Breeding and Bloodstock

The fields around Sheriff Hutton are home to broodmares, yearlings and foals. Keeping company with them are older horses in retirement, and horses having a break from training. Some of the younger horses will be prepared to race as two year olds, whilst others are left to grow and fill out before starting out on careers over jumps. Over the past years we have had considerable success with home bred horses bred in conjunction with our owners such Alan Black and Ken Hodgson.

Many of our owners keep some of their ex-racehorses for breeding. Successful mares in the past few seasons include Catherine's Well, Prime Property and Better Still. The mares and foals receive careful attention and enjoy the freedom of vast fields and paddocks in the beautiful countryside around Sheriff Hutton.

Nine times winner William's Well has flown the flag for the yard in recent years, notably winning the Great St Wilfrid Handicap at Ripon in 2000.  Bow Peep is another successful broodmare, and has produced the home bred Listed winner Bow Bridge who won the Marygate Stakes at York in 2005 and was placed in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes.

Other home bred horses to win for the yard are Middlethorpe, Property Zone and Kings Square (bred by Alan Black), Acomb, Happy Times (bred by MW Easterby), Elvington Boy (bred by Mr and Mrs Hodgson), Strong Hand, Word Perfect and Snappy (Mrs Jean Turpin) and Pirner's Brig (bred by Mrs Rhind).

More details can be obtained by contacting Mick Easterby here.
Read about one of racing's most colourful characters here and here.

Some successful home bred winners

	Left: Middlethorpe was bred by Alan Black and won twelve races, six on the flat and six over hurdles. He is the son of winning mare Prime Property and a half brother to winners Property Zone and Kings Square. Middlethorpe is now retired from racing.
	Left: Mare and foal, Sheriff Hutton July 2002. Many mares and foals can be seen in the fields around Sheriff Hutton from spring. The foals spend the summer months with their dams, then towards the end of the following year the flat bred yearlings are brought in to be prepared for training. National Hunt bred horses are given much longer to mature.
	Left: A new arrival, Prime Property's latest foal by Observatory. Prime Property won for the yard, and has since produced a stream of winners. Middlethorpe, Kings Square and Property Zone are all multiple winners!
	Left: Home bred Listed winner Bow Bridge in her box. Bow Bridge is the first foal of Bow Peep, who won over sprint trips for the yard. She is like her mum and isn't a great worker at home, but comes alive on the track! She won the Listed Marygate Stakes at York in May 2005, and was then placed in the Queen Mary (Group 2) at York. A super filly who already has black type, and her long term career will lie in the paddocks.
	Left: William's Well. A home bred winner of the Great St Wilfrid Handicap at Ripon. William's Well is out of the mare Catherine's Well, who was purchased in the latter stages of her racing career by Ken and Judith Hodgson. Catherine's Well won seven races but failed to produce a winner from her first three foals. However, after returning to training as a seven year old, she managed to win another seven and then started to produce winners!