Now or never as admired yearling manager Gerry Meehan goes it alone

It is neither favouritism nor fawning to say that Gerry Meehan is one of the most respected yearling managers in the industry. Ask any independent voice who they think is the best in the business at bringing along young sales stock and you can be guaranteed his name will come up again and again.

Meehan forged his reputation during 17 years at Newsells Park Stud, where he was instrumental in the operation regularly featuring among the leading vendors at the most prestigious yearling sales. During that time he oversaw the preparation and sale of ten lots who sold for seven figures, including the recent Juddmonte International winner Japan, as well as the Gleneagles colt who fetched a record £380,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale last year.

Meehan, who had held similar roles at Side Hill Stud, Cheveley Park Stud and Fair Winter Farm before joining Newsells Park, had his dedication and expertise recognised at the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards in 2014, where he won the stud staff accolade.

This article first appeared in our Summer Yearlings supplement, which contains essential news, features and statistics for auctions at Arqana, Goffs UK and BBAG in the coming weeks.

To view the supplement online, simply click here

This year he left Newsells Park to strike out in his own venture, joining with Simon and Emma Capon, whose silks were carried to Royal Ascot success by Thanks Be in June, in launching Skyline Thoroughbreds, a yearling preparation and consignment business based at Glebe Stud in Newmarket.

The new operation presents its first draft at next week's Premier Yearling Sale, with five colts – three by Brazen Beau and one each by Awtaad and Exceed And Excel – and two fillies by Hot Streak and Muhaarar bound for Doncaster.

Explaining the genesis of Skyline Thoroughbreds, Meehan says: “I'd always wanted to try raising and prepping yearlings for myself, but I'd never been in a position to rent a farm that we could run a small business from.

“Simon and Emma had also wanted to have their own stud farm and so when they approached me with the idea of joining forces, it felt like a perfect fit. They'd been looking for a suitable stud farm for a few years, and when Glebe Stud came onto the market it all just started falling into place. I was turning 50 this year and I knew if I didn’t give it a go now, then I never would.”

The picturesque Glebe Stud, home of Skyline ThoroughbredsCredit: Amy Lanigan

Glebe Stud has 70 acres of lush grazing, including large paddocks with field shelters that are ideal for raising weanlings over autumn, winter and into spring.

“I always say that realistically yearling prep starts as soon as the foal is weaned,” says Meehan. “Therefore we aim to build up a base of clients who send their foals to us when they're weaned so that we can raise them, monitor them and really get to know them. That makes prepping them as yearlings a much more straightforward process.”

The stud also boasts 37 boxes, two horse walkers, a lunge ring, an outdoor school, a purpose-built show area and ten individual colt paddocks, plus larger paddocks for the fillies – “so that every yearling can still enjoy down time every day during their sales prep,” Meehan says.

Skyline Thoroughbreds has the facilities, then, but how has attracting clients and their horses gone since getting the show on the road at the start of the year?

“Our inaugural sales drafts for Goffs UK and Tattersalls are a mix of Simon and Emma’s homebreds, our pinhooks and outside clients' yearlings,” Meehan says. “We have seven heading to the Premier Sale, three for October Book 1 and then around 20 for Books 2 and 3.

“We were very lucky as word seemed to spread quite quickly about Skyline Thoroughbreds and before we knew it, the stables started to fill. We hope that being full continues after the October Sales and we have weanlings sent to us to raise over the winter and then prep for the 2020 sales season. Building up a solid client base was never going to happen overnight, but we'll continue to work hard to ensure we get to where we want to be.”

Looking forward to those first Goffs UK Premier yearlings who will hopefully present the business in a positive light, Meehan says: “It’s a lovely draft we're taking to Doncaster and we're really looking forward to our first sale with our own Skyline Thoroughbreds door cards.

“All seven yearlings are ready for this sale and all walk very well – I've absolutely no doubt that they'll be turning heads when the showing commences on the Saturday. This may sound a bit cheesy, but all of them genuinely have a great attitude. Granted, they all have quite different characters, but we don’t have a negative personality among them; we've enjoyed prepping all of them.”

Doncaster is renowned for selling physically forward yearlings, often blessed with blistering speed, which made choosing those who would head to the Premier Sale easy for Meehan and his partners.

“Selecting yearlings for sales is usually a fairly straightforward process as I have a good idea what sort of physical and pedigree each sale is looking for,” he says. “When I'm selecting my own yearlings to show to the team from Goffs UK my first consideration would be what does the individual look like and the second would be who is the sire.

“You need to take a precocious type of yearling to the Premier Sale and preferably with a pedigree to match the physique. However, the days of only two-year-old-types being offered at Doncaster are diminishing; for me, I like to take early maturing types that look like they'll go on as three-year-olds to Doncaster.”

A young Gerry Meehan is shown the ropes of showing horses by his father

Everything looks in place, then, for Skyline Thoroughbreds to make a bold start with its first yearling consignment. But that's not the end of this interview; an opportunity to pick the brains of a universally admired yearling manager cannot be passed up.

So, is Meehan prepared to share the secrets of his success?

“I think attention to detail is a big part of it,” he says. “Ever since I was a young lad working with my father at Ballymacoll Stud, I seemed to have the knack of noticing when a horse wasn't quite right. There won’t always necessarily be physical signs, but a bit of a change in their personality or enthusiasm for what they're doing can tell you a lot.

“If a horse isn't happy, it simply won’t thrive and won’t blossom during prep. Only last week, I moved a filly to a different stable block as her attitude wasn’t great where she was, and instantly she was a different filly, she settled and became a lot nicer to deal with.

“Having a vision of what the finished yearling should look like is also hugely important, as that gives you your visual goal when you start the prep. I do a 12-week sales preparation so that the yearlings are not rushed, nor are their joints put under any pressure by excess work. You can just slowly build their strength and physique and you have time to make adjustments to their prep if you need to.”

Budding yearling consignors should take note, as should prospective purchasers at Doncaster who have the opportunity to buy young horses whose minds and muscle tone have benefited from Meehan's diligence and know-how.

SKYLINE THOROUGHBREDS' GOFFS UK DRAFT

68 b f Hot Streak-Sabrewing (Fast Company)
The first foal of a winning sister to Norfolk Stakes scorer Baitha Alga

226 b c Brazen Beau-Ardbrae Tara (Galileo)
Out of a placed daughter of Galileo and Irish 1,000 Guineas second Ardbrae Lady

386 b c Brazen Beau-Kicker Rock (Fastnet Rock)
Son of a Fastnet Rock half-sister to stakes winner High Maintenance

426 b f Muhaarar-Memoria (Teofilo)
Out of a winning half-sister to Group 3 winner Miss Anabaa; family of Owington

428 b c Brazen Beau-Miaplacidus (Shamardal)
Dam is a winning Shamardal mare from the family of Blue Duster and Zieten

435 b c Exceed And Excel-Miss Chicane (Refuse To Bend)
Out of a winning half-sister to top two-year-old Best Terms, also by Exceed And Excel

468 br c Awtaad-North Mare (Manduro)
Son of a winning Manduro mare from a prolific German family

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