Norris Bloodstock

We’re finally home after a month of mare and foal sales concluding in Deauville this week. William and I have always enjoyed buying horses at Arqana and we certainly didn’t come home empty-handed this time. A lovely three-year-old Peintre Celebre filly (pictured below) and a High Chaparral mare in foal have joined the small band of mares Jenny and I own, and we also bought a Siyouni filly as a breeding prospect and a gorgeous colt foal by Walk In The Park as a National Hun

We're getting to that nail-biting time now when our yearlings are all looking in fabulous shape for their date at Tattersalls in around a fortnight's time and we just have to keep them ticking over, hoping and praying that there are no dramas with any of them at this late stage. While Jenny and her team carried on with the yearling work at the farm last week I travelled down to Bordeaux with William on the hunt for some yearlings at the Osarus Sale at La Teste de Buch. We w

We’ve had a hectic spell of late, both here on the farm and travelling around to the breeze-up sales. The warmer weather followed by a good drop of rain has been welcome but of course it means the grass is now growing faster than I can cut it, so plenty of hours are being spent on the mower. With all our foals now safely delivered there have been trips back and forth to Newmarket, to Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor Stud and Darley’s Dalham Hall Stud, to get the mares back in fo

We've had mixed fortunes with our mares this year. With neither Villabella or Nut having had a foal last year I was looking forward to seeing what this spring would bring but early in the year we found Villabella had absorbed her foal, which was extremely disappointing after sending her all the way to Germany to be covered by Dabirsim. Worse was to come, however, for poor Nut. She delivered a good strong colt by Rajsaman who seemed perfect in every way bar the fact that he ha

Before I write anything else, I must first thank Jenny and her wonderful team of Rachael, Andrea, Katy, Mel, and Anne for the excellent work they did in preparing and presenting the Clairemont Stud draft for Books 1 and 2 of the October Yearling Sale at Tattersalls. After all the long months of sales prep, the last few days at the sales showing the horses before they head to the sales ring are really important. Our team worked really hard through long days and I think enhance

As ever, the sales season is a busy time of the year. I had an enjoyable day with Richard Kent at Mickley Stud this week, viewing the farm’s mares and young stock and also seeing their new stallion, Yorgunnebelucky, for the first time. It was good to see the stud’s stalwart Multiplex, too. Jenny and I are selling a strong filly by him out of our mare Nut in Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Sale (Lot 1613), whose full-sister Captain Caroline won last year. As you can see from