Why the newest name in the stallion business is convinced he has an 'extraordinary' horse on his hands

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Here, Martin Stevens chats to Ciaran De Barra of Diamond Stud Bellewstown about his pride and joy. Subscribers can get more great insight every Monday to Friday.

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Ciarán De Barra’s sales pitch for his new sire Marie’s Diamond was already long and exhaustive in detail, but it has grown again this week since the horse’s full-brother Sindoriyno won on his debut at Wolverhampton on Tuesday. 

“That makes it seven foals, seven runners and seven winners for the mare,” beams the ebullient new entrant into the stallion business. “She was bought by Ballylinch Stud for €315,000 and another of her sons, Sikandarabad, was Group 1-placed in Australia. She’s from the great Aga Khan Studs family of Sinndar too.” 

If a stallion's success depended solely on the energy of their owners, Marie’s Diamond would be a champion many times over. De Barra, who brought a similar drive and dedication to his former role as management assistant at the Irish National Stud, has even named his new stud after the horse.  

“I bought Diamond Stud Bellewstown in 2021,” he says. “It was in crop, having been leased to grow rape and corn before I got there, so I had to do a bit of work to get it back in grass. I had it all fenced by the end of 2022, and it was only last year when it was really ready for horses to go onto it. 

“So I thought what I need now is a stallion, and went out and bought Marie's Diamond. It’ll be just walk-ins this year, as I only have the stallion boxes, the stable next to them and the covering shed.  

“All my mares are currently kept on land I lease five minutes away. Hopefully I’ll be in a position next year to be able to foal down some outside mares on the farm. That’s the next job on the list.” 

Diamond Stud Bellewstown is surrounded by breeders in County Meath and is not far from Tara Stud, but it was the most northerly stop on the ITM Irish Stallion Trail last week. That didn’t deter a lot of visitors, though. 

“We were away from a lot of people’s main routes on the trail but we still got loads through the gate,” says De Barra. “Everyone who saw Marie’s Diamond loved him, which isn't surprising as he’s a belter, and they either booked mares or spread the word about him.  

“That exposure was really important, as we’re a new farm and it’s crucial to get the name out there. People are used to going to the same studs they’ve always gone to, that’s just human nature, so we need to do something to draw them in.” 

Other stallions on the trail might stand at longer established farms, and have higher profiles, but surely few will have benefited from such passionate sales patter as Marie’s Diamond. 

Marie's Diamond (left) on the way to winning the Paradise Stakes at Newmarket Credit: Pool

“When I rang Roger Fell about buying the horse the exact words he used were, 'He's mega good-looking’ and he wasn’t lying; he’s a real specimen,” says De Barra, launching into his spiel. “He’s down as dark bay or brown but really he’s black, and beautiful with it. He’s putting on weight now, having last run in October, and he’s looking great for it. He’s gaining more presence all the time. 

“He’s a lovely walker and mover too, and he’s got a brilliant temperament. He’s really straightforward to do anything with, although he likes to have a bit of a nip every now and then.” 

De Barra has some real peaches of lines when it comes to his run-down of Marie’s Diamond's racing career. 

“He recorded a fast time when he scored in the Anglesey Stakes, a race also won by Little Big Bear, Oratorio, Johannesburg, Woodman, Caerleon, Storm Bird and other great horses, and he also finished second in the Railway Stakes and Richmond Stakes and fourth in the Middle Park at two,” he says. 

“But then he also had the ability and longevity to keep going until the age of seven. He was right up there with a lot of good horses throughout his career. He ran fourth to Ten Sovereigns in the Middle Park, and a close third to Circus Maximus, Space Blues and Triple Time in different races.  

“He was also faster than Frankel.” 

Sorry, come again? 

“That’s the line I’m going with,” laughs De Barra. “When he won the Paradise Stakes by four and a quarter lengths he clocked a time of 1min 34.47sec, which is faster than every 2,000 Guineas winner over eight furlongs on the Rowley Mile, and they carried less weight. In fact, it’s the third fastest time by any colt over the course and distance, behind Eagle Mountain and Kameko.” 

Ciaran De Barra: 'Marie's Diamond was right up there with a lot of good horses throughout his career'Credit: Ciaran De Barra

De Barra is putting his money where his mouth is, at least, by sending Marie’s Diamond all ten of his own mares.  

