To breed the best, you bring the best mares to the best stallion – and several of them are standing at Coolmore
IN A peaceful courtyard setting in Co Tipperary, an elite group of the world’s finest thoroughbred stallions will today be viewed by a woman whose life’s passion is the horse. It has been no secret that the state visit of Queen Elizabeth II would include time spent studying Ireland’s greatest equine success story.
Despite the recession, Coolmore Stud, just outside the heritage village of Fethard, is indeed, a place fit for a monarch. Great mares have been brought here from all over the world, including many owned by the Queen, all in pursuit of the dream shared by all breeders, the creation of sublime creatures boasting iconic bloodlines.
To breed the best, the golden rule remains straightforward: you bring the best mares to the best stallion, and several of them are standing at Coolmore.
By the time she arrives for today’s private visit, Queen Elizabeth will have already been to the National Stud in Co Kildare. She will also have met Sea the Stars at nearby Gilltown in Kilcullen.
Only time will tell if Sea the Stars, all-conquering on the track, will match the breeding achievements of his half-brother, Galileo. Both stallions are the sons of the magnificent Prix de l’Arc-winning mare, Urban Sea. But Galileo, currently the world’s leading stallion, is also the son of a legend, Sadler’s Wells.
It is fair to say that of all the wonderful horses in the world, most of which are in Ireland, many at Coolmore, the one the Queen most wished to see was Sadler’s Wells.
His death on April 26th at the age of 30, has cast a shadow of sadness over the immaculate yard and over racing. His stable, next to Galileo’s, is empty. His stable rug with his name on it is about to be framed. It is fitting that the first horse the visitor sees on arrival at the entrance to Coolmore is a life-sized bronze of Sadler’s Wells, the first in a series of similar statues immortalising giants such as Danehill, Be My Guest and Caerleon.
Although he had been retired from stud duties, Sadler’s Wells, the last great son of Northern Dancer, was rightly regarded as royalty at Coolmore.
Horses are well treated here in a carefully planned environment that also seems relaxed. John Magnier has created a self-contained establishment that impresses international visitors and fills Irish people with pride. The Coolmore group employs more than 1,000 people; some 350 of these work in Fethard with the stallions and caring for the broodmares and foals.
Coolmore is run with precision and attention to detail. Not even the tiniest element is left to chance. The landscaping is beautiful, the paddocks are secure, the stallion stables, which resemble individual small houses, have vaulted timber ceilings, natural lighting and are fitted with heat lamps as well as air conditioning.
The stallions walk on rubber paths and the farrier checks their feet once a week. Water intake is monitored – there are no automatic water drinkers. Coolmore believes in using traditional water buckets. The horses are fed hay that is made on Coolmore farm, as is the straw bedding in the stables. They graze on grass fertilised by their own natural waste which has been further enriched by Coolmore’s cattle. This is a working farm with a small hardwood plantation.
Ballydoyle racing yard is situated five miles away as the crow flies, closer to 12 by road. Most of the stallions here were trained at Ballydoyle.
Alongside Galileo are are Yeats, dual Breeder’s Cup victor High Chaparral and Montjeu, as well as Montjeu’s son, Hurricane Run.
The Danehill legacy is well represented by Danehill Dancer, Aussie Rules, Duke of Marmalade, Rock of Gibraltar, Dylan Thomas and Fastnet Rock.
THE FIRST STALLION TO be led up is Rip Van Winkle, son of Galileo and still looking very much an athlete ready for action. Choisir, by Danehill Dancer, stands at Coolmore, as does one of his sons, the spectacular Australian sprinter Starspangled Banner. High Chaparral rears on cue just for the fun of it.
Coolmore does not sell horses, it makes them, but it also buys in the best. The objective is to offer a range of the best to match the finest-quality mares.
Yeats is walked out, now 10 years old and after his first season at stud still every inch a race horse and a study in grace, a horse too beautiful for words and four-time winner of the Ascot Gold Cup. In a long racing career spanning six seasons and 15 wins, Yeats repeatedly honoured his pedigree. His elegance contrasts well with the sheer power of Galileo, who now looks very like their sire, Sadler’s Wells.
As Galileo is led back to his stable, conversation is directed towards the empty box next to his. His sire, Sadler’s Wells, is sorely missed. Noel Stapleton, who handled the stallion from 1993 onwards, described how the horse walked out of his stable on April 26th, collapsed on the lawn in the courtyard but recovered and walked into his paddock, where he quietly lay down and died. It was a suitably dignified leave-taking.
According to Stapleton, who loved the horse – “you had to, he was a great gentleman” – Sadler’s Wells throughout the 27 years
he spent at Coolmore after retiring to stud as a three-year-old, was special, likeable and always in control.
“He even waited to die, everyone was here and he had a natural death, very peaceful. He was a great horse.”
“Great” seems a very small word in describing these stallions who are honoured in death as well as life, as are the great broodmares whose names feature in a memorial area.
Coolmore is the dream-come-true of the visionary trainer Vincent O’Brien, his son-in-law, John Magnier, who hails from a family of Fermoy-based stallion masters and Robert Sangster.
Horses need time; they also require calm and security. They have it all here. There is no concealing that it is sophisticated, professional and expensive; Galileo’s cover fee is a reputed six-figure sum, Montjeu stands at €75,000, yet the dual-purpose Yeats is a bargain at present with a modest fee of €9,000.
Coolmore has a veterinary hospital, an operating theatre and a lab. Blood results are available within 30 minutes. The covering shed is a round arena; the mares are not hobbled until the last minute when short padded boots are placed on their hooves to protect the stallion. The mares are kept as calm as possible. Now nearing the end of the breeding season, about 40 mares are waiting to foal at Coolmore.
IT ALL BEGAN WITH a horse named Nijinsky, a son of Northern Dancer whose halter is kept in a glass case in the Coolmore boardroom, along with Nijinsky’s saddle and other racing memorabilia.
As a colt, Nijinsky caught the eye of O’Brien who had gone to Canada to look at another horse. O’Brien saw genius in the mercurial Nijinsky and it encouraged him and Coolmore to go to the US and buy sons of Northern Dancer and also to breed from him, hence Sadler’s Wells.
Danehill was the son of Danzig, also by Northern Dancer. Galileo has already proven himself worthy of his sire, and in turn Galileo’s best son, Rip Van Winkle, may become another great name, alongside Sadler’s Wells and Northern Dancer.
