Entering The Lion’s Den

We take great pleasure making owning with Hambleton as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible and were delighted to secure our owners a private audience with Roaring Lion on Tuesday.

We’ve had the luxury of visiting some of the most powerful bloodstock operations in Europe with our owners in recent years so Tweenhills Stud, breeding centre of the formidable Qatar Racing, was an obvious choice for us to arrange a private owners’ visit for.

Such visits offer a unique insight into the racing industry. Owners marvelled at the amazing set-up we were faced with on arrival to this beautiful Gloucestershire stud, the brain-child of David Redvers, the stud manager at Tweenhills and racing manager to Qatar Racing.

Last year’s visit to see the Irish National Stud offered owners a unique insight into one of the Europe’s leading studs however, the chance to meet the now retired World Champion Three-Year-Old of 2018, Roaring Lion, understandably created keen interest.

Located near Hartpury, Tweenhills is sited on around 750 acres of the finest English pasture, flanked by perfectly manicured hedgerow and an abundance of huge oak trees.

David himself, has always dreamt of making Tweenhills one of the leading stallion farms in the world and has worked tirelessly over the years to achieve that from quite humble beginnings. Now, thanks to the support of Sheikh Fahad, that dream is slowly but surely becoming realised.

On arrival to Tweenhills, owners were treated to complimentary coffees and baked treats provided by Tony of Bamboo Coffee who is now becoming something of a regular supplier to our trips in the South. With a constant flow of mares and foals passing by after undergoing their morning checks, anticipation grew for the tour begin.

David led the tour himself and proved not only exceptionally knowledgeable and interesting but displayed a wicked sense of humour to boot, making for a most insightful and entertaining visit.

The tour began with a trip to see the main men themselves, as the stallions were paraded one at a time around the specially designed walkway. Charm Spirit, a leading first-season sire was followed by Havana Gold, a Group 1 winner who has already sired a Group 1 winner himself.

It was a real treat for owners to see these fantastic specimens at close quarters. Next into view was Hot Streak, who moved actively and created a real wow factor. Claimed to be the fastest two-year-old Kevin Ryan has ever trained, his first two-year-olds on the ground are set to make waves in 2019.

However, there was no denying the star of the show as the truly stunning Roaring Lion took centre stage. The four-time Group 1 winner by Kitten’s Joy looked every inch the superstar as he paraded for our owners. Insured for 50 million dollars, it is easy to see why Tweenhills employ night watchman to guard their prized possession.

From here the tour took in the state-of-the-art facilities, including the covering barn and veterinary area, where owners were provided with extensive information about the process of selecting the mares and ensuring they were suitable to be covered.

The final part of the tour saw owners gain access to the stars of tomorrow as we headed to the foaling boxes kept well away from the stallion yard. Here we were treated to a parade of some gorgeous foals including two smart Frankel colts and a beautiful Galileo filly, thought to be already worth a staggering two million pounds!

As the tour drew to a close, owners were given the opportunity to watch none other than Roaring Lion himself covering a mare, from the warmth of the aptly named staff room ‘The Lion’s Den’. To see a racing superstar at such close quarters was a real treat as owners enjoyed a great insight to the working of a leading stud farm.

A final activity ensued within the den when Hambleton owners were put to the test by both David and Qatar’s own race analyst Adam Brookes for the chance to win a Tweenhills gilet. Vincent, a new owner to Hambleton involved with yesterday’s Chester third Stars In The Night, proved our resident boffin to claim the prize.

Once proceedings were complete at Tweenhills, owners headed to the nearby Corse Lawn House Hotel for an all-inclusive two-course lunch with drinks. This delicious lunch was thoroughly enjoyed by all as owners happily discussed what a brilliant morning they had enjoyed.

For those able to join us in Gloucestershire, David Redvers and his team ensured it was a most memorable day for all.

We’d like to take this chance to thank David and his team for providing a private viewing of the stud and an excellent, money-can’t-buy experience for our owners.