‘Even After Newmarket, I Always Felt Field Of Gold Would Shine Through’

[Wandering Eyes]

Breeders Bobby and Honora Donworth on what an Irish 2,000 Guineas triumph means to the team at Roundhill Stud

Relief rather than unbridled joy was the first emotion that came to proud breeders Bobby and Honora Donworth, who have opened up on what they have labelled as a 'rollercoaster' of emotion in the build-up to Field Of Gold's emphatic triumph in Saturday's Irish 2,000 Guineas. 

The team at Roundhill Stud in County Limerick, one of the most esteemed nurseries of equine talent Ireland has to offer, admitted to having been left deflated after Field Of Gold had his colours lowered by Ruling Court in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket last month. 

A feeling of, 'what might have been' is all too familiar to the breeders given that Jacqueline Quest, who finished first past the post before being demoted to second in the 1,000 Guineas back in 2010, is the closest the Donworths had come to Classic glory prior to this year. 

But in Field Of Gold, the masters of their craft rightly believed that they had come up with something special from a family that extends back to Princess Serena, who was purchased for $150,000 almost 25 years ago. And how right they were, with Field Of Gold confirming himself one of the most exciting milers on the planet by lighting up the Curragh in what has to go down as one of the most impressive Classic displays the racetrack has seen in recent times. 

Bobby commented, “We have received lots and lots of congratulations from our fellow breeders, which is nice. That aspect of the whole thing has been lovely. They seemed to be thrilled for us, which is great. For small breeders – this farm only holds 15 mares – so it's some farm to do it. This is our second Guineas – of course, the first one was taken off us!”

He added, “It was more relief because of Jaqueline Quest but also because of what happened at Newmarket. That was just a bit upsetting. I felt we should have won at Newmarket and it was a let down. It was like what John Gosden said afterwards, you are always apprehensive until it happens. But it was very easy to enjoy it on Saturday because you could see he was going to win two furlongs down. A lot of work goes into it so you do say to yourself, 'are we ever going to get a bit of luck?' But it happened, thank God.”

It was Bobby's wife Honora who described Field Of Gold as 'a monster' in the immediate aftermath on Saturday, and who is he to disagree?

“He is a monster, really,” Bobby continued. “He is a big baby and I was amazed about what he was able to do as a two-year-old. I knew that if he filled into his frame and trained on, he was going to be a monster, and he has. He is a beautiful horse – an absolutely stunning horse. And I think he'll keep on improving as well.”

Backing up her husband's appraisal of what Saturday meant to everyone at Roundhill, Honora simply said, “Major relief. Just relief that he proved to be the horse that John Gosden and Juddmonte said that he was. It was great that he could do it so emphatically – he's very like his father Kingman. He has the brilliance of Unbridled Song and the acceleration of Kingman, which I think is a brilliant combination. It's fantastic that, after 25 years working with this family which has been so successful, we finally have a Classic winner. We're a commercial farm so we couldn't keep them all – we have to sell some of them. The fact that we have been able to keep control of the family to the extent that we have is perhaps the biggest achievement. For him to become a stallion at Juddmonte, which please God he will, that is a huge thing.”

In many ways, Field Of Gold was destined to carry the Juddmonte silks to big-race success. For him to become a Classic winner and essentially book his place at Banstead Manor Stud is just a dream.

Out of Roundhill's Blue Hen Princess De Lune, already the dam of a black-type performer in Zanbaq and a sister to a further five stakes runners, Field Of Gold was a Juddmonte foal share. To that extent, he was sent to Goffs November Foal Sale in 2022, with Juddmonte replicating the achievements with fellow Guineas winner Chaldean, in sourcing their future Classic hero as a foal. This time, the winning bid was €530,000. 

