Tweenhills rings the changes with a first yearling draft of its own for more than a decade

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Here, Martin Stevens chats to David Redvers of Tweenhills about the reasons for consigning yearlings to the Tattersalls October Sale under their own name for the first time since 2012, plus the draft itself – subscribers can get more great insight every Monday to Friday.

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Change is in the air at Tweenhills. The Gloucestershire farm continues to breed and rear high-class athletes – as shown by an international Group/Grade 1 double for homebreds New Century and Buckaroo in recent weeks – but with long-term client Qatar Racing reducing its racing interests in Europe, things are going to be done a little differently from now on. 

The most immediate evidence of a modification of the business MO is a first yearling consignment under its own name since 2012, the year that Qatar Racing was founded by Sheikh Fahad Al Thani and his brothers. 

Tweenhills offers 14 lots at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and five in Book 3 next month. The majority are by home sire Kameko, whose son New Century made him the only member of this year’s European freshmen to supply a top-level winner, and former resident Zoustar, who goes from strength to strength in his native Australia and has left Cheveley Park Stakes scorer Lezoo and Group 1-placed sprinter Starlust from his shuttle trips north. 

“Sheikh Fahad turned up in our lives around 14 years ago and transformed the fortunes of Tweenhills,” says Redvers. “But when Qatar Racing was in a heavily acquisitional phase early on, buying a lot of horses and enjoying a lot of success, it was very difficult to sell horses simultaneously.  

“During that period people looking at our yearling drafts were thinking ‘if the horse was any good, why would they be selling it?’ and so we found that we were often selling them at a discount. And, of course, those yearlings were often owned by us, Tweenhills and our loyal clients, rather than Sheikh Fahad. 

“It was extremely difficult to get paid for them. So we chose to sell our own commercial stock through other agents, while continuing to sell our own draft of foals. 

“But it’s frustrating for your staff when they've done all the work with the yearlings, taking them from conception all the way to prepping them for the sales, and they then have to hand them to somebody else and miss out on the thrill of taking them through the ring. 

“I've got the best team here I've ever had, who are very passionate about what we do and take a real pride in the stock that goes through the farm, so they want to showcase them. Everyone’s really looking forward to it.” 

Redvers says that the decision was made partly because Qatar Racing “isn’t buying yearlings in any number in Europe at the moment”, and so he will have more time to be front of house at the Tweenhills boxes at Tattersalls next month, and potential buyers will have no reason to doubt the stud’s motives for selling. 

Elaborating on Qatar Racing’s change of focus, he adds: “Sheikh Fahad is rationalising his interests in Europe. Qatar Racing now is very much a global entity and so he’s been exposed over the last decade or so to the rewards of racing in jurisdictions where there's better prize-money. 

“He would concede that we breed the best racehorses in the world in Britain, Ireland and France, and that we still have the most prestigious and respected racing here. But, sadly, we don't have the best prize-money and he has always made it abundantly clear that he's running this as a business, and that the bottom line is important to him and his brothers. 

Sheikh Fahad with David Redvers at Park PaddocksCredit: Laura Green

“Therefore, while he's keeping some lovely fillies from his best broodmares and putting them into training, and I’m hoping he’s going to continue to buy one or two really well-bred fillies to enhance his core group of mares here, the rest of his European stock is going to be treated entirely commercially and in 2024 he will be selling all of his yearling colts.” 

As part of Qatar Racing’s rationalisation in Europe, a sizeable draft of mares will also be dispersed at the breeding-stock sales in the winter. 

“We've got around 25 mares who Sheikh Fahad considers to be surplus to requirements – either because they are unproven or have a bit of age – and they’ll be going to the sales,” says Redvers. 

“There will be some wonderful opportunities for other breeders, as there were last year when we sold a similar bunch of mares for Qatar Racing. You often end up regretting selling some of them, as they come back and bite you by producing a nice horse, but that's the nature of this game.” 

Tweenhills’ yearling drafts this autumn are something of a soft relaunch, as the Book 1 lots will be taken through the ring by agents once again. They include a Dubawi colt out of Prix du Cadran heroine Molly Malone, therefore a half-brother to high-class fillies Emotion and Morgan Le Faye, consigned by Baroda Stud. 

