Owner Steve Parkin claims stallion is being held unlawfully at stud of former adviser in High Court tug of war

Steve Parkin, the Classic-winning owner and founder of Clipper Logistics, claimed in the High Court in Ireland on Tuesday that stallion Sands Of Mali is being wrongly and unlawfully held at Ballyhane Stud, owned by his former racing and bloodstock adviser Joe Foley.

In March, Parkin and Foley abruptly ended their successful 20-year relationship with the former moving two stallions – Space Traveller and Asymmetric – from Ballyhane to Starfield Stud. Four months later it emerged that both parties had filed legal proceedings against each other.

Parkin and Clipper BCS LLP, the company name of the entrepreneur’s North Yorkshire stud Branton Court, stated in court that Sands Of Mali was bought from owners Peter Swann and Barbara Wilkinson for £270,000 (€323,000) in August 2020 to stand at stud.

Sands Of Mali was sent to Ballyhane Stud, with Parkin stating the two parties entered into an agreement whereby any profits after costs would be shared, with Ballyhane also entitled to five free covers per breeding season.

Parkin said on Tuesday that Ballyhane was claiming shared ownership of Sands Of Mali, and in an affidavit denied 50 per cent of the horse had been purchased by the defendant or that he had acknowledged equal ownership of the horse in a WhatsApp message in November last year.

As part of the legal proceedings, Parkin is seeking injunctions and orders requiring Foley and Ballyhane to deliver up possession of the stallion. Following the breakdown between the two former friends, Parkin said he had requested Sands Of Mali be moved but this did not happen. The row over the ownership of Sands Of Mali is part of a wider dispute centred on alleged non-payment of stallion fees to Parkin.

The next stage of the case is set to be heard in the High Court on Tuesday when the defence presents its affidavit, which is expected to strenuously deny the allegations and offer counterclaims against Parkin and Clipper BCS LLP.

Sands Of Mali wins the Champions Sprint at Ascot in 2018Credit: Edward Whitaker

Sands Of Mali is also among a number of equine assets used as security by Clipper BCS LLP on a loan charge registered with Companies House last month. The nine-year-old is valued at £3 million, with his approved location – the place where the asset is permitted to reside – listed as Dullingham Park Stud, Parkin’s Newmarket stallion station. Parkin has also pledged stallions Shaquille and Soldier's Call in a separate loan charge registered against Dullingham Park during the summer.

It is not the first time Sands Of Mali has been involved in an ownership dispute as Swann and Wilkinson were forced to buy out joint-owners Phoenix Thoroughbreds in December 2019 having sold half of the horse to the organisation the previous year.

The High Court case comes amid a recalibration of Parkin’s racing and bloodstock interests, which have led to the sale of his homebred Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Fallen Angel to Sheikh Tamim Al Thani during the summer. In addition, Parkin sold his remaining jumps horses in May, nearly 50 horses during the Tattersalls July Sale and yearlings during the Tattersalls Sommerville Sale and October Sales.

The owner’s Irish stud farm, Rathbride, failed to meet its reserve when auctioned this month, with the property withdrawn from the market at €4.1m. It remains for sale with a valuation of €4.7m. Parkin also withdrew from his planned purchase of Shadowfax & Craven House Stables in Newmarket from Godolphin. The property remains on the market for £1.9m.

In a statement in July, Clipper said Parkin’s “love for the sport is undiminished”.

Read this next:

Owner Steve Parkin and bloodstock adviser Joe Foley file high court legal proceedings against each other

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.