Nurlan Bizakov's big outlay on blue-chip bloodlines rewarded in Classic trials

It was around ten years ago that Nurlan Bizakov started investing heavily in well-bred fillies and mares at auction and in late 2010 that the proud Kazakhstan native bought Hesmonds Stud in East Sussex, from where previous owner Peter Goulandris had bred the likes of Infamy and Terimon.

When the Racing Post broke the news of the farm's sale, Bizakov told us: “We’re going to try to build up one of the best studs in the world. It'll take time, management, funds and some luck. But I hope we can do it.”

Around eight and a half years after that statement, he can be satisfied with the operation's progress. The early expenditure on stock, the decision to hire the astute and experienced Tony Fry to manage the stud and a fair helping of patience have been rewarded with two homebred fillies who hold credible claims for this year's Classics.

The Roger Varian-trained Tauteke, who stuck on well to finish second to clear winner Anapurna in the Lingfield Oaks Trial on Saturday, is expected to line up at Epsom later this month, while stablemate Nausha, a brave winner of the Musidora Stakes at York on Wednesday, is likewise entered in the Oaks but is also under serious consideration for the Prix de Diane just over a fortnight later.

“Tauteke is a lovely looking filly, she'll stay the Oaks for sure,” says Fry. “Anapurna is obviously very talented and we weren't disappointed at all.

"Her half-sister Tansholpan ran third to Enable in the Cheshire Oaks and I remember being disappointed at the time but in retrospect she probably got closer to Enable than most horses have managed, so it wasn't a bad run.”

Tony Fry tends to the stock at Hesmonds Stud in East Sussex

Should we infer from that determination to run the filly at Epsom that connections feel she is better than she was able to show when six lengths behind Anapurna?

“David [Egan] got off her and said the ground was not ideal at Lingfield, and that she'll definitely be staying on and excel over mile and a half,” says Fry. “In the Oaks you have to be able to stay as they tend to be truly run races, so we're hopeful.

“My personal feeling with Nausha, on the other hand, is she might not stay a mile and a half in a truly run race. Do we really want to find out in the Oaks that she won't stay, or do we go to France knowing she'll definitely get ten and a half furlongs?”

The breeding of Tauteke – whose name is Kazakh for a type of antelope – and Nausha – pronounced 'Now-sha', which translates as tall and beautiful – bear the hallmark of Bizakov's considerable outlay on blue-chip bloodlines.

Tauteke, a daughter of Sea The Stars, is out of Tamarind, a Group 3-winning Sadler's Wells sister to Crimson Tide acquired privately from Coolmore, and is thus bred on the same cross as former Oaks heroine Taghrooda. Nausha, meanwhile, is by Kingman out of Nazym, a Galileo three-parts sister to Group 1 winners Listen and Sequoyah bought for a Book 1-topping 1,700,000gns in 2011 but subsequently unraced.

Naturally there is a sense of satisfaction, and likely no little relief, on the stud that some of the big-priced broodmares are earning their keep.

“You pay as much money as we did for Nazym and you expect them to be a racehorse first and then get a second bite of the cherry at stud, but she just had little niggles and getting to the racecourse never quite happened, so it's gratifying that she's now proving a useful producer,” says Fry.

“It's all down to the choice of stallions really. Nine years since the stud was bought we're still learning about the mares and the families, and if I'm here for another ten years I'm sure I'll still be learning.

“Tamarind is a mare with a lovely character and the mating with Sea The Stars produced an absolute beauty in Tauteke. With Nazym we're still finding out which physicals suit her.

“Of course, if you can afford to go to the likes of Frankel, Kingman and Sea The Stars, it helps.”

Altyn Orda: the daughter of Kyllachy has been retired and covered by KingmanCredit: Mark Cranham

Tamarind has a filly foal by Almanzor at foot and is back in foal to Sea The Stars, while Nazym has no foal but is safely pregnant to Kingman again.

Safe to say the wave of Kingmania that has swept over the rest of the bloodstock industry has also made it to East Sussex, with Juddmonte's red-hot second-season sire having also been chosen as the first mating for Altyn Orda, a daughter of Kyllachy who carried Bizakov's increasingly familiar pale blue and yellow silks to second in the Falmouth Stakes and third in the Sun Chariot Stakes last year.

“Kingman's start is outstanding,” says Fry. “To have him and Frankel on the same farm, Juddmonte are spoilt for choice. It seems reasonable to think his fee will be heading towards the same level as Frankel's next year, so we're obviously very happy to have two in foal to him including Altyn Orda, who is the sweetest mare to deal with.”

Although Bizakov's first flagbearer was the doughty staying gelding Askar Tau, his colours have more recently become more synonymous with classy fillies – no bad thing, and what ought to be the goal of most owner-breeders. As well as Altyn Orda and the present Classic aspirants Tauteke and Nausha, there have been fellow female stakes winners Anipa, Elik, Qazyna, Rasima and Tomyris.

“Last year we had 40 per cent of our fillies achieve black type and the year before it was 35 per cent,” says Fry. “Now, some of that will be third placings in Listed races, but if we can do that every year it would be very nice.

“The trouble is, the pressure will be on to maintain that,” he laughs, before adding: “But getting black type on these fillies with good pedigrees and getting them back to the farm to breed from – that's what it's all about.”

So, with the Hesmonds broodmare band expanding with black-type performers and the foundation mares' pages improving all the time, presumably Bizakov is content with his achievements in only a decade of breeding? Pictures of him beaming as he welcomed Nausha into the York winner's enclosure this week certainly suggested he is.

“Oh yes, Nurlan is still very enthusiastic,” says Fry. “The thing is, he loves going racing whether it's Windsor on a Monday night or Kempton on a Tuesday. He even said to me the other day he hasn't been to Wolverhampton yet.

“He's at the stud every day and sees the foals and yearlings which is so important. When you've had a bad day at the races it's good to come out and have a look at the young stock again, pick out which you think could be the future champions and kindle some new dreams.”

More dreams of big-race success could be ignited on Saturday when two Hesmonds Stud homebred three-year-olds put their unbeaten records on the line – the Varian-trained Lastochka, an Australia filly out of a daughter of Sleepytime, in the Haras de Bouquetot Fillies' Trial at Newbury and Kashagan, a New Approach half-brother to Ollie Olga with Archie Watson, in a novice stakes at Thirsk.

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