A special foal bred in the purple has brought joy to stud staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
The new arrival at Tweenhills Farm in Gloucestershire is a daughter of four-time Group One winner Roaring Lion and 2015 St Leger heroine Simple Verse.
She came into the world on April 4 and has taken everything in her stride, the stud’s owner and racing manager for Qatar Racing David Redvers reported.
“It’s a bit like our royal baby arriving,” he said.
“She is out of the best colt and mare we have raced, so she was a much anticipated foal.
“As you would expect she has a huge amount of presence, it’s as if she knows she could be a cut above.”
Roaring Lion was standing as the operation’s flagship stallion when he sadly died from colic in 2019.
He was the 2018 Cartier Horse of the Year, while the foal’s mother Simple Verse was named Champion Stayer at the 25th edition of awards three years earlier.
Staff at the stud are continuing their busy operation this spring, while taking all the coronavirus health precautions advised by the government.
(Image: Bill Selwyn)
They are three quarters of the way through safely delivering 85 foals and some will go on to compete for Qatar Racing.
Redvers, who manages the racing interests of owner Sheikh Fahad, has been keeping a close eye on the ‘virtual’ Inglis Easter Yearling Sale this week.
Australia’s most prestigious auction of its kind, held online this year, saw a Zoustar brother to Group One- winning sprinter Sunlight fetch A$1.1m, the joint top lot of the first session.
Zoustar is a record-breaking sire in Australia and is on the Tweenhills roster.
While the average price of a yearling fell by 14 per cent, managing director Mark Webster said he was pleased with trade given the uncertainty of the ongoing pandemic.
