Coolmore Stud
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Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is the headquarters of one of the world's largest breeding operation of
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 ...
racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The operation, which is currently owned and run by the Magnier family, has been associated with a long sequence of top-class stallions since the 1850s, originally in
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, where stallions still stand as part of Coolmore today. Coolmore was once home to champion sires Sadler's Wells, Danehill, and
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
.


Coolmore Ireland

Coolmore was originally a relatively small farm dedicated to general agriculture, but came into the Vigors family in 1945 when a training operation was established there. It was inherited by Tim Vigors, famous fighter pilot in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
and in the Far East. Having left the air force, he firstly joined Goffs bloodstock auctioneers before setting up his own bloodstock agency in 1951. He moved to Coolmore in 1968 and began transforming it into the well known stud farm it is today. Vigors went into partnership with his friend
Vincent O'Brien Michael Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll hosted by the ''Racing Pos ...
, a leading racehorse trainer, and
Robert Sangster Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004) Towards the end of his life he spent much of his time in Barbados and Australia. Death Sangster died of pancreatic cancer in London, on 7 April 2004, aged 67. British Classic Race wins * 1, ...
, the Vernons pools magnate. He later sold his interest to O'Brien and his son-in-law,
John Magnier John Magnier (born 10 February 1948) is an Irish business magnate. He is a leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry. Magnier was a senator in the upper house of the Oireachtas, ...
. Eventually, Magnier became sole owner, and built the farm into a multi-national, multibillion-euro operation. The farm currently occupies over 7000 acres. In the mid-1970s, Coolmore became very active in the American sales market, displaying particular interest in the offspring of
Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...
. Their first significant purchase was The Minstrel, a dual classic winner in 1977. Other purchases included Alleged,
Storm Bird Storm Bird (19 April 1978 – 3 December 2004) was a Canada, Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. He was the outstanding European two-year-old of 1980, when he was unbeaten in f ...
,
Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...
, Be My Guest and El Gran Senor. The bidding duels between Coolmore and the Maktoum brothers of Dubai became legendary, leading to a bloodstock boom in the 1980s. Coolmore's first major homebred was Sadler's Wells, a son of Northern Dancer born in Kentucky at Sangster's Swettenham Stud. In 1984, Sadler's Wells won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the
Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...
and the
Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2 ...
and was named the champion miler in France. Retired to stud at Coolmore, Sadler's Wells went on to be the fourteen-time
leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of Horse racing, racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2023) cham ...
. Sadler's Wells leading offspring include
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
, Montjeu and High Chaparral, all of whom became important sires at Coolmore. In 1990, Coolmore purchased a half-interest in Danehill, a grandson of Northern Dancer, and began shuttling him between Ireland and Australia. Danehill became a champion sire first in Australia and then in Europe, siring well over 300 stakes winners. His sons include current Coolmore stallions
Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...
, Dylan Thomas, Fastnet Rock and
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. Coolmore's current leading sire was Galileo, who as of 2022 has led the leading sire list twelve times, unfortunately on the 10 July 2021 Galileo had to be euthanised. With the victory of Minding in the 2016
1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...
, Galileo has sired at least one winner in each of British Classic Races. Several of Galileo's sons are currently standing at Coolmore, including classic winners
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and Gleneagles. Although the stallion operation receives the most attention, Coolmore also maintains a large broodmare band and boards mares for clients. Coolmore is active at major breeding stock sales, looking for mares that are best suited to its stallions. For example, in 2012 Coolmore paid $5 million for Untouched Talent, already the dam of grade 1 winner Bodemeister, with plans to breed her to Galileo. In 2016, Coolmore announced that Untouched Talent was the first mare confirmed in foal to American Pharoah.


Branches

The original farm is now known as Coolmore Ireland, and has three branches: Coolmore Australia, Ashford Stud, which operates as Coolmore America, and Coolmore National Hunt (or Castle Hyde Stud) in Ireland, which specialises in breeding for
National Hunt racing National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racin ...
. Coolmore has many "shuttle stallions" that cover mares in either Ireland or Kentucky in the northern breeding season and are transported to Australia and South America for the southern breeding season.


Coolmore America (Ashford Stud)

Ashford Stud, located near Versailles, Kentucky, became a part of Coolmore in the mid-1980s. In 2001,
Thunder Gulch Thunder Gulch (May 23, 1992 – March 19, 2018) was a Eclipse Award, Champion United States, American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1995, which earned him the title of Eclipse Awar ...
was the first Ashford sire to top the American general sire listing.
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later became the leading sire in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Ashford also stands Uncle Mo, leading first year sire of 2015 and sire of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. Whereas most stallions standing at Coolmore Ireland are now homebreds, most of those standing at Ashford Stud had their breeding rights purchased during their racing career. For example, in May 2015 it was announced that Ashford Stud had purchased the breeding rights to American Pharoah from Ahmed Zayat in late 2014 for a reported $13.8 million. American Pharoah went on to become the first racehorse in 37 years to win the American Triple Crown, and the first ever to win the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing by winning the 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic.


Coolmore Australia

Coolmore Australia, located near Jerrys Plains in the Hunter Valley of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, is a 3,340 ha farm that has approximately 1,000 horses, including 600 mares that produce about 300 foals there during the spring. The stallion roster includes several permanent sires such as Choisir and Fastnet Rock, plus others who shuttle from the northern hemisphere on a rotating basis. The farm was founded in 1824 and purchased by Coolmore in 1996. Danehill first made his reputation here, becoming the leading sire in Australia nine times. Encosta de Lago also led the sire list twice before being retired from breeding in 2015. Fastnet Rock, still standing at Coolmore Australia, has led the Australian sire list twice.


National Hunt

Coolmore's National Hunt division consists of three farms in Ireland: Grange Stud, Beeches Stud and Castlehyde Stud. The Magnier family has been breeding horses for the National Hunt since the 1850s. Over the generations, they have stood several outstanding jump stallions, including 14-time leading sire Deep Run, and 4-time leader Be My Native. Although Sadler's Wells was never a National Hunt sire per se, several champion hurdlers trace back to him. Yeats, a son of Sadler's Wells renowned for his staying ability, now stands at Castlehyde Stud, in the 2021-22 jumps season Yeats became Champion Sire for the first time.


Stallions standing at Coolmore (2025)


Flat


National Hunt


References


External links


Official siteCoolmore TV Official SiteA foaling at Coolmore (video)
{{Authority control Horse farms in Australia Horse farms in Ireland Irish racehorse owners and breeders Sport in County Tipperary Horse farms in Kentucky Agricultural buildings in the Republic of Ireland