Middlebrooks Putting The Lake District on the Thoroughbred Map

[Wandering Eyes]

The Lake District, one of England's most outstanding areas of natural beauty, is also home to a rare Thoroughbred breeding operation in Gary and Lesley Middlebook's Wood Farm Stud at Ecclerigg, which skirts the vast Lake Windermere. 

From their vantage point at the top of steep paddocks with some fine views across Cumbria, the husband-and-wife team has produced the likes of dual Group 1-winning sprinter Reverence (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) and G1 Del Mar Oaks winner Singhalese (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) as well as the group winners Love Everlasting (GB) (Pursuit Of Love {GB}) and Distinctive (GB) (Tobougg {Ire}). They are now reliant on another husband-and-wife team, their daughter and son-in-law Claire and Dan Kubler, to train a number of their retained homebreds, and the year has started well, with two wins for Elterwater (GB) (Camelot {GB}), following her first victory last November. 

A later bloomer at the age of five, Elterwater, a granddaughter of the aforementioned Love Everlasting, herself out of a half-sister to Shirley Heights (GB), will now remain in training this season instead of joining the Middlebrooks' broodmare band.

“Fingers crossed, we might get some black type with her at some stage. She was going to go to Ace Impact (Ire) but now she keeps winning and has shown she's got some ability we'll keep going with her,” says Gary.

Wood Farm Stud has a handful of foals on the ground already, with eight expected. Those mares will be staying in Britain while another has already left for France and one is off to Ireland.

 

Gary and Lesley Middlebrook's homebred Elterwater | Racingfotos

 

The Middlebrooks will have eight two-year-olds, seven three-year-olds and a couple of older horses in training in Lambourn at the Kublers' yard at Sarsen Farm, which they helped to build. 

“The lovely thing is, with having our horses in the family with Claire and Dan, we get so much information on them,” says Lesley. “They are doing a brilliant job of updating all the owners – not just us – with feedback and videos, which I think everybody has to do these days.”

They have also been longstanding clients of Highclere Stud and sell their yearlings through the Warrens' operation.

“They've done a great job for us. Carolyn Warren comes up here once a year and she is the best judge of our yearlings. She looks at them and she can tell [who they are] within a minute,” adds Lesley, who has taken a brief time out from a busy foaling season to join her husband and talk us through their mating plans for this year.

Raimunda, by Blame ex Volver (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire})

A winner over a mile for the Kublers, the five-year-old is to be covered for the first time.

“She's going to Dark Angel (Ire). We bought her dam from Tanya Gunther and bred her in America,” says Lesley.

Gary adds, “We've invested in some breeding rights and stallion shares over the years. We've had Dark Angel, Invincible Spirit (Ire) and New Bay (GB), and now Ace Impact is one we've taken up recently.”

Dream To Reality (GB), by Australia (GB) ex Mama Quilla (Smart Strike)

The Middlebrooks' bought Myth To Reality at Keeneland in 2003 when her five-time Group/Grade 1-winning daughter Divine Proportions (Kingmambo) was just a yearling. Myth To Reality's daughter Mama Quilla was bred by them and won twice when trained by William Haggas.

Lesley says, “Dream To Reality is a granddaughter of Myth To Reality. We sold a St Mark's Basilica (Fr) colt from her last year [now named Be Patient] and she lost her Zoustar foal. She is going to Ace Impact.”

Aira Force (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB) ex Dubai Affair (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})

Lesley says, “She's a half-sister to Raasel (GB) and she has had a Pinatubo (Ire) colt this year as her first foal and he's very well put together. She is going to Chaldean (GB).”

Distinctive (GB), by Tobougg (Ire) ex Blue Azure (American Chance)

An 18-year-old homebred mare, she won the G3 Laundry Cottage Stud Firth of Clyde Stakes in 2009.

Gary says, “Distinctive is getting a bit older now but she has a Shaquille (GB) filly on the ground and she is going to Cracksman (GB), who we have a breeding right in. Her Shaquille filly is very attractive and quite leggy.”

