norelands stud
Aisling Crowe chats with Matt Gilsenan, stud manager at Norelands Stud, producer of the five-time Group 1 winner St Mark’s Basilica, about this autumn’s October Book 1 yearling draft
Where champions grow
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ORELANDS STUD in Kilkenny’s stunning Nore Valley has a long and storied heritage that traces back over a century but possesses an equally glorious present with the dams of recent champions residing on the McCalmont family’s farm, watching over the next generation of potential superstars. The racecourses of Europe have been the stage on which luminaries such as St Mark’s Basilica, Golden Horn and Magna Grecia have shone, but their relations have also dazzled in the Tattersalls sales ring. In 2019, Norelands sold two of the five most expensive colts at Tattersalls October Book 1 – one was the 3.1m guineas Frankel half-brother to European champion Golden Horn, while the other was the Siyouni half-
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brother to that year’s 2,000 Guineas hero Magna Grecia,who was subsequently named St. Mark’s Basilica. The Frankel colt was named Dhahabi, was purchased by Godolphin and is the most expensive Frankel yearling sold at public auction in Europe. He finished third in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes behind subsequent Group 1 Vertem Futurity second One Ruler and Van Gogh, who went on to win the Group 1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud. At last year’s Book 1, Dhahabi’s full-sister brought a winning bid of 2m guineas from Godolphin, while St Mark’s Basilica’s full-brother failed to meet the valuation placed on him by his breeder Bob Scarborough – despite his older brother providing him with a Group 1 update prior to the sale when third in the
National Stakes (G1) at The Curragh. That colt has since been named Paris Lights and put into training with Jessica Harrington, while St Mark’s Basilica has gone on to win five Group 1 races in succession – the Vertem Futurity on his final start at two, and then the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the Prix du Jockey Club, the Eclipse Stakes and the Irish Champion Stakes (G1). The constitution and talent required to win consistently at the highest level were apparent in the embryonic racehorse, who was purchased by MV Magnier from Norelands for 1.3m guineas in 2019. “When he came to the sales we were in good shape with such an update like that Magna Grecia’s Classic victory and he was very well received,” explains Norelands Stud’s manager Matt Gilsenan. “St Mark’s Basilica was a gorgeous horse,