“He’s as good a yearling as we've ever raised on the farm and the best one we’ve ever sent to a sale,” says a besotted Redvers. “He's by Dubawi and out of a Group 1-winning mare, and he just oozes class and presence. He's got the most extraordinary action too.  

“I really think if we've ever bred a horse that might win the Derby, this is him.” 

Another reason for Tweenhills’ re-entry into the yearling market is a strong run of results for its homebreds this year. Besides recent flagbearers New Century, successful in the Summer Stakes at Woodbine, and Buckaroo, who took the Underwood Stakes at Caulfield, the Roaring Lion fillies Queen Of The Pride and Running Lion have won notable Group 2 races, and plenty of others, like Flight and Siege Of Troy, have been running with credit in Pattern company. 

Tweenhills’ purple patch might have been missed by some, though, as many of those top-notchers were bred in partnerships named after the dams. That potential lack of credit has led to another adjustment at the operation in the offing. 

“Our successes might have been missed as we were previously worried about keeping stock commercial and so bred in the name of the partnership rather than the name of Qatar Bloodstock or Tweenhills,” says Redvers. 

“That'll probably change going forward so that people are aware of just how well the farm and our clients have been doing. At the end of the day, it's our brand and we've rather hidden our light under a bushel.

“But the important thing is this year we've got lots of good horses to show for our efforts. New Century and Buckaroo winning Group 1s in the space of a week is quite something. I'm confident that we've got the system right from a nurture perspective.” 

Oisin Muphy and Andrew Balding discuss New Century after his success at SalisburyCredit: Edward Whitaker

New Century’s victory in Canada was particularly sweet due to the compliment he paid to his young sire, Kameko. The colt, who is trained by Andrew Balding for Qatar Racing, beat the hot favourite Al Qudra by clear water at Woodbine and is set to seek more riches in North America this season. 

Redvers says: “He was an absolute conker of a foal and yearling, and Andrew's done an amazing job with him. It's a wonderful bit of symmetry that Andrew trained both the dad and his first Group 1 winner. 

“Fergus Galvin of Hunter Valley Farm, who helps look after the American side of Qatar Racing, deserves credit as he chose the race. Sheikh Fahad was looking at options to win some decent prize-money with him after he won the Stonehenge Stakes and initially we were thinking of going to Kentucky Downs for a valuable race there, but Fergus pointed out that the Summer Stakes at Woodbine was a Grade 1, was worth half a million dollars and was a really suitable target for a horse like him over a mile.  

“New Century couldn't have been more impressive winning it, and the likelihood is that he'll now go to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. He's got the highest rating of a turf two-year-old in North America so he’s going to give his rivals plenty to do.  

“I saw him on the morning after he returned to Kingsclere and he was as fresh as paint, he nearly bucked Maddy [O’Meara] off coming in from the gallops. He was absolutely bouncing, so he clearly relishes the travelling aspect.” 

New Century is one of two stakes performers by Kameko, along with Wimbledon Hawkeye, who found only The Lion In Winter too good in the Acomb Stakes at York. The sire is also responsible for July Stakes fourth Rajeko, Ascendant Stakes fourth Hawksbill and valuable Doncaster nursery winner Ghost Run. 

“Kameko has done incredibly well in that he was a slow maturing two-year-old who ended up winning the first all-weather Group 1 when the Futurity was run at Newcastle, and then he improved considerably from two to three, so what he’s done so far is a bonus,” says Redvers.  

“That's the really exciting thing for us: his runners all look like they want seven furlongs-plus, a mile-plus even, and so we fully expect to see him do something exciting with his three-year-olds.  

“He's proven he can get a Group 1 winner, he's proven he transmits class, and at the end of the day that’s the only thing that matters with a stallion.” 

Roaring Lion, Kameko's fellow son of Kitten’s Joy and predecessor at Tweenhills, also put stamina and durability into the members of his sole crop. The fact that he might have occupied an important place in the stallion market, producing horses who flourish over a mile and up and therefore accrue significant resale value in the global market, has magnified the tragedy of his early death. 

