THE QUEEN visits the Irish National Stud in Co Kildare in a fortnights time and there is one resident she is particularly interested in seeing.
The stud’s flagship sire Invincible Spirit is likely to be the centre of attraction when the Queen visits the stud on the morning of Wednesday, May 18th.
Her visit will be short, lasting no more than an hour, so she will have to prioritise and they don’t get a higher priority than Invincible Spirit.
One of the three or four best stallions in Europe, Invisible Spirit is a veritable money machine for the stud.
At €60,000 a cover, the stud’s 40 per cent stake in Invincible Spirit provides half its €7 million income every year which is augmented by its other stallions, mares, its tourist business and equine school. His first set of progeny set a world-record of 35 individual two-year-old winners. He has also produced five Group One winners and five sons of his who are at stud and a colt he sired fetched a record Irish price of €500,000 last September.
It was the Queen’s idea to visit the Irish National Stud. Her family are steeped in its history. The Queen’s great-grandfather King Edward VII won the Derby in 1909 with Minoru who was trained there. Sun Chariot, foaled at Tully in 1939, won the fillies Triple Crown for her father King George VI in 1942. Even after independence, it remained crown property and was still the British National Stud until handed over to the State in 1943.
Chief executive John Osborne said he has had to disappoint a lot of people who wanted to meet her because of time and logistical constraints. “I’m sure if her majesty was off duty she would love to have walked through the fields and walk through the foals and see all the mares, but unfortunately, that’s not going to be possible,” he said.
