Lanwades proprietor Kirsten Rausing bought the stud in 1980 and promptly recruited Niniski (USA) (Nijinsky {Can}) as her foundation stallion. A tough stayer, Niniski had finished third in the St Leger in 1979 before taking the equivalent races in both Ireland and France later that autumn.
It didn’t take Niniski long to establish both himself and his home as significant players in the bloodstock world. At the yearling sales in the autumn of 1983, Lanwades consigned four colts and one filly from Niniski’s small first crop, which had numbered only 27 foals. Two of this quintet became Group 1 winners. First off the mark was Kala Dancer (GB) whose unbeaten first season in 1984 saw him crowned Britain’s Champion two-year-old courtesy of his victory in the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket.
Kirsten Rausing | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Kala Dancer at Wakefield Stud
Having been ill as a 3-year-old and consequently failing to add to his laurels in his second season, Kala Dancer was bought by Wakefield Stud (NSW). He sired plenty of good horses there including G1 Flight S. winner Angst and G1 WATC Derby winner Firing Range, but he is best remembered for siring the horse who arguably brought more pleasure to more Australians than any other thoroughbred in history: the mighty 1992 Melbourne Cup hero Subzero.
Subzero
Lanwades’ second notable contribution to Australian racing was via the Darshaan (GB) mare Shana (GB), bred by Miss Rausing from the family of Petoski (GB). Sold at Tattersalls’ July Sale in Newmarket in 1998 after failing to see a racecourse when trained by Michael Stoute, Shana was exported to Australia, where she bred Kisumu (Carnegie {Ire}), a Group 2 placegetter in Melbourne who in turn produced the 2012 G1 SA Derby winner Zabeelionaire (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) and his full sister Gondokoro (NZ), winner of the following year’s G1 Queensland Oaks.
A more recent member of Petoski’s family to have headed to Australia has been Sidereal (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), a winner in Miss Rausing’s colours in novice company at Salisbury in August 2020 when trained by Andrew Balding before being bought later that year by Dynamic Syndications for 100,000 gns (AU$198,000) at Tattersalls’ Autumn Sale. He is now with Richard and Michael Freedman and most recently finished third at Warwick Farm just before Christmas.
Rausing on Zaaki
In recent years the buoyancy of Australian prizemoney has seen plenty of horses bought out of training in Europe, both via the sales-ring and privately, to continue their careers chasing the riches on offer. Zaaki (GB), bought by Blandford Bloodstock on behalf of Annabel Neasham out of Sir Michael Stoute’s draft at Tattersalls’ Autumn Sale in 2020 for 150,000 gns (AU$297,000), has been one of the stand-out recruits in recent years thanks to his victories last year in the G1 Channel 7 Doomben Cup, the G1 Quayclean Underwood S. and the G1 Paramount+ Mackinnon S.
Zaaki (GB)
Zaaki’s success has come as no surprise to Miss Rausing. She recalls, “I loved him as a yearling. He was an absolute star, outstandingly the best of my yearlings that year. He was a great walker with great presence. I was shattered when he fetched what I thought was a very small sum (40,000 gns (AU$79,000)).
“At the time it seemed as if he might be heading for Kuwait. However, I was at Yarmouth one day the following summer and there he was, trained by Mohammed Moubarak. He ran a lovely race on debut, starting slowly before running home strongly to finish second. Thereafter he only ran in stakes races for the rest of the season, running well without winning. The following year he was switched to Sir Michael Stoute, won his novice race easily first time out and has just continued to progress from there.”
Zaaki’s sire Leroidesanimaux (Brz), a top-class racehorse in both South and North America before beginning a peripatetic stud career whose highlight was producing 2011 G1 Kentucky Derby and 2013 G1 Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom (USA), stood at Lanwades for three seasons, 2014 to ’16 inclusive.
Animal Kingdom (USA) | Standing at JBBA Shizunai Stallion Station
Another of the Leroidesanimaux horses bred by Miss Rausing is Le Don De Vie (GB), born the year after Zaaki. She reflects, “He was a lovely yearling, a really nice horse. His dam, the Selkirk mare Leaderene, is a lovely big mare. She won six races, the last two of which when she was in foal, carrying Le Don De Vie. He was bought as a yearling by Andrew Balding on behalf of Mick and Janice Mariscotti, for whom he did very well before being bought by his current connections. They had him with Hughie Morrison before he headed away, and he is now a Listed winner in both England and Australia.”
