FOXWOOD Farm opens its gates to the public for the first time on January 13th and 14th in participating in the ITM Stallion Trail.

Situated in the heart of National Hunt breeding in Co. Cork, we bought the farm in 2016 and since then it has helped fulfil a long-held ambition of operating my own stud farm.

I have worked in the breeding industry since finishing college in 1998 and with upwards of 25 years’ experience to call upon, I feel I am well placed to offer Night Wish, Racinger and Saintgodrel to prospective clients.

The youngest of seven children, I was born into a farming family in Co Limerick. My father was a cattle dealer but also kept horses and greyhounds.

We had half-breds and ponies at home when I was growing up but my interest in racing stemmed from my older brother’s involvement in the racing and breeding industry.

I would have gone racing regularly as a child and once old enough, I rode ponies, hunted and competed in show jumping competitions.

However, even at a young age, I knew that those disciplines wouldn’t provide sufficient income - the thoroughbred breeding side was where the best opportunities lay.

Placement

After my Leaving Certificate, I studied at Kildalton Agricultural College in Kilkenny. At the end of the course, I spent a year on work placement at the show jumping/showing yard of Davina Whiteman.

However, despite a great experience, which included getting to jump at Hickstead, I just found it wasn’t for me.

I planned to become an auctioneer but not before first completing the Irish National Stud Course. Upon graduating, I was offered a role breaking horses for Liam Cashman at Rathbarry/Glenview Studs.

Initially, when I went there in 1998, I was working under Paul McCartan who managed Glenview. The following year, I moved over to the stallion barn, a role I held until 2004.

During those years, I got to travel to Australia with Barathea and Charnwood Forest (1999) when they were shuttled to Widden Stud in Australia, and to Haras Matancilla in Chile with Dushyantor for successive breeding seasons from 2000-2005.

Taking over

It was while I was in South America for the final time, that Liam rang me to ask if I would be interested in taking over as manager at Glenview Stud.

Having taken up that position on my return home, I remained in that role until very recently when I branched out on my own.

Having viewed a number of potential sites over the years, I found the ideal location at what is now Foxwood Farm. The farm is outside Castlelyons in Fermoy, and is just five minutes off the M8 motorway.

With some of the best breeders in the country based within a 10-mile radius, our stallions will potentially have access to quality broodmares.

At the present time we have three sires at Foxwood Farm; namely Night Wish, Racinger and Saintgodrel.

The first of those, Night Wish, was very successful on the track and hails from a strong German pedigree. Early indications are that he can do likewise in the breeding shed.

To date, he has already produced offspring such as Odiago, a listed hurdle winner in Auteuil for Arnaud Chaille-Chaille, Ile De Jersey, a three-time winner for Nicky Henderson and Ivaldi, who has been successful for Paul Nicholls.

Waiting in the wings is Omaha Wish, an exciting prospect who won her only point-to-point start for Donnchadh Doyle, before being sold to Dan Skelton.

Racinger is perhaps better known to Irish National Hunt followers, due to the exploits of his sons El Barra and Farouk D’alene. A winner over a mile on the flat, he tends to inject a touch of speed into pedigrees.

Saintgodrel has his first two-year-olds on the ground this year and the response from breeders has been very positive. A half-brother to blacktype horse Nick Lost, he is out of Loumie, a mare that finished second to Nickname in a Grade 1 at Auteuil.

He is an outcross for Sadler’s Wells bred mares and has bone and size about him. I would describe him as a real old-fashioned chaser type.

Recession

I believe that given recent sales figures, we are entering into a bit of a recession in this game. I am providing proven, affordable sires that are attractive to breeders at every level. I hope to cater for every pocket and every broodmare type.

Night Wish and Saintgodrel are good sources of stamina, whereas Racinger will attract those that want to inject more speed.

At the moment, Night Wish stands at €4,000 for a colt and €2,000 filly, Racinger €3,000 and €1,000 and Saintgodrel €1,500 and €500.

At those prices, breeders shouldn’t find it as hard to get their money back in what are uncertain times ahead.

So far, the reception to all three stallions has been very positive, so I am optimistic about the coming year.

Donal White was in conversation with John O’Riordan