Leading nursery Gestut Fahrhof to downsize herd to focus on quality

Leading German nursery Gestut Fahrhof is planning to downsize its broodmare herd and has consequently signed up more than 20 horses for the Arqana December Breeding-Stock Sale.

The reason for the reduction is to part with those mares who have been utilised to support the operation's stallions in recent years, and also to prune back families that have multiplied at the stud and are now disproportionately represented.

The decision was taken by the board and management of the stud on Tuesday, after long consideration and intensive discussions.

The stud noted that the cull would bring the size of Fahrhof's broodmare band back down to 30 to 35 head, the size it was in its glory years between 1965 and 1990.

During that time it owned and bred German Derby winners turned influential sires Surumu and Acatenango among other top-class runners such as Lagunas and Lomitas.

The stud will now have an increased focus on internationally recognised bloodlines and maintaining a regularly rejuvenated broodmare band.

Fahrhof president Andreas Jacobs said: “I'm pleased that, after 30 years of experimenting with American mares and external stallions, we are now returning to the roots of our success.

“We've learned a great deal, and feel we have injected the sport with many new ideas, but we're committed to the model of traditional German breeding.

“My grandfather Walther Jacobs achieved the opening up of German races to foreign runners and for many years our goal has been to breed horses who can compete on the international stage.

"That will remain our criterion of quality and we will focus more on achieving it.”

Fahrhof has enjoyed its fair share of success as breeders in recent years, producing the likes of Colomano, Karpino, Potemkin, Quidura and Wake Forest, but it has not had as much good fortune with its stallions, with Campanologist having succumbed to colic leaving just three northern hemisphere crops, and Maxios having thus far proved a little disappointing despite receiving strong support from a wide cross section of German breeders.

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