THE birth of a colt foal by Frankel (Galileo) at Whatton Manor Stud recently will have brought smiles of joy to the faces of Nick and Alice Nugent. The couple own the dam, Noyelles, and what a find she was by the couple when they purchased her at the 2007 Arqana December Sale in Deauville for €22,000. The mare is based at Alice’s family’s farm, run today by her brother Ed Player.

Not only has Noyelles gone on to become a successful broodmare with two stakes winners, but her siblings and their offspring have contributed a further 16 stakes winners to the immediate family in the intervening years, five of them Group 1 winners. The success has been nothing short of exceptional, and credit to Nick and Alice for their foresight to be there from the start. There can be few families in the stud book that have had so much success in the past decade.

However, it must be said that Nick and Alice had some good fortune too. The original intention to put Noyelles in foal and resell came unstuck when she was unsold at just €20,000 at the Goffs November Sale in 2008. Any disappointment the couple may have felt on the day has long since been forgotten I’m sure.

One of the beauties in the pedigree of the George Strawbridge-bred Noyelles is that she can be covered by just about any stallion standing at stud in Europe. She is a daughter of Docksider (Diesis), and out of a Group 3 winning daughter of Bellypha (Lyphard). To date she has had four runners, three winners and her first couple of foals have become stakes winners.

Lily’s Angel (Dark Angel) was first and what a racemare she turned out to be, winning nine times, four times in stakes company, and an agonising half a length defeat to La Collina was all that stood between her being a Group 3 winner instead of a Group 1 heroine. She was beaten that distance in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown when in the care of Ger Lyons. She is now the dam of three winners with her first three foals, and has a two-year-old colt by Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), her fourth produce, waiting to go.

Noyelles’ second foal was another filly – in fact she has only had just two colts in nine births – and that was Zurigha (Cape Cross), a listed winner and one of the last trained by Richard Hannon before he handed over to his son and namesake. She was twice placed at Group 2 level also in the UAE. The third winning offspring of Noyelles is the now four-year-old Furious (Oasis Dream), and this €220,000 foal and 340,000gns yearling won four times for Qatar Racing and partners.

A number of Noyelles’ daughters are set to add further glory to the family. The unraced Mia Capri (Dalakhani) has made a perfect start with two winners from her first two foals. Nick and Alice own Enigmatique (Arcano) and her first three foals are a three-year-old son of Acclamation (Royal Applause), a two-year-old filly by Kodiac (Danehill) and a yearling filly by Bated Breath (Dansili). Another daughter of Noyelles in the Nugent’s possession is Lady Lockwood (Harbour Watch) and her first two produce are a two-year-old colt by Dawn Approach (New Approach) and a yearling filly by Showcasing (Oasis Dream).

That only leaves one more filly to name check. She is Noyelles’ two-year-old full-sister to Lily’s Angel, now named Hidden Breeze. She sold as a foal to John McCormack for €300,000. With so much happening under Noyelles, and now with an eye-catching son of Frankel on the ground, the Nugents could well develop their own outstanding branch of what is already an internationally successful family.

For good measure, it is worth naming the five Group 1 winners who have emerged since that fateful purchase at Arqana 13 years ago. Noyelles’ Group 3 winning half-sister In Clover (Inchinor) has contributed the lion’s share, her son Call The Wind (Frankel) and daughters With You (Dansili) and We Are (Dansili) all winning at the highest level.

Another sibling, the listed winner Bellona (Bering) is the grandam of the Hong Kong champion Dominant (Cacique), while yet another half-sister, Forty Belles (Forty Niner) is the grandam of the 2018 French 1000 Guineas winner Teppal (Camacho).

Call The Wind is closely related to the new-born colt at Whatton Manor, and that son of Frankel will be chasing further Group 1 glory when racing resumes. He recently showed his wellbeing with a victory in Saudi Arabia.

Further good news is that Noyelles is already scanned in foal again to Frankel. This story of success is set to run for some time yet.