Exacting (GB), by Excelebration (Ire) ex Blue Azure (American Chance)

“She's a half-sister to Distinctive, from a good family, but she got injured in training,” says Gary of the once-raced 11-year-old. “Her first foal by Ribchester [Doitforandrew] was rated over 90 and her half-sister has produced Mgheera (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}), who won a Listed race in France last year.

“She now has a Dark Angel colt at home and is going to Isaac Shelby (GB). We saw him during the December Sales and really liked him.”

 

Kevin Darley and dual Group 1 winner Reverence | Racingfotos

 

Set To Music (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire) ex Zarabaya (Ire) (Doyoun GB}).

“We bought her from the King and we sold an Almanzor colt from her last year [now named Any Which Way],” says Lesley. “Michael Bell bought her – he's had some of the family and trained the mare.”

Gary adds, “We've got a lovely Kingman (GB) yearling filly out of her and she has just had a Palace Pier (GB) colt at Bearstone Stud. She is now going to Gleneagles (Ire). We like the mating and we've used him a couple of times and have kept a filly by him to breed from. You can't not like his page really.”

Ducissa (GB), by Exceed And Excel (Aus) ex Baize (GB) (Efisio {GB})

A half-sister to the aforementioned Grade I winner Singhalese, who was later the dam of GI Japanese Oaks winner Sinhalite (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

“She has a lovely Modern Games filly foal and a Too Darn Hot (GB) yearling filly, and she's going to go to Bradsell (GB),” says Lesley. “She's a big girl and when she's in the stocks she can grow to 17 hands.”

Gary adds, “He's a lovely mover, Bradsell, and you can't ignore his race performance and his toughness. It's rolling the dice but we like supporting the National Stud.”

Reims (GB), by Invincible Spirit (Ire) ex Riberac (GB) (Efisio {GB})

“She's a daughter of Riberac, one of our first mares. She's got a New Bay foal coming and she's going to Ace Impact. I think he will be dead interesting because I really think Ace Impact has got potential, but then I always do when I buy a share in a stallion,” Gary says.

“He's a huge optimist,” Lesley says of her husband.

“We had shares in Efisio. He wasn't very big and not that fertile but he was a kind horse and quite a few of our mares have got Efisio in them.”

Exclusively Yours (GB), by Gleneagles (Ire) ex Acquainted (GB) (Shamardal)

The half-sister to Elterwater is in foal to Ace Impact. 

Penny Drops (GB), by Invincible Spirit (Ire) ex Penny Cross (GB) (Efisio {GB})

“She's probably our best mare and she has a Too Darn Hot two-year-old called Mint (GB). Her three-year-old by Zoustar (Aus) is called Grizedale (GB) and we haven't run him yet but he's not far off. Her son Outgate (GB) is now six and is still running in Hong Kong, while Badri (GB) was her first foal and he's now eight years old and won another nice sprint handicap recently. There's [Group 3 winner] Equality (GB), and Treasure Time (GB) as well with William Haggas, and they've all been 90-plus,” Lesley says. 

“She's the sweetest little thing and everybody wants to buy her stock. She's got a New Bay yearling and she's in foal to Too Darn Hot (GB) and will be going to Baaeed (GB). 

“She tends to let the stallion stamp them. Every horse she's had looks like Dad.”

With Reason (GB), by Frankel (GB) ex Eminently (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus})

“We have to mention our Frankel filly, who unfortunately got injured in training,” says Gary of the daughter of Eminently, a half-sister to Reverence. “She's in foal to Showcasing (GB) and is going back to Palace Pier. Sadly she lost her foal by him last year but we really like the Palace Pier foals we've had.”

Lesley adds, “Acquainted's two-year-old by Palace Pier, Elterwater's half-brother, is a really nice horse who got the worst under-run abscess that we have ever seen so he missed the October sales. Hopefully he will be a nice racehorse for us now – you just have to look after them really and do the right thing.”

 

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