Ballymacoll Stud is a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

stud farm of 300

acres The acre ( ) is a unit of land area used in the British imperial and the United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is located in the townland of Ballymacoll, approximately two miles from the village of

Dunboyne Dunboyne () is a town in County Meath, Ireland, north-west of Dublin city centre. It is a commuter town for Dublin. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the population of Dunboyne more than doubled from 3,080 to 7,272 inhabitan ...

and four miles (6 km) from the town of

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

. Under the ownership of

Michael Sobell Sir Michael Sobell (1 November 1892 – 1 September 1993) was a British businessman, a major philanthropist, and a prominent owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. Family and childhood Sobel (from 1946, Sobell"Sobell, Sir Michael (1892� ...

and

Arnold Weinstock Arnold Weinstock, Baron Weinstock, Kt., OMRI, FSS (29 July 1924 – 23 July 2002) was an English industrialist and businessman known for making General Electric Company one of Britain's most profitable companies. The City (London) criticized ...

and his family, it produced 29 individual

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

(G1) winners of 52 Group 1 races between 1960 and 2017. The stud was sold at auction in June 2017 for €8.15 million to an undisclosed buyer. Ballymacoll Estate was founded by Henry Hamilton (1760–1844). It remained in Hamilton hands until January 1911, when it was sold to Lord Nugent. Other owners and tenants followed, including Boss Croker, the trainer, the Inchape Family, and the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

(during World War II). In April 1946, the property was purchased by the Hon.

Dorothy Paget Dorothy Wyndham Paget (21 February 1905 – 9 February 1960) was a British racehorse owner and sponsor of motor racing. Early life Paget was the daughter of Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough, Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of ...

, daughter of Lord Queenborough and Pauline (daughter of William C. Whitney). She owned the stud until her death in February 1960 at the age of 54. Despite owning the stud,

never actually visited the farm herself, but she did from time to time receive detailed reports, illustrated with photographs.

Sir Gordon Richards Sir Gordon Richards (5 May 1904 – 10 November 1986) was an English jockey who was the British flat racing Champion Jockey 26 times, and is often considered the world's greatest jockey. He remains the only flat jockey to have been knighted. Ea ...

, had been

's principal jockey and trainer, right up the time of her death. He was instrumental in persuading the then Mr.

, the industrialist and philanthropist (later

Sir Michael Sobell Sir Michael Sobell (1 November 1892 – 1 September 1993) was a British businessman, a major philanthropist, and a prominent owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. Family and childhood Sobel (from 1946, Sobell"Sobell, Sir Michael (1892� ...

), and his son-in-law, Sir Arnold Weinstock, Managing Director of G.E.C. (later Lord Weinstock) to buy the farm in June 1960. The price agreed for the farm, together with approximately 130 horses was £250,000. Following the purchase, horses surplus to requirements were sold at the Newmarket sales that year. In 1967 the main house at Ballymacoll, which had stood semi-derelict for many years was demolished. In 1974 Lord Weinstock's son, the Hon. Simon Weinstock became a partner in Ballymacoll with his father. Simon took a very active role in the running of the stud and took particular responsibility for the matings. Simon Weinstock died in May 1996, at the age of 44. Lord Weinstock died in July 2002, after which the stud was run by Weinstock's executors on behalf of his family as a self-sufficient operation. Soon after his death Islington won her first Group 1 race when winning the

Nassau Stakes The Nassau Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Filly, fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at ...

. She went on to win three more Group 1 races in 2002 and 2003. In 2004 North Light won the Epsom Derby to give the stud and Weinstock family their second success in this race. In recent years Ballymacoll have had added to their Group 1 record on the racetrack. In June 2008 Ballymacoll finished second in The Derby with Tartan Bearer.

Conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit cur ...

went on to win the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

in September. He then added to his Group 1 tally by winning the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

at Santa Anita in October. In 2009

continued his Group 1 trail by winning the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

. This result completed a 1-2 for Ballymacoll with Tartan Bearer second (his third second place in Group 1 races).

returned to Santa Anita on November 7, 2009 to repeat his feat of 12 months previously and take the

for a second time. In 2013 Fiorente (having been sold to race in Australia) won the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

at his second attempt (he was second in 2012). He later won the Group 1

Australian Cup The Australian Cup is a Victoria Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, held under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 2000 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australi ...

Group 1 Winners

Admetus In Greek mythology, Admetus (; Ancient Greek: ''Admētos'' means 'untamed, untameable') was a king of Pherae in Thessaly. Biography Admetus succeeded his father Pheres after whom the city was named. His mother was identified as Periclymene o ...

* Dart Board * Desert Boy * Emmson * Fastness * Fiorente * Gamut * Glass Harmonium *

Golan Golan (; ) is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical city of Golan at Sahm el-Jaulān, a Syrian village eas ...

* Greek Dance *

Helen Street Helen Street (4 April 1982 – 20 April 2005) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a two-year-old she was rated the best British-trained filly of her generation after winning the Prix du Calvados and finishing second under top w ...

* Hellenic * Indian Danehill *

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

* Lancastrian * Mountain High * North Light * Pilsudski * Prince of Dance *

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

* Saddlers' Hall *

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...

* Sharper * Sought Out *

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

* Sun Prince *

Sun Princess Sun Princess may refer to: * ''Sun Princess'' (ship), various ships * Sun Princess (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse * Sun Princess, the title given to the second place winner of the Sun and Salsa Festival pageant See also * Princess Sun Prin ...

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

References

* {{cite web , url= http://www.breederscup.com/bio.aspx?id=3280 , title= Breeders' Cup Bios - Ballymacoll Stud , accessdate= 2012-04-25 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120315121907/http://breederscup.com/bio.aspx?id=3280 , archive-date= 2012-03-15 , url-status= dead Horse farms in Ireland Irish racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Epsom Derby winners Agricultural buildings in the Republic of Ireland