“I think Kameko is firmly in the same place in the market,” says Redvers. “It's really interesting that the ‘commercial’ stallion is widely seen as the one that can get you a two-year-old runner at Royal Ascot, but from owners’ and trainers’ point of view the ‘commercial’ stallion is actually the one that gets horses who command a serious resale price either to Australia, America, Hong Kong or the Middle East. 

“Very few supposedly ‘commercial’ stallions are guaranteed to get you a runner over a mile or ten furlongs-plus, but Kameko is one who could. For that reason, you can see people at the sales already want to like his yearlings before they open the door, and that's a lovely position to be in.” 

Hartpury C of E Primary School students meet Kameko with David Redvers (right)Credit: Racing to School

Happily, seven of Tweenhills’ Book 2 and 3 lots are by Kameko. They include a full-brother to New Century, half-siblings to Pattern winners Nymphadora and Sirius Prospect, and fillies out of Listed scorers Diamonds Pour Moi and Strawberry Martini. 

Tweenhills’ other recent Group 1-winning graduate Buckaroo is by Fastnet Rock and out of the Listed-winning Galileo mare Roheryn, a budding blue hen who has also produced Middle Earth, another top middle-distance performer by Roaring Lion owned by Qatar Racing, Kihavah, a classy handicapper by late stud resident Harbour Watch, and the smart Siege Of Troy, by Siyouni. 

“Roheryn is sadly barren at Ecurie des Monceaux in Normandy with Henri Bozo, but she's got a lovely Siyouni colt at foot, and will probably end up going to Justify next year,” reports Redvers. 

“Middle Earth has headed off to Australia to join Ciaron Maher, having been just short of top-class here. We seem to be accumulating horses by Roaring Lion down there, with Saint George looking good when finishing fourth on his first run for Ciaron the other day and going for the Melbourne Cup, and Valiant King with Chris Waller. 

“I can see a few Kamekos heading down to Australia in future, too. Kitten’s Joy obviously put in a lot of toughness and a bit of stamina. We fully expect the Australians to hook on to Kameko now they’re waking up to Roaring Lion.” 

Queen Of The Pride and Running Lion, who have done most to keep the flame alive for Roaring Lion in Europe this season, ran flat on their last starts but Redvers is confident they can bounce back. 

“Queen Of The Pride won the Lancashire Oaks extremely impressively and went to the Yorkshire Oaks looking the most likely winner, but ran no race at all and it turned out that she didn't scope well after the race and the Clarehaven horses were a bit hit and miss at that time,” he says.  

“She went to Longholes and had a freshen-up in the paddock, but she’s back now and looking fantastic. She goes for the British Champions Fillies and Mares to try to keep the Roaring Lion tradition alive on British Champions Day, which of course is sponsored by Qipco. 

“Running Lion was bred here in partnership with my great friend David Howden. She won the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot in sensational style under a great ride from Oisin [Murphy], and gave David the best day of his racing life. To be fair, it wasn't far off mine, either! 

Running Lion (Oisin Murphy) wins the Duke of Cambridge Stakes to give David Howden 'the best day of his racing life'Credit: Edward Whitaker

“She then tied up badly in the Falmouth Stakes and has been given a quiet time of it but is now going really well again. Mr Gosden is planning the rest of her campaign and we’re looking at numerous options here and abroad and will let her tell us if she stays in training next season.” 

Eight of the other lots in Tweenhills’ Book 2 and 3 drafts are from the fourth of five northern hemisphere crops by Zoustar. The son of Northern Meteor was on the mark in Europe again on Saturday with Group 3 Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies & Mares Stakes winner Je Zous, but it’s fair to say he hasn’t replicated his brilliance as a sire in Australia north of the Equator. 

“Zoustar is a world-class stallion, there's absolutely no getting away from that,” says Redvers. “You talk to any Australian and they'll tell you that he's the best stallion they've had down there since Danehill.  

