No one could say that Meon Valley Stud hasn’t earned the right to call itself the ‘Cradle of the Classic Thoroughbred’. Founded by Egon Weinfeld on 100 hectares of chalk downs on the south coast of England in 1980, it has bred the Oaks winners Lady Carla and Anapurna, Irish Oaks scorer Colorspin and dual Irish St Leger hero Kayf Tara, among many others who have reached the frame in Classic races.
Remarkably, all trace back to the farm’s three foundation mares who were bought as yearling fillies in 1977 – Odeon, One In A Million and Reprocolor. The stud has never relied on only using the most elite sires. Sure, it has employed the services of Dubawi for at least one of its best mares every season for the past 15 years, but it also bred Derby runner-up Hoo Ya Mal by Territories and multiple Stakes winner Checkandchallenge by Fast Company when he stood at €9,000.
So how does Mark Weinfeld, who took over running the stud after his father Egon’s death in 2013, go about planning those matings to such a wide range of sires?
“I like to go and see all the stallions every year so that I get a picture of them in my mind,” he says. “We know how all our mares look and their characteristics; it’s then a case of trying to match them up to complement one another. For example, if there’s a sire we feel we ought to use who isn’t quite correct in front we will choose a mare who is very correct. Likewise, if we have a hot-headed mare we will try to use a laid-back sire, and so on.
“I also pay quite close attention to what sires haven’t worked with certain female lines, which takes a bit of research on various websites. If there hasn’t been sufficient success, I’ll discount those matings.”
Weinfeld concedes that he doesn’t always get it right first time, every time. Prix de l’Opéra heroine Zee Zee Top didn’t click with Galileo or Green Desert early in her paddocks career but changing course to Pivotal worked wonders, producing the dual G1 winner Izzi Top. She in turn came up with the high-class Prince Eiji when mated with Dubawi.
On the other hand, Weinfeld’s research into nicks quickly paid dividends when he sent the winning Unfuwain mare Spectral Star to former Dalham Hall Stud resident Shirocco and got Epsom and Curragh Oaks runner-up Shirocco Star. Meon Valley Stud sold its Dubawi colt out of Shirocco Star to Godolphin for 750,000gns at Book 1 at Tattersalls this autumn.
“There are no hard and fast rules, all the studying you do can only be a guide,” says Weinfeld. “The other thing we try to do is normally send only one mare to each stallion. There are several years between conception and the sale, in which time the sire can go cold, so we avoid having too many eggs in the same basket.
“It’s like a giant sudoku puzzle. I’ll end up with a shortlist of sires for every mare, and then try rationalising which way would be the best way to go with each one.
“It’s very satisfying when it works out. I get a great kick out of breeding a good racehorse, possibly more than a sales ring success, as that can be short-lived.”
Weinfeld has been planning matings himself since his father passed away. He has fond memories of the two of them putting their heads together to discuss sires.
“It’s funny, you know, he’d do his plans, I’d do mine, and then we’d sit down and have a very rational conversation about our reasons behind the thinking and come to mutual agreement,” he says, before adding with a chuckle: “but when it came to naming, now that’s when we’d have the huge rows.”
In recent years Weinfeld has included his daughter Louisa, an equine veterinary surgeon practising nearby in the New Forest, in mating plan discussions. She already assists with Meon Valley Stud’s drafts at the sales and, all being well, will one day become the third generation of the Weinfeld family overseeing the Cradle of the Classic Thoroughbred.
Thankfully, father and daughter are also on the same page in their choices of sires most of the time. But the crunch question is: do they also see eye to eye when it comes to naming the retained horses?
“I let her have her say and then we run a potential name past my sister Helena and our secretary Lesley as sounding boards,” says Weinfeld. “If someone else comes up with a good name, I love it. Our team also come up with some very good names and mating suggestions, making it all a joint effort.”