Honora recalled, “Juddmonte are the best people to deal with in the entire industry. Always have been. We have been doing business with them now for 10 or 15 years. They are horsemen and they understand and respect horses. Listen, Barry Mahon is as cute as a fox. Come on. You ask how they know all these horses, it's because he's a horseman and his father was a horseman. Also, Simon Mockridge is one of the best horsemen you will meet. And one of the kindest men as well. And then you have Shane Horan as well. Myself and Shane could talk for hours on the phone about pedigrees. Field Of Gold was a foal share. We don't ever sell foals but it was better that he was sold as a foal. Nobody else was going to buy that horse other than Juddmonte or Roundhill. I growled outside the box at anyone else who came to look at him. There was no way we were going to let a pinhooker get their hands on him.”

The $150,000 that Roundhill parted with to secure Princess Serena way back in 2003 looks bargain material now. Many high-class performers have come from that family, including multiple Group 1 winner Rizeena, and Honora is confident that the legacy of that great foundation mare will continue for generations. 

Tim and Honora Donworth | Tattersalls

She said, “Any time we went out to buy a mare, it had to be from a good family. I am a bit of a snob – any time I go through a catalogue, I think, 'well, that's not good enough.' It has to be from a recognised family. You could never have bought into a better family than Serena's Song. That was just amazing. We always bought very correct mares as well. A lot of it is down to that. And husbandry as well. Bobby is a top-class horseman and I am a pedigree freak. Somewhere along the way, it works.”

She added, “Even after what happened at Newmarket, I always felt that Field Of Gold would shine through. I was a little bit dubious because it was his third championship race in a short space of time and, while he is in the most wonderful hands, it's horse racing. But, my goodness me, he was so emphatic I think he had it won at halfway. It was amazing. He must be a spectacular horse. He has amazing speed and the most wonderful temperament.

“I was looking at the videos of him after the race and there was no fuss whatsoever. Anyone could go over to him and he just looked out at the crowd with this great, big kind eye. He has a very commanding presence. A very imposing-looking horse. So is his mother. The family tends to be like that. They're grey, they're big – they're beasts. He has a half-sister by Ghaiyyath and she's exactly the same. To see her in the paddock, she's in total command.”

What the team at Roundhill decide to do with the Ghaiyyath half-sister has yet to be decided upon but Honora revealed that no amount of money could convince her to part with the Irish Guineas winner's dam Princess De Lune.

“We have two from the family out of Serena's Storm [the dam of Rizeena]. We have a Dubawi filly, which was a foal share, but we bought out Darley at Book 1 last year [at 340,000gns]. We sold half of her to Trevor Stewart, who is a great friend of ours. She has the most wonderful name. Trevor has that wonderful family of Cassandra Go so we decided to call this filly Serena Go. She is in training with Tim [the Donworths' son, who is based in France]. We also sent him a Mehmas filly out of Serena's Queen [a full-sister to Rizeena]. There is so much more to come and of course we have the other half-sister Serena's Symphony. She's by Gleneagles –  I wanted the pedigree of him in the family – and she's grey as well and is very beautiful. Her first yearling, a colt by Blue Point, sold for 450,000gns to Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin. He has gone to Charlie Appleby. She has a very nice yearling filly by Wootton Bassett. Anywhere you look, the family is being hit by the best.”

She added, “Princess De Lune is currently in Juddmonte. She visited Kingman this year and is still over there because they didn't want to be shuttling her over and back. She'll come home in about a month. She was empty to Too Darn Hot last year. In fairness to Juddmonte, they are very good people to deal with and they'd never pressurise you [to sell the mare]. But no, why would you ever part with a mare like Princess De Lune?. I mean, she has topped two sales already.”

After tucking into a takeaway, a couple of bottles of wine were uncorked back home in Limerick on Saturday evening. The dust had hardly settled on the momentous achievement but Bobby has revealed that more big news could be coming, given Roundhill is likely to be put on the market in the coming weeks.

He concluded, “I have had a few health problems and Honora is feeling the pinch as well. Tim is training in France so, between everything else, the property is likely to come on the market this year. I am 75 now and you don't go on forever. It's a beautiful farm. A well-kept and a well-managed farm. The mares have been spoiled here, to be honest, and we'll keep on spoiling them for as long as we can.”

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