“What he's achieving, and what he's going to achieve, is extraordinary. He's the only stallion in that sweet spot of being younger and at the top of his game. The wonderful I Am invincible and Snitzel are coming to the end of their careers and Extreme Choice is excellent but sub-fertile.  

“There's a few young pretenders but nothing proven, so he will be getting the lion's share of all the best mares. Antony Thompson [of Widden Stud, which stands Zoustar in Australia] was telling me about the mares he had covered in the past few days and there were two Coolmore Stud Stakes winners among them. He’s got a huge band of elite mares going to him year-on-year now, so he's just going to get stronger and stronger.” 

Love isn’t blind in this case, though. For all that Redvers is infatuated with Zoustar, in whom Qatar Racing owns a third share, he is aware of the imbalance in the sire’s performance in each hemisphere. 

“There's no getting away from it, I’d look foolish if I said anything different,” he says. “He came here, he got a lower quality of mare, and he hasn't done quite as well as he's done in Australia, for all that he’s got some very nice horses. 

“I have my own theory that they don't handle the undulations here quite as well as they handle the flat tracks in Australia, and that's because they're big muscled horses. An element of that is possibly the way trainers handle them here: it can be a bit like trying to get Usain Bolt to run 1,500 metres three times a week, it's a mismatch of muscle structure and distance requirement, although it’s fair to say that some like Ralph Beckett have worked out how to train them exceedingly well.”  

As the Beckett-trained pair Lezoo and Starlust and Joseph O’Brien’s filly Je Zous have shown, it would be a brave bloodstock agent or trainer who dismisses out of hand a northern hemisphere yearling by Zoustar on the identity of their sire. 

Je Zous after winning the Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies & Mares Stakes this monthCredit: CAROLINE NORRIS

“What is really clear is that there’s a massive trade-on market for them,” continues Redvers. “He had three winners on the first day of the new season in Hong Kong earlier this month and every time anyone's had a maiden winner here in Europe all the agents are on to them trying to buy it for Hong Kong.   

“From that perspective his yearlings represent really exciting value because, there’s no point pretending otherwise, they will probably average 20 per cent what they do in the Australian marketplace, where they’ve averaged half a million dollars across every yearling sale.  

“I know the Australians will be looking at his European fillies with good pedigrees, because any proper Zoustar filly will make well in excess of half a million dollars in Australia, and they will look great value here.” 

Among the Zoustar yearlings being presented by Tweenhills at Park Paddocks next month are fillies out of stakes winners A Little Bit Me and Carolinae, colts out of speedy two-year-old Out Of The Flames and Chilean champion two-year-old Ruby Love, and a half-brother to Listed scorers Louliana and Rose Premium. 

Redvers doesn’t rule out the sire returning to Britain after he missed the shuttle trip this year, although he concedes it might be difficult “as the simple truth is that the income he can generate here doesn’t cover the insurance premium to bring him up because he’s now so valuable”. 

The farm’s Book 2 and 3 drafts are completed by a Zarak filly out of a Galileo half-sister to middle-distance stars Latrobe and Pink Dogwood; a Showcasing filly from the family of recent Ascendant Stakes winner Luther; a Make Believe colt out of Park Hill Stakes second Melodic Motion; and a Too Darn Hot colt out of Ribblesdale third Sparkle Roll, a Kingman half-sister to Wings Of Eagles. 

Redvers is relishing the return to selling yearlings under his own steam. 

He says: “We've always had large drafts of foals but the nature of those sales means that pinhookers are the bedrock of the buying bench, and so most of the time you're selling to somebody who thinks you're doing so too cheaply. 

“It's rare to get a proper payday at the foal sales unless you take something very exceptional and unusual, whereas at the yearling sales you're mostly selling to end users, for all that there are of course pinhookers buying for breeze-ups. 

“You have more of an opportunity to get properly paid for the right horse at the yearling sales, so we are looking forward to exposing ourselves properly to that market as Tweenhills.” 

Summing up why he is ringing the changes this season, he adds: “Now seems like the right time to define that while we’re extremely lucky to continue to have Sheikh Fahad and Qatar Racing and others as wonderful clients, Tweenhills is the Redvers family’s home, farm and business.”

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