“They include a Harry Angel half-sister to Rangali, who twice finished second in the Prix de l’Abbaye,” he says. “I think mares from the Dark Angel line will suit Marie's Diamond as one of Dark Angel's daughters, Sonaiyla, who finished a close third in the Flying Five for Paddy Twomey, is high up in his pedigree. 

“But then I think there’s an awful lot of lines that will work with him, as he's an outcross to most other stallions. Actually, when you look back at it, a lot of rags-to-riches sires have those sorts of pedigrees – Kendargent, Le Havre, Wootton Bassett, you could say even Lope De Vega, as he’s an outcross to the vast majority of the mare population. They’re often the ones that click.” 

Kendargent, who rose from almost total obscurity to become a prolific sire of Group winners, is a particularly rich source of inspiration to De Barra.  

“He’s been a phenomenon, and I’d like to be able to compare him with Marie’s Diamond eventually,” he says. “He won’t have 150 mares straight off the bat either, but I’ll keep backing him to the hilt like Guy Pariente did with Kendargent.” 

De Barra might be congenitally optimistic, but he is nobody’s fool, and has a business degree and masters in accounting to prove it. 

Kendargent: De Barra is an admirerCredit: Elise Fossard

So, taking into account all of Marie’s Diamond’s many and varied qualities but also his own position as a new kid on the block, what are his realistic expectations for the horse’s first season at stud? 

“I know I’m going into competition with bigger farms, and it is intimidating, to be fair,” he says. “But it’s all about the horse, and I really believe in Marie’s Diamond. I’d have the confidence to say I’m a good judge of a horse, and sourcing the right animals, and I’m certain he’s good enough to carry the lack of my own standing as a stallion master. 

“In terms of numbers, to be honest whatever he does this year isn’t going to be enough for me as I’m in that growth mindset where I want everything to be bigger and better. Realistically, at the moment we have 40 mares booked in, and that’s going to turn into 60 very easily, so I’d hope to get to 80-plus. 

“I’ve had him on the farm only since just before Christmas. I did a little bit of business in Newmarket last month, getting a few British breeders in, but most of the bookings have been since the turn of the year. We’ve been ticking over with phone calls and people coming to see him every day so, yeah, 80 seems about the right number. I won’t be happy until I get there, so I’ll keep trying.” 

Fingers crossed De Barra achieves those numbers. The stallion business needs new blood, both human and equine, and it would be one in the eye for those self-appointed experts on social media who have criticised the horse. 

Yes, the same geniuses who moan about a lack of genetic diversity in the breed and colts retiring to stud too soon, or them not being of sufficient quality, are unhappy that a chance is being given to a rare stallion son of Footstepsinthesand (Shamalgan, who got German Oaks heroine Toskana Belle from small early crops, is one of the few others) who raced 65 times over six seasons and has the same RPR of 115 as Havana Grey. 

“Yeah I’ve seen some of that, people can be pretty nasty,” says De Barra with uncharacteristic despondency, before gathering himself and adding with his more usual cheerful outlook: “I notice most of them don’t have names or profile pictures, though. I’d love to see their mares! 

“How could anyone say a horse like him doesn’t deserve a chance at stud? He’s a beaut, he has the same RPR as Havana Grey and Showcasing, and higher than Dark Angel, Kodiac and Mehmas. He was also incredibly sound, which is an invaluable quality in the thoroughbred, and ought to be prized by breeders.  

“I’m confident that he’s going to have winners, as he has so much going for him. It’s just up to me to make sure that he has the soldiers on the ground. 

“The way I look at it is I’m ordinary and the farm is ordinary, at the moment, but the horse is extraordinary. I really believe that.” 

De Barra might call himself ordinary, but his bravery in taking on the giants of the stallion world and exuberance in doing so are extraordinary too. More power to him.

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Pedigree pick

George Boughey and Billy Loughnane teamed up on one three-year-old filly who broke her maiden on her debut in impressive fashion at Newcastle on Tuesday, in Tournelle, and they can do the same back at the track on Friday. 

Alhattan, a Shadwell homebred who represents the same jockey and trainer combination and contests the mile fillies’ maiden at Newcastle (5.15) for her first assignment, is arguably even better bred than Tournelle. 

She is a Lope De Vega half-sister to Antarah, who hosed up on his debut at Newcastle at two but hasn’t been in public since, out of the Listed-winning Teofilo mare Adool. The dam is out of Nell Gwyn Stakes winner Khulood, a Storm Cat half-sister to champions Elnadim and Mehthaaf.

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