Derby Dream Lives On At Kirtlington Park

[Wandering Eyes]

Starting any new business venture comes with a fair amount of stress but when that business is a stud farm on land which has already produced two Derby winners, it seems fair to assume it will be one launched on a sound footing.

In the infancy of his operation, Charlie Budgett, 37, combined bloodstock agent duties with stud farming, but as he has steadily increased the number of mares under his care, he has devoted the last three years to developing Kirtlington Park Stud on land which has been in his family for almost a century, since his great-grandfather Hugh Budgett bought Kirtlington Park.

Within the 700-acre estate, Hugh’s son Arthur Budgett, the famed trainer who sent out the homebred half-brothers Blakeney (GB) and Morston (GB) to win the Derby in 1969 and 1973, kept a clutch of mares on what was then known as Park Farm. In yesterday’s TDN, we revisited the story of the trainer’s purchase of Windmill Girl (GB), the mare who would help to etch his name in Derby folklore, and spoke to his son Chris, who developed Kirtlington Stud on neighbouring land. An established name at the sales, Kirtlington Stud will be joined on the list of consignors this year by Kirtlington Park Stud as Chris’s nephew Charlie sets about preparing his first yearling draft under his owner banner.

“We’ve had two Derby winners here, and Chris has raised a Derby winner, Sir Percy (GB), as well as such good horses as Harbinger (GB), Presvis (GB) and Dandino (GB) next door, so the land is certainly good enough,” says Charlie Budgett as he speaks with infectious enthusiasm about his plans for his historic base.

“The whole farm is 700 acres, 400 of which is arable, then the polo takes up quite a bit, then there’s us,” he adds.

Polo has long been the established equine pursuit in the area and the Kirtlington Park Polo Club, on his father’s land and alongside the stud, is in action six days a week. With a decent number of horses in the area through the season, the polo club and the stud both benefit from an on-site veterinary practice, VT Vets, which was set up in 2015 by Helen Van Tuyll.

Charlie’s father James has stuck to the property business in which both Chris and Charlie have dipped a toe in the past, and he divides his time between Kirtlington and Montenegro. In the meantime, his son is putting considerable thought and effort into ensuring that the family name continues to be a byword for excellence in the Thoroughbred breeding industry. While barns are being built and lunge rings completed, fencing is a big thing on Budgett’s mind as, bit by bit, land is commandeered for paddocks.

“As we’ve gone along I’ve named each paddock after a horse who has helped us along the way, helped to pay for it if you like,” he says. “I really should have named them after people because Luca and Sara Cumani gave me the first proper mare I had, which was incredibly generous. The thought of fencing all the paddocks keeps me awake at night. My wife Lucy wasn’t very keen on the idea of me putting fence posts on our wedding list—she drew the line at that—but she has grown up in a very horsey family and she understands everything that needs to be done.”

It is not only Charlie who hails from a storied equine family as Lucy Budgett is the daughter of legendary event rider Richard Meade, and her brother Harry is also now one of the top eventers in Britain. Fence-post ban aside, Lucy is not averse to pitching in and helping with the mucking out, while her husband is also assisted by Hazel Baker, who served 15 years next door at Kirtlington Stud, and new recruit Maria Roberts.

“Christo [Chris] gave me such a good opportunity when I first got going: he let me use his barren mare, his night watch and a lot of his machinery. He always came round and made suggestions about fencing, or air vents in the barns for instance. He gave me the confidence to do a lot of the things we’ve done.  Hazel worked for Christo and he told me she wanted a new venture and thought we would get on very well, so he’s responsible for Hazel being here too,” says Budgett.

“I always had an interest in this side of the business. I knew it was risky and that’s why I did property first. Then I realised that this was really what I wanted to do. I went to Kentucky to make sure it really was what I wanted and I worked for Indian Creek with Shack Parrish, who is an absolute lunatic but one of the nicest man I’ve ever met.  He was so helpful, and then I went to Arrowfield, and Paul Messara was fantastic, too.  Seeing how they worked with their stallions and promotions was fascinating—it’s a serious operation.”

Continuing his travels to Argentina for a season, Budgett’s return to the UK saw him work for bloodstock agents Johnny and Susie McKeever for seven years.

He says, “If it wasn’t for Windmill Girl I suspect I might be doing something else entirely. My friends Jamie and Camilla Trotter have been pretty influential in the whole thing as well. I remember sitting down with Jamie when I was involved in property and hating it and telling him I really wanted to get involved with racing.  Jamie suggested I go to work for an agent and work out who everyone was at the sales.”

Budgett continues, “Last year we did a joint-consignment at the foal sales with Ed Player of Whatton Manor Stud. He’s another great friend and comes to stay before Royal Ascot and will walk around fields with me, giving me good feedback. I love to pick his brains and also Jamie’s. James Delahooke is another who has given me some great advice.”

With the farm now properly up and running and the quality of the mare on the place steadily improving, the next hurdle to clear is taking four or five of the nine yearlings on the farm to the sales in the first Kirtlington Park Stud consignment.

“The whole point of getting better mares is that we can have yearlings for Book 1 and Book 2,” he says. “I’m not in a rush to increase the quantity, it’s quality I’m really interested in.

“We have some lovely local ladies who keep mares with us and love to talk about the matings and come to see the mares regularly, which we really enjoy because they put heart and soul into it. It’s great to be involved with breeders who want to do it the right way and not just breed a two-year-old type.”

The farm’s link with the Derby has been enhanced in rather unlikely circumstances this year with the arrival from Qatar of a stallion named Sea’s Legacy (Ire). The unraced son of Green Desert is out of the mare whose Epsom influence has been profound in recent years, Urban Sea, and is thus a half-brother to Galileo (Ire) and year-older three-parts brother to Sea The Stars (Ire), whose Epsom victory came 40 years after Blakeney’s, ten years ago this week.

“He’s a very good-looking horse and is all there, but of course I’m biased,” Budgett says. “He is owned by Qatari clients, the Alattiyah family, who have become friends really. They are really nice guys and they sent one mare for me to try to get in foal as Sea’s Legacy was having a few issues.”

After starting his stud career in France, Sea’s Legacy moved to Qatar, where he got a few mares in foal, and since his arrival at Kirtlington Park he has successfully impregnated his one mate.

Budgett adds, “He covers very well, and having a vet practice 25 metres from his stable is really helpful. We’ve tested his semen and there’s good motility but it dies quickly so mares have to be covered very close to ovulation. I think his owners would like him to cover a few more mares. He’s 14, so he’s not going to be commercial, and I’m not sure I would want to stand a commercial stallion, but I love the challenge of this and he’s taught me a hell of a lot. He’s a real gentleman.”

The same can be said of Sea’s Legacy’s custodian, with Budgett’s most affable manner perhaps itself passed down by his grandfather, who has been referred to as one of the last of the gentleman trainers.

“The only reason I did this is because of my grandfather,” he admits. “He advised me not to go into training and I’m pleased that he did because I would have been awful at it. He was the one who suggested that I go into the breeding side, which is why I went off to Kentucky and Australia first. Christo has already been involved with a Derby winner and I do realise mine is a very unlikely dream, but you have to try and that’s why I’m always trying to upgrade mares we have. Winning the Derby is the dream, definitely.”

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