Bill Bromley - British Horseracing Authority

Lucarno’s arrival at Wood Farm Stud
in Shropshire is a massive fillip for
the British National Hunt breeding
industry By Tim Richards
Talking to…
Bill Bromley
Was Lucarno’s arrival at Wood Farm Stud a
surprise to you
Yes. Simply because we knew that there had
been strong offers to purchase him from some
of the top jump studs in Ireland and France,
and the deal to stand him at Wood Farm Stud
was completed within seven days.
How did he come to stand at your stud
David Minton recommended us to James
Wigan, who is George Strawbridge’s
(Lucarno’s owner) bloodstock agent.
How is he settling in
No problems. He came straight from the
stallion parade at Cheltenham and settled in
very well.
Give us your impressions of him
Lucarno is an imposing individual, a great
looker and a perfect gentleman.
It is very early days, but has there been
much interest in him, being a son of
Dynaformer
Tremendous interest. Look out Kayf Tara!
What does the fact that his owner George
Strawbridge is standing his St Leger
winner as a National Hunt stallion in
Shropshire say about British breeding
It is clearly a big boost for British jumps
breeders. Mr Strawbridge is an avid fan and
top owner in US jumping. It’s great that he is
so enthusiastic about this whole project with
one
of his own homebreds.
Has there ever been such strength in depth
with stallions at Wood Farm
Only time will tell if we’ve never had it so
good. But we are very much looking forward
to next season as I am lucky enough to also
stand Norse Dancer as well as three other

Classic winners: Erhaab, Sir Harry Lewis and
Silver Patriarch. It might be worth recalling that
Classic Cliché, who was sold to Kilbarry
Lodge Stud (Ireland) in 2004 after standing at
Wood Farm, was one of the first British jump
stallions to cover over 100 mares, and that
was in his first season here in 1997.
To what extent has the Irish Derby winner
Sir Harry Lewis made his mark
Sir Harry Lewis is now 24 and his results
speak for themselves. He is the sire of Mighty
Man, champion staying hurdler of 2006 and
2007, Burntoakboy, the Coral Cup winner,
and numerous others including the
progressive Diamond Harry, Champagne
Harry, Diamant Noir, Harringay, Cetti’s
Warbler and Sir Harry Ormesher, who we
bred ourselves.
Your father Cecil established the stud in
the 1950s. Do you consider National Hunt
breeding in Britain to be stronger now than
it was in those early years of Wood Farm
Most definitely. My father started this stud
initially as a pleasurable pastime, his main
business being farming. His other pleasure
was hunting, which he would have done eight
days a week if he could.
What were you doing before you took over
the stud
After leaving school in 1959 I went to my
grandparents to learn dairy farming, initially for
six months, but it lasted 20 years. I came back
to the stud after my father had a brain
haemorrhage and the following year (1981)
Space King was the inaugural winner of the
Whitbread Silver Salver (presented at the TBA
awards)– a feat repeated in 2007 with Sir
Harry Lewis.
What does Wood Farm consist of, do you
farm as well
We used to be arable farmers until eight
years ago, when we were lucky enough to
purchase the stud (we had been tenants),
and we relinquished the arable land tenancy
in order to concentrate on the stud side of the
business.
Now, we own 150 acres and rent a further
60 acres and are always on the lookout for
more land, but so far no suitable pasture land
has come on the market locally; land seems
to be the only thing that is going up in price at
the moment.
We own a dozen or so broodmares and our
current policy is to sell the geldings as three
or four-year-old stores. But the fillies are
notoriously hard to sell so we try to lease
them or race them ourselves for a maximum
of two years; all of our stock is always on the
market. We currently have four horses in
training – two with Chris Down in Devon and
two with Donald McCain in Cheshire. We
have also leased a half-sister to Lough Derg
to Lets Live Racing for two years.
Is it tough competing with the Irish
stallions
Yes, extremely tough. But we have been
fortunate to have a band of very loyal owners
who regularly support us.
Our son Anthony, and David Minton, who
run Highflyer Bloodstock, are a big help in
guiding owners in our direction if they think
one of our stallions is a suitable match for one
of their client’s mares.
FAVOURITES
Destination
West Indies
Book
Anything by
Wilbur Smith
Drink
Most drinks, but
mainly beer
Actress
Amanda Burton
Meal
Sunday roast beef
cooked by my
wife at home
Lucarno (right) joins Sir
Harry Lewis, Erhaab,
Silver Patriarch and Norse
Dancer at Wood Farm

The likes of Oscar and Heron Island
regularly cover massive books (in excess
of 300). Is this healthy for the breed and
would you
ever allow your stallions to cover so many
mares
No, I don’t agree with such massive numbers
and I don’t think it has helped the industry. It is
not so many years ago that 40 mares was
considered to be a full book. However, now
you must have larger books in order to
produce a champion sire because there is so
much natural wastage with injuries, etc. I
suppose between 80 and 100 mares per
stallion would be ideal. We own Sir Harry
Lewis and now limit him to a maximum of 50
mares.
Would you ever set a limit for Lucarno
That would be a decision for Mr Strawbridge
and his advisors.
How tough is it operating in the industry
with a recession looming
What recession The top end of the market is
as strong as ever. I think it will be tough next
season, but in the long run it will be good for
the industry as we have all been guilty of
covering moderate to useless mares. But we
work in a very passionate industry and who
am I to tell an owner that his ‘pride and joy’ is
not good enough to breed from.
What are the attractions of being a British
breeder
It must be pride as it certainly isn’t prizemoney.
Is there one stallion you wish you could
have stood at Wood Farm
We ought not to dwell on the past, though it
does bring me back to the aforementioned
Kayf Tara, who is flying. But I don’t think I have
much chance of standing him as Simon
Sweeting at Overbury is doing a great job with
him and Simon is much younger than I am!
What stars have you bred
Two ‘highflying’ sons – Anthony, of Highflyer
Bloodstock, and Christopher, who is in senior
management at Elsevier Scientific
Publications. And proud of them we are, too.
Do you hold a position on any of the TBA
National Hunt committees or councils If
so what are your responsibilities
I have just completed my three years on the
TBA National Hunt Committee and I am not
standing for re-election due to business
commitments. I enjoyed my stint and found it
very interesting; I now appreciate how much
the TBA put into supporting the industry.
Where do you visualise British National
Hunt breeding in ten years
I cannot see a great change if we all continue
to overproduce. However, I do think the
recession will sort this out for us. We must try
to retain the top sires here in the UK to
prevent the best mares always going across
the Irish Sea.
Who in your view has done most for British
NH breeding
The late David Nicholson was an avid
supporter of British breeding. He
never failed to telephone a breeder
after they had bred a
winner and he also encouraged
new breeders into the industry.
His wife Dinah has continued
this and is ever present at
National Hunt sales and
many race meetings
spreading the gospel.
Lucarno can
help to challenge
the domination
of Irish-based
National Hunt
sires
FINGERS
ON THE
BUZZERS
Who would you
most like to meet
outside racing
Shane Warne
What irritates you
Bad losers
Your relaxation
It used to be playing
cricket. Now it is
watching as a big
supporter of
Shropshire County
Cricket
What keeps you
awake at night
Nothing – except
when England are
playing cricket abroad
Four guests for a
dinner party
Tina Turner, Sir Mark
Prescott, Jeff Rowe
(Jethro) and Sir Ian
Botham
Describe yourself in
four words
Always optimistic,
Source: Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder January 2009