Same Story For Ballylinch

Ireland’s historic Ballylinch Stud made headlines for numerous reasons last year, not least being the first-season sire title clinched by its resident Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) and the G1 Dewhurst S. score by Lope De Vega’s Ballylinch-bred and Arqana-sold Belardo (Ire). The famed farm was also in the press, however, following its purchase by U.S. businessman John Malone last December.

Ballylinch Stud, which came into existence in 1914 and bred and stood legendary 2-year-old The Tetrarch, later the sire of Mumtaz Muhal, one of the most influential broodmares in the stud book, has changed hands just twice in its 100-year existence, so its purchase no doubt caused a stir. John O’Connor, managing director since 1988 explained, however, that things have remained the same at Ballylinch.

“The mechanism of the purchase meant that [Malone] bought the company, so basically everything stayed the same–all the staff stayed, he bought the horses and everything,” O’Connor explained. “It made for a very seamless transition. He’s a very good and understanding man about the business, and he’s anxious to build on what’s already there at Ballylinch, and we’re keen to do that for him.”

Just weeks after sealing the deal on Ballylinch, Malone added Co. Kildare’s Castlemartin Stud to his rapidly growing arsenal of farms, which also includes Bridlewood Farm in Florida. O’Connor explained that Malone plans to fuse the two operations and grow his broodmare band.

“We have about 35 mares and that will increase gradually,” he said. “We’re probably heading towards about 50 mares.”

The first order of business for Ballylinch, however, is this weekend’s Arqana August sale, where the nursery will offer six youngsters. O’Connor described the consignment as “very even,” but pointed out a few highlights: lot 4, a filly by Ballylinch resident stallion Lawman (Fr) out of G1 Prix de l’Abbaye winner Wizz Kid (Ire) (Whipper); lot 89, a Shamardal colt out of a half-sister to Lope De Vega; lot 106, another Lawman colt, this one out of the multiple stakes winner Modeeroch (Ire) (Mozart {Ire}); and lot 132, a colt out of stakes winner Promesse De L’Aube (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}).

“We’ve been busy,” O’Connor said of the action at the barn this week. “At a certain level of the market it’s more important who looks than how many look, and we’re very happy with the viewing.”

Ballylinch stands in a good position to continue stopping the press in 2015. Its youngest stallion, the Group 1-winning sprinter Dream Ahead (Diktat {GB}), has made a promising start at stud with his first-crop 2-year-olds. He currently sits third on the European first-crop sire list behind the Coolmore duo of Zoffany (Ire) and Canford Cliffs (Ire), and his 10 winners include the ‘TDN Rising Star’ and G2 Anglesey S. winner Final Frontier (Ire).