The Kieswetter family enjoyed yet another stakes winner conditioned by leading trainer William Haggas when the Barnane Stud-bred Kingman gelding Candleford carried the flag at The Curragh on Saturday for the Kieswetter family.
The victory comes just over a month after Barnane Stud’s flying grey Il Etait Temps, who is raced in partnership with the Hollywood Syndicate, doddled in to win the Close Brothers Manifesto Gr1 Novices’ Chase – his third career elite success – at Aintree.
It is also just weeks after a red-letter day on The Championships Finale at Turffontein, with three Ridgemont home-bred feature winners, and their sires past and present, accounting for four features on the bumper card.
Barnane Stud-bred Candleford powers home under Ryan Moore (Pic – Supplied)
But Saturday’s success with Candleford will always hold a particularly special place in the international racing and breeding family’s hearts as he will always be their first Irish homebred winner, and their very first homebred Royal Ascot winner.
Racing with enthusiasm off a rest, as he always does, Candleford went virtually all the way and gave his field the slip inside the distance on his season debut under Ryan Moore to win the 2400m Listed Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Orby Stakes. In the process he accounted for the favourite, Dermot Weld’s highly regarded Sea The Stars filly Sumiha, by a length and a quarter.
Maureen Haggas paid compliments to the SA-based connections, saying that ‘Barnane Stud are really top-class breeders and are the type of people that you like to have horses for’.
The Kieswetter philosophy of sending the best to the best has been seen to great advantage here in South Africa.
Craig (2nd left) and Wayne Kieswetter (far left) enjoy the post-race celebrations with William Haggas and Ryan Moore (Pic – Supplied)
“They have very nice mares and go to the best stallions, you then get a chance of breeding a nice horse and that’s obviously what we’re all trying to get a hold of. Candleford wants fast ground and hopefully we’re coming into a period of time where we might get some fast ground now. We’ll see how he is when he gets home. Even though he’s an older horse bringing him across the water is a trip and he’ll need a few weeks and then William will map something out for him,” added Mrs Haggas.
Craig Kieswetter, who with his Dad Wayne, was at The Curragh to enjoy the feature success on Saturday, told the Sporting Post that the victory was a ‘very special one’.
“Given his history, Candleford is naturally one of our sentimental favourites – well done to William and Maureen and the whole team at Somerville Lodge. And of course to Ryan Moore who gave him a pearler of a ride.” he added enthusiastically.
The winner’s sire Kingman is an exciting son of Invincible Spirit, and is currently the Leading sire in Europe by prize money with 79 stakes winners and 47 group winners.Candleford is out of Norse Dancer’s Listed Pretty Polly Stakes winner Dorcas Lane, a direct descendant of legendary broodmare Horama.
Interestingly, Kingman’s 2023 yearling average is £322,153 for 33 sold, including a 900,000gns colt at Tattersalls October Book 1.
