Oakgrove Stud in clover with Alkandora and Al Kazeem winners

There has been plenty to celebrate at John Deer's Oakgrove Stud in Chepstow over the past week.

First and foremost the nursery, most famous as the birthplace and home of popular multiple Group 1 winner Al Kazeem, was responsible for breeding and selling Alkandora, who broke her maiden for Andre Fabre in the Listed Prix Melisande at Longchamp on Thursday.

The three-year-old Nathaniel filly, out of the Listed-placed Medicean mare Poplin, was signed for by Anthony Stroud for 85,000gns at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on behalf of Godolphin.

“We kept the first two fillies out of Poplin, hence we offered Alkandora for sale,” says Oakgrove Stud manager David Hilton, who took over the reins of the stud from Tim Lane in 2017. “She was always a nice model and when I looked back on my comments I saw she was one of the better foals in our crop that year.

“We were delighted she was sold to such a good judge and would be going to one of the best trainers in the world.

“Poplin has a two-year-old filly by Al Kazeem who we have retained and sent to Roger Varian, and she also has an Al Kazeem yearling colt and an Oasis Dream filly foal.”

Oakgrove Stud also bred the Al Kazeem colt Harper, who looked a promising prospect when successful on debut for Andrea Marcialis in a Saint-Cloud two-year-old conditions stakes on Wednesday.

John Deer with his pride and joy Al Kazeem at Oakgrove StudCredit: Oakgrove Stud

He is out of Fuschia, a winning daughter of Deer's homebred high-class sprinter Averti, and was bought as a foal by Roderic Kavanagh, who resold him as a yearling.

“He was always a very big horse but he's gone to a good two-year-old trainer in France and it just goes to show that for a horse to be precocious it doesn't have to be small or medium-sized,” notes Hilton.

Remarkably, Harper is the second two-year-old winner this year from Al Kazeem's small second crop bred at Oakgrove Stud.

The son of Dubawi, a three-time Group 1 winner for Roger Charlton in his first bloom, had stood his debut season at the Royal Studs in 2014, but that was cut short when he was found to be subfertile.

Al Kazeem resumed racing that year and, unlike many who had been given a taste of life at stud before him, he regained his old enthusiasm and ability to deliver another top-level triumph in the Tattersalls Gold Cup. He returned home to Wales for the 2016 breeding season.

Saint Lawrence, a colt from that Al Kazeem juvenile crop numbering just 26, carried Deer's silks to a four-length victory in a Redcar maiden last month.

Trained by Roger Varian, he is a stablemate of his half-sister, last year's Albany and Rockfel Stakes winner Daahyeh. The pair are out of the winning Oasis Dream mare Affluent.

“He was always a gorgeous horse,” says Hilton. “Not the biggest, but with lots of bone and just very good-looking.

“The form of his victory has worked out well, with the third [Ventura Mutiny] coming out and winning easily next time out. He has two entries on Saturday, in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket and a Salisbury novice race, and we'll just look at how the races come together, but I know Roger [Varian] thinks a lot of him.”

Giving an update on Al Kazeem, Hilton says: “He covered his smallest book this year but he has 100 per cent in foal, and we think that's what we'll do from now: keep him to 15 to 20 quality mares each season and cross-cover them, allowing the horse more of a gap between covers each day.

“Our vets from Three Counties Equine do a great job with him.”

David Hilton: high hopes for new purchase Titi MakfiCredit: Laura Green

Also entered for a two-year-old Group race at Newmarket later in the week is the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained Chelmsford maiden winner On My Way, who is engaged in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes on Friday.

The Oasis Dream filly out of the Listed-placed Azamour mare Zamoura is the third winner from Oakgrove Stud's 2018 crop from as many runners, to seal a flying start to the Flat season for the operation.

“It's been going really well,” Hilton reflects. “I have to thank the team here for being so good during lockdown, nobody missed a day and everyone worked happily within the TBA protocols.”

There is plenty to look forward to for Oakgrove Stud away from the racecourse too.

Hilton says: “The Book 1 draft will include a Dubawi filly out of our Galileo mare Be My Gal – she's a lovely stamp, very correct, and it was great to see Ghaiyyath, bred on the same cross, win the Eclipse so well.

“We also welcomed a very nice Lope De Vega filly who is the first foal out of Titi Makfi, who we bought in December. She was a tough and classy Makfi mare from the family of Attraction, and she's back in foal to Lope De Vega.”

This article and series is in association with Great British Racing International

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