End of an era as Ballymacoll stud sells up
Ballymacoll Stud, famed for breeding a number of high-profile Group One winners, will be closed or sold this year.
Situated in County Meath in Ireland, Ballymacoll Stud produced a number of Classic and Group One victors including the 2004 Derby winner North Light, with the stud having a great partnership with Sir Michael Stoute who as well as saddling North Light also trained Conduit and Tartan Bearer.
The stud, however, is going to be closed with around 40 lots set to go under the hammer at Tattersalls’ Book One October Yearling Sale and December Sale.
This comes as a bitter disappointment for racing as one of the sport’s finest breeding associations has therefore been forced to close it doors.
Other horses bred at the stud included Golan, Fiorente and Islington, conveying the star quality to emerge.
However, the stud will continue to have horses running this year, all of which will be trained by Sir Michael Stoute.
Peter Reynolds, the general manager of Ballymacoll Stud was understandably disappointed about the closure and told the Irish Field:
I’ve been trying to sell the stud and horses as one lot, and there is still a little bit of time for that to happen. If we don’t receive an acceptable offer for the farm by mid-February then we will have to consider public auction.
We have about 50 horses to sell – some of them as yet unborn – and are likely to go the dispersal sale route with them. By the end of the year we will most likely be closed down. We just need to get things moving along now on behalf of the owners.