Meon Valley Stud On Mountain High

[Wandering Eyes]

EPSOM, UK—Anapurna (GB) may be named after the base camp on Everest but Mark Weinfeld and his sister Helena Ellingsen yesterday stood at the summit of the mountain every breeder dreams of climbing as they welcomed a homebred winner of the Oaks back to Epsom’s famed winner’s circle.

The first British Classic winner for her sire Frankel (GB) is just one element to the background of Frankie Dettori’s fifth winner of the Oaks, but more importantly for the Weinfeld family’s Meon Valley Stud is the culmination of five generations of breeding at the Hampshire nursery which has come agonisingly close to Oaks glory in their own black-and-white silks over the last 40 years. Though they bred the 1996 winner Lady Carla (GB) (Caerleon), the nearest miss with a retained filly came in 2012 with Shirocco Star (GB) (Shirocco {GB}), who was runner-up to Was (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). She may yet atone for that neck defeat via her son Telecaster (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), the colt overlooked at the sales, entered for the Derby, taken out of the list in the early spring and then supplemented earlier this week after his resolute victory in the Dante S.

“This is the fifth generation of this family we’ve had, right back to One In A Million (GB). She’s out of Dash To The Top (GB), who had quite a few Montjeu (Ire) traits but was very talented, and fortunately she seems to have passed that bit on,” said Weinfeld after Dettori had released him from a post-race bear hug.
“It really started by accident because we bought One In A Million, who won the Guineas. My father bought three yearling fillies with the idea that they might be good enough to have potential for breeding—the other one was Reprocolor (GB), and we had Odeon (GB) as well. They did a lot better than he thought they would so he started a stud farm, but it all started from those three mares and it has grown from there. We now have 35 mares. We try to keep it to 30 but we never quite manage to.”

Whatever level the numbers reach, Anapurna has now guaranteed her place in the paddocks at Meon Valley alongside her mother, who has not been in foal for the last two years.

“Another filly we had with John Gosden, a half-sister to Izzi Top (GB) and Jazzi Top (GB), died in a freak accident in her stable this year and Anapurna is the last foal her dam has had, which just goes to show the ups and downs of breeding,” he added.

On a day of highs, Anapurna’s trainer John Gosden also alluded to the trials and tribulations experienced by breeders when paying tribute to the bedrocks of the industry. He said, “Breeding horses is the toughest thing and things go wrong all the time. For owner-breeders like Mark and Helena, they produce beautiful horses at their farm, and they have one running tomorrow who people didn’t think was good enough at the sales. For them to breed an Oaks winner, and to go through all the nightmares you go through, it’s a great test of faith. Without these owner-breeders there would be no proper racing. They are in a sense the most important ingredient.”

And while owner-breeders rely on the good fillies coming back to the farm to keep the lines going, they will of course have a decent number of colts to contend with each year. When Telecaster, like his dam and grandam before him, failed to reach his reserve at Tattersalls, he returned to Meon Valley and ended up being put in training with Hughie Morrison, who had overseen Shirocco Star’s career.

Racing for a group of Weinfeld family members and friends under the banner of Castle Down Racing, named after part of the stud, he is now second-favourite to give his breeders the rare opportunity to land two Classics in two days. He in turn is a seventh-generation descendant of Reprocolor, from a family which has spawned the high-class colts-turned-stallions Kayf Tara (GB) and Opera House (GB), though those champion brothers by Sadler’s Wells both raced for Sheikh Mohammed. The offers have come for Telecaster, but for now he remains within the family.

“I’ve had some phone calls,” Weinfeld admitted. “Some of the big players spoke to me before York and I said that we wanted to see where the journey would take us and after York nobody has phoned—I think they knew we weren’t going to sell.”

And as the owner-breeder prepares to switch his black-and-white spotted shirt that matched Anapurna’s silks and accompanied her victory to his lucky orange-and-black tie sported at York for Telecaster, he is realistic about his chances of a memorable Epsom double.

“The pressure is off a bit but I think that would be too much to wish for,” he said. “I think to get two in would really be asking too much. I just hope he runs well.”
Whether or not twin peaks are out of reach, Anapurna has put Meon Valley Stud on a deserved mountain high.

 

 

The post Meon Valley Stud On Mountain High appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article