after finishing first past the post in the Beverly D S. at Arlington Park in 2015. She later sold for $3.5 million at Keeneland's November Sale to John Ferguson.

The ink may not have run dry on the story behind Shastye's progeny by Galileo as Skylark (GB), who was knocked down for 3.4m guineas in 2020, is in training with Aidan O'Brien and, while she has yet to grace the track, holds Group 1 entries.

Shastye was said to have succumbed quickly and peacefully after hemorrhaging following the birth of her Dubawi colt. She leaves behind her a legacy and record that will be hard to match, and Dollar counts himself lucky to have been associated with such a renowned producer of top-notch talent.

He said, “She was wonderful for the stud and we wished she could have lived forever but it just wasn't to be. One of the things I was most proud of was how fantastic she looked. She was just the most special mare and a lot of us at Newsells feel we owe a lot to her. I feel like I owe her a huge amount. Not only to get the stud going for the Jacobs family and kept us going when but she was also one of our best adverts when it came to selling the stud.”

Asked if there was a particular highlight during his long and successful association with Newsells Park's blue hen, Dollar added: “There were lots of highlights and obviously going for the Oaks with Secret Gesture as part owners with Qatar Racing Ltd was great but, in a funny way, the day John Warren, who was an agent for the Jacobs family at the time, came to see Sir Isaac Newton as a yearling stands out. It was about three weeks before the yearling sales and he looked at him for some time. I remember him asking us if we had him insured. When we told him that we hadn't he said that we better do so and not for anything less than a million pounds.

“We went to the sales with huge expectations and he really stood out as an excellent specimen. We expected him to make over one million, we never had a horse to make over a million, but we fully expected him to make that. We had every indication that it was going to happen but, when he made 3.6 million guineas, we were blown away. I was standing next to Andreas Jacobs and we were pretty amazed by it all and gave each other a big hug. He said to me 'my Dad would be so proud.' Even though it was a sale and not a race, it was a very special moment, and it was the first time I experienced taking a horse through the ring that made over a million, let alone what he made.”

A statement released by Newsells Park Stud on Monday read, “The exploits of [Shastye's] progeny, most notably formed from her wonderful partnership with the extraordinary Galileo, gave us all the most unforgettable moments, whether they came amid the silence of a hushed sales ring, or accompanied by the roar of the crowd at Epsom, York, Longchamp or Sha Tin.

“When Newsells Park Stud was put up for sale at the end of 2020, it was Shastye that stood out more than any other mare to prove what was achievable. Shastye put Newsells Park Stud back on the map, made the stud commercially successful and helped to attract a new, considerate, enthusiastic and passionate owner in Graham Smith-Bernal to take on the custodianship of the stud for another generation. Rest in peace you wonderful, wonderful lady.”

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First Mare In Foal To A’Ali

Newsells Park Stud's new recruit A'Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}) has his first mare scanned in foal, the stud announced on Monday. A dual listed winner and runner-up in the G3 Prix de Malleret, Terre Du Vent (Fr) (Kutub {Ire}) is carrying to the five-time group winner. She is the dam of three winners from four to race and hails from the extended family of Group 1-winning juvenile Elm Park (GB) (Phoenix Reach {Ire}). The G2 Norfolk S. hero is standing his first season for £7,500 at Newsells Park Stud.

“A'Ali is proving extremely professional in the breeding shed,” said Newsells Park's General Manager, Julian Dollar. “I've been lucky to work with a lot of stallions in the past, but I've never worked with a horse with a temperament like A'Ali. He's just bombproof. He's always looking forward and yet, completely chilled and relaxed, without ever being lazy. I'm a big believer in the mentality of a stallion being their greatest quality, so I just hope A'Ali passes this quality on to his stock.”

“He's proving very popular with breeders. He has this, 'He's exactly what it says on the tin' quality about him and you'd imagine that if he produces stock similar to himself, they should be fast and early.”

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A’Ali To Stand At Newsells Park Stud

Multiple group-winning sprinter A'Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}) will begin his stud career at Newsells Park Stud in 2022, rather than Meadow Farm Stud as originally announced, after Newsells purchased a significant stake in the 4-year-old.

Trained by Simon and Ed Crisford for Shaikh Duaij Al Khalifa, A'Ali broke his maiden at second asking in the G2 Norfolk S. in 2019 and added the G2 Prix Robert Papin and G2 Flying Childers S. before season's end. He took the G3 Coral Charge S. and G2 Sapphire S. last summer before finishing fourth in the G1 Nunthorpe S., and on his only run in 2021 was third in the G2 Meydan Sprint in February.

Newsells Park Stud General Manager Julian Dollar said that the stud moved to purchase an interest in A'Ali after he and Newsells racing and nominations manager Gary Coffey saw the horse at the National Stud during the December Sales.

“When Gary and I saw A'Ali at the National Stud, we both commented on what an absolute belter of a horse he was,” Dollar said. “He really fulfils a niche for speed and precocity, which the commercial breeder is looking for. He's absolutely gorgeous to look at, with a wonderful walk and a beautiful temperament. He'll be very easy for breeders to use and should throw a lovely model, if they look anything like him. Newsells Park Stud have purchased a significant percentage of A'Ali, who was already owned by a passionate group of shareholders, including his original owner Shaikh Duaij, all keen to give him great support, so we're excited about this new partnership.

“What also works for us is that A'Ali really fills a void left by the sale of Equiano last year and helps to balance our boutique stallion roster of Nathaniel and Without Parole.  We now stand one of Europe's most proven and successful middle distance sires in Nathaniel, together with one of Frankel's fastest sons at stud in Without Parole. Together with a 'lightning fast' 2-year-old in A'Ali, they offer breeders the full spectrum of class, stamina, speed and precocity and we welcome breeders through our doors to come and see them.”

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