Newsells Park Preparing to Sparkle at Book 1 and Beyond

10/04/2024 08:45 AM

Wine and racehorses. What, as they say, is not to like? It worked for Marchese Mario Incisa della Rochetta, whose delicious drop of Tuscan red, Sassicaia, is revered the world over, and who found fame in the Thoroughbred world as the co-owner and breeder, with Federico Tesio, of the great Ribot (Ity) among others. 

Now Graham Smith-Bernal, who bought Newsells Park Stud from the Jacobs family in 2021, is aiming for a similar sideline in excellence. 

In the name of proper and thorough journalistic research, a crack team of wine drinkers from the TDN was dispatched to Hertfordshire to learn more about this project, which is now in its early growth stages across 170 acres on a corner of Newsells Park. 

“My brother-in-law is Italian and he comes from a wine-producing family, so my interest in making wine peaked over the last 10, 15 years when my sister married him,” says Smith-Bernal, who is famed as the entrepreneur behind transcription software for the legal system. “We then found when we did the due diligence [on the purchase of Newsells Park Stud] that of the 1,200-plus acres here, 170 acres were south-facing chalk slopes, which is absolutely the perfect soil for growing vines that go on to make sparkling wine.”

The breeder-turned-viticulturist is encouraged by the boost in appreciation of English sparkling wine in recent years. “I think there's something like 400 vineyards here in England now,” he adds. “We are the very first that brings together, if you like, the reputation for breeding top racehorses with the aspiration to make the finest sparkling wine.”

From the first vines being planted in 2022, two climate-friendly summers have aided their establishment, but this spring was not so kind.

“This year has been a washout, a terrible year right across the board,” he says. “Partly because we had a late frost on the 26th of April. We were going to have our first harvest this year, probably enough to make 10,000 bottles of wine – 60,000 is where we'll be at full production.

“But we decided because of that, and then the very wet spring that followed, to drop the grapes, and that again reinforced the vine structure. We'll look to next year, but in the interim, because it will be three to five years before we can drink anything that we've harvested, what we're doing is effectively building our brand by selecting some of the very finest English sparkling wine that has at least five years of age on it. So it is top-table stuff. And then just like Harrods or Harvey Nichols do, we put our brand on it.”

That brand is where the proper cross-pollination with the horse side of the business kicks in. Newsells Park Stud's leading sire Nathaniel (Ire) has lent his name to a zinger of a sparkling wine which definitely passed the TDN taste test, while the farm's late, great broodmare Shastye (Ire) is remembered in the naming of a classic cuvée.

“When you drink a bottle of sparkling wine or champagne, you see the bottle and the label, you see the name and you taste it, but you're not usually able to turn the label and then see the story. Nathaniel's story – about the Coral Eclipse, the King George, and then of course Enable – is there. My dream is through that sparkling wine, in 20 years' time, long after he's gone, he will be remembered through this,” says Smith-Bernal, who has plans in place to build a winery amid the vines, with splendid views across the stud's rolling pastures. 

“We also have a rosé coming at the end of October, which is going to be called Shambolic.”

Which brings us back to the key focus of Newsells Park Stud: breeding top-class horses. Through her offspring, Shastye was the toast of Book 1 for many a year. No fewer than six of her yearlings sold for seven-figure sums, led by the subsequent Group 3 winner Sir Isaac Newton (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) at 3.6 million gns. His full-siblings include the dual Group 1 winners Japan (GB) and Mogul (GB) as well as G2 Middleton Stakes winner Secret Gesture (GB).

Two years ago, the first foal of Shambolic (Ire) (Shamardal), who is owned by Newsells Park and Merry Fox Stud, brought 1.5 million guineas when offered at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale. This time last year the filly, now named Ylang Ylang (GB), won the G1 Fillies' Mile. Her half-sister, by Siyouni (Fr), is one of 27 yearlings heading to Tattersalls next week for Book 1, the elite sale at which Newsells Park Stud has been leading consignor for the last six years, and on two occasions prior to that. 

She will be joined by a Dubawi (Ire) filly out of Waldlied (GB), a three-part-sister to the Arc winner Waldgeist (GB) from one of Newsells Park's signature families, and a Frankel (GB) colt who is very closely related to another of the resident stallions, Without Parole (GB), and consigned on behalf of his breeders John and Tanya Gunther. A draft chockful of sire power to match some pretty elite female families will no doubt be playing a leading role once more at Park Paddocks. 

“Sometimes you have good years on the track and sometimes you have bad years,” says stud manager Julian Dollar. “I try and think of Juddmonte's Oasis Dream advert, which says 'Form is temporary, class is permanent.' Hopefully we've proven over the years that we get it right.”

In addition to the commercial element of the business, Newsells Park Stud has recently set up a bloodstock syndicate in a bid to encourage investors and would-be breeders to become partners in racing and broodmare prospects. The star of the project to date is this year's Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me (GB), who is of course a daughter of Nathaniel and is owned in partnership with Valmont. The bloodstock syndicate members will soon also be beneficiaries of the Newsells Park wine club.

“We are also creating a local community membership,” adds Smith-Bernal, who owns the pub in the stud's local village of Barkway and will host open days at the stud for residents.

“You pay your annual subscription, you get your 12 bottles of wine, but then you get to get involved in some of the events that we're holding here. So in the spring you'll get to see some of the foals and the mares. You're going to see a stallion parade. In the autumn, you're going to see a yearling parade. There'll be a barbecue, which is for our members. So it's a community thing that we're building.”

The stud also played host to leading clients of the bookmaker Fitzdares during the summer for a Royal Ascot preview hosted by Nick Luck.

“They had a tour of the stud, to see what this is all about,” says Smith-Bernal. “And then they're part of the audience, this wine was served, canapés and everything else, and they got insights from trainers for Royal Ascot, and we had people coming back after that saying that was one of the best events that they've been to. 

“Fitzdares now want to do that every year, and the reason we do it is it just brings more people who've got an interest in this world into our orbit, and from there they may not only interested be in that, but in coming into a bloodstock syndicate.”

Encouraging new people to become involved in the world of Thoroughbred breeding? Now that's something we can all drink to.

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