In The Hot Seat: Ben Shoare

[Wandering Eyes]

Having recently returned from Australia where he was supporting the England men's cricket team in its ill-fated quest to regain the Ashes, Ben Shoare is now preparing to embark on his first full season at Ace Stud, having been appointed to the role of nominations manager in November last year.

The next man in our Hot Seat is a relative latecomer to racing but has quickly developed an obsession with sales catalogues, while his own brief cricketing career saw him take the notable scalp of a former England batsman.

How did you become involved in bloodstock in the first place?

It was kind of random for me. I was sent home from my final year at uni, just as Covid struck in March 2020. I finished my degree at home and mulled it over a bit, just feeling not sure about what to do. I got rejected from the BHA grad scheme, which I thought was going to be right up my street, and I got rejected from a couple of jobs in racing yards because I had no experience – I'd never touched a horse.

I ended up sending a tweet out, basically asking for a job anywhere, and good old David Redvers was straight back to me. I think I sent the tweet out on a Thursday or Friday and I started in Tweenhills on the Monday. That was how it all started and it was David who put me in touch with the team at the Irish National Stud. I was only in Tweenhills for six months and then went over to the INS for the Thoroughbred Breeding Management course.

What has been the proudest moment of your career to date?

It's hard to pinpoint a particular moment. Everything is always going at a million miles an hour and there's always something to do the next day, rather than dwelling on a bit of success you might have had.

I guess I've been involved for just under six years now and I'm very proud of the progress I've made, to be honest. I've just started the new job and I was very proud to be entrusted with that responsibility.

When I worked at Tweenhills, I worked out pretty quickly that I wanted to be involved in sales and stallions, so a nominations position was something that I always had my eye on. Since I got the job, I've had a lot of people whom I respect hugely come up and say that they thought it was well deserved. That was pleasing to hear.

Shaquille is the only stallion currently standing at Ace Stud. Is he proving an easy sell heading into your first full season in the role?

I don't know if there's such a thing as an easy sell when it comes to stallions. Even with the boys at the very top, there are going to be challenges along the way, when you're in too much demand almost.

But Shaquille is very popular. His first foals made a huge impression at the sales and anybody who came to see the stallion himself had nothing but good things to say. He's going to be busy again and, having dropped his fee to £10,000 for 2026, off the back of a 60 grand foal average, he has every right to be. It's no surprise that I've had breeders at all levels ringing me up and asking about him.

Give us an underrated sire to keep the right side of next year…

As an overall package and at the current fees, I'd go with Sioux Nation. He's covered an awful lot of mares now, but a lot of people still don't seem convinced. Personally, I think it's a matter of time until he kicks on. I think 2026 might be the last year for him in the sort of mid-range bracket in terms of fee. I'm a big believer in him. He had the French Guineas horse [Shes Perfect] in 2025 and I think he'll cement himself with one or two more of them.

Of the stallions who are going to have their first runners in 2026, I'm absolutely buzzing to see the Golden Pals. He was a favourite of mine, an absolute speedball, so I'm looking forward to seeing them.

What was your defining memory of 2025?

There is probably a bit of recency bias here, but the day I spent under the scoreboard at Adelaide for the Ashes with the Barmy Army is probably going to live very long in the memory for me. That was a great day spent with my family and some close friends.

What motivates you?

In my role at Ace Stud, I'm hugely motivated by the opportunity to help the wider breeding industry. It's well documented that foals crops have declined and the number of small breeders is declining. Ace Stud is a new organisation and it's going to continue to grow. I really want to give breeders in Britain, and elsewhere, the chance to grow as well.

I want breeders to know what they're going to get when they ring me and I want them to know that a success for them is a success for me, in my position. It's my job to get mares to the stallion, but that can only happen if I've got repeat customers, so I'll be fighting their corner. There will be more stallions joining the ranks in the years to come and I want to build relationships with breeders that are hopefully going to last a long time.

From my own point of view, I've got a few mares and success on the track is all that matters for me. I need to make things pay and get a good result in the sales ring every now and then just to keep the show on the road. But I've got loads of partners in the horses that we're breeding and, when I'm old and grey, I'll be sat around with the same lads and we'll be remembering the horses based on what they won, not what they made in the ring.

What keeps you awake at night?

It probably varies throughout the year, but there is one constant and it's probably sad to say that I've cancelled plans of mine because catalogues have been released online and I can't wait for the next day to get into them. Obsessing over those sales catalogues is probably my main one.

Other than that, probably the film Interstellar. If I watch that, I'm staring at the ceiling for a good few hours after it. That's my favourite film.

What is your biggest regret?

I've got a few regrets, things I've said and things I've done. You always wonder what might be different if you'd done things differently, but nothing that really haunts me or keeps me awake at night like the sales catalogues!

One thing I do wish is that I'd learned to ride as a young man. I've been lucky enough to travel a good bit and it's very clear that being able to get up on a racehorse is a pretty useful skill to have in this game when it comes to travelling around the world.

Tell us something people don't know about Ben Shoare…

I'm 30 now and it's going back a few years, but I'm the proud holder of one first-class wicket. Poor Gary Ballance, I bowled him a long hop and he managed to smash it to square leg. That was for Leeds/Bradford MCCU in the warm-up games at the start of the season. I think I would have been 18 or 19 at the time.

What is your favourite sale/place and why?

I spent a summer in Saratoga in 2022 and that place just has it all for anyone in this game. I'd implore people to get out there during the racing and the sales, if they haven't already. It's an epic spot, with the racecourse on the doorstep, the sales ground next door and Lake George just up the road. It's just a brilliant place to spend as much time as you possibly can and I'll be doing my best to get back there!

What's your go-to karaoke song?

I'd give Billy Joel's Scenes From An Italian Restaurant a good rattle.

Who is your inspiration?

My close group of friends, some of whom I'm involved in racing with and some of whom I'm not. Those guys have certainly kept me going and inspired me to grind it out through the tough times. We all have plenty of them in this game. It's nice to feel like we're in the battle together and we're always able to have a bit of a laugh about it.

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