The Lanwades way
It is the Lanwades way to develop families, and none has been developed more effectively than Miss Rausing’s ‘A’ family, descending from Alruccaba (GB) (Crystal Palace {Fr}), who was bought from the Aga Khan at Tattersalls’ December Sale in 1985 for 19,000 gns after having won a 2-year-old maiden race at Brighton for Sir Michael Stoute. Like so many influential broodmares around the world such as the three-time NZ Broodmare of the Year Eight Carat (GB) (Pieces Of Eight {Ire}), she descends from the Aga Khan III’s great foundation mare Mumtaz Mahal (GB) (The Tetrarch {Ire}). Time has shown her to have been an absolute diamond, with her descendants having shone through the decades right up to the present day, most recently via Miss Rausing’s homebred three-time 2021 Group 1 heroine Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}).
Kirsten Rausing | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Three Lanwades-bred descendants of Alruccaba have so far made their way to Australia. The first of them was My Nordic Hero (GB), who raced in Europe as Algonquin (GB). By the former Lanwades stallion Archipenko (USA), he is a son of Alruccaba’s granddaughter Alborada (GB) (Alzao {USA}), winner for Miss Rausing of the G1 Champion S. at Newmarket in both 1998 and ’99. Miss Rausing recalls, “He is the last foal of Alborada and sadly she died foaling him, so he was brought up by a coloured pony called Splash, who did a wonderful job. I was reluctant to sell him as he was Alborada’s last foal, so he went to Jim Bolger, who had trained his grandam Alouette. He did well, without being quite good enough to be a stallion, and after he had won four races including a listed race at Killarney in August 2015, we accepted a very good offer from Hong Kong.”
Plans for Algonquin in Hong Kong were disrupted by a setback and after a lengthy absence he resumed racing in Sydney in September 2017, by now in Chris Waller’s stable. His toughness and durability proved valuable assets as he put together a string of good performances, highlighted by his victory in the G3 Festival S. at Rosehill the following year.
Closely related to My Nordic Hero is the Danny O’Brien-trained Wyclif (GB) who became a stakes winner last season when taking the Port Adelaide Cup. Also by Archipenko, he is a son of Alborada’s unraced daughter Altruiste (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}). He did not change hands between the English and the Australian phases of his racing career, having been bought as a yearling at Tattersalls’ October Yearling Sale in 2018 for 30,000 gns (AU$59,500) by Jeremy Brummitt on behalf of Quantum Leap Racing, whose modus operandi is to race their young stock in Britain before sending them Down Under at a later date.
Jeremy Brummitt of Quantum Leap Racing | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
The third Lanwades-bred descendant of Alruccaba to have headed to Australia recently is Aleas (GB), yet another son of Archipenko. He is out of Alborada’s Group 3-winning great-granddaughter Alea Iacta (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). A winner in Miss Rausing’s colours in Listed company of the Glasgow S. at Hamilton in Scotland last July when trained by Ralph Beckett, he was sold for 150,000 gns (AU$297,000) at Tattersalls’ Autumn Sale in October, bought for export to Australia by Jamie McCalmont.
Two interesting Lanwades-bred half-brothers currently in training in Australia are Lord Belvedere (GB) and Pondus (GB). Lord Belvedere, who raced in England as Mister Belvedere, was bought by Co. Durham-based trainer Michael Dods as a yearling for 20,000 gns (AU$39,500) and returned to Tattersalls as a three-time winner three years later. The son of Archipenko was bought by the Sackville Donald Agency for 100,000 gns (AU$198,000) for export to Australia. He has won a further five races since then, most notably taking the Final of the Lexus Banjo Paterson Series at Flemington last winter.
Lord Belvedere (GB) winning at Flemington
Pondus has arrived more recently. The son of the popular young Lanwades stallion Sea The Moon (Ger) started his career in England with James Fanshawe, for whom he won at Nottingham and Sandown in 2019. Switched to Joseph O’Brien’s stable in Ireland when bought by Lloyd and Nick Williams, he won a Listed race at Roscommon the following year and, having signed off by finishing second in the G2 Curragh Cup last July, he arrived in Melbourne in time to finish fourth in the G2 McCafe Moonee Valley Gold Cup and 17th of the 23 runners in the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup.
Marvellous prizemoney
Miss Rausing finds it easy to understand why so many horses of proven ability have been bought in recent years for export from Britain to Australia. She observes, “What marvellous prizemoney they have! Japan and Australia stand out in this respect. It would seem to me that they must have very co-operative governments. And it clearly helps that Australia is the leader of the world in syndicate ownership. We look on that with awe as it is an immense support to the whole industry.”
