Tag: Gloucestershire

Fahad Takes Flight

Blow to British racing as Sheikh Fahad places his Longholes operation in Newmarket, Suffolk up for sale for £6 million to spend more time in California

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic was always going set to cause havoc for the racing industry, but alongside news this week that prominent racehorse owners the Rooney family are to quit National Hunt racing for good, it has been announced that 30-year-old Sheikh Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Thani has put his Longholes stud, near Newmarket in Suffolk on the market.

Billed as a place for “preparing champions” and run by a “dedicated team” focused on pre-training and rehabilitation, Longholes was founded by the Accrington born “playboy” textile heir and racehorse breeder Sir George Bullough (1870 – 1939) in the 1920s and bought by Sheikh Fahad in 2013.

Sheikh Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Thani chats with David Redvers in 2016.

Sheikh Fahad wiht his brothers Sheikh Hamad, Sheikh Suhiam and Sheikh Khalifa.

Sheikh Fahad and his wife Sheikha Melissa with the late Roaring Lion.

Sheikh Fahad won the Corinthian Challege at Leopardstown on the Gordon Elliott trained Brutal in October 2017.

Comprising of 217 acres of paddocks, schooling grounds and a 6-furlong gallop, the “renowned Newmarket stud farm” – which is 16 miles from Cambridge and 70 miles from London – includes not only 88 boxes, but also what has been described as a state-of-the-art “feel good factor” spa with hydro and water treadmill facilities amongst other things. There is a stud manager’s house, a guest cottage, a pair of staff bungalows and a pair of workers’ log cabins also.

Of why the property is now for sale, David Redvers, racing and bloodstock advisor to the Sheikh – whom married an American named Melissa Margolis in 2018 and is choosing to spend more time in California as a result – told the Newmarket Journal on Friday:

“Sheikh Fahad purchased Longholes in 2013 with a view to turning the attractive and historic stud farm into a state-of-the-art pre-training and rehabilitation establishment servicing the requirements of his own Qatar Racing and also the wider training centre of Newmarket. Seven years later and Longholes boasts an incredible array of modern facilities, an outstanding team of committed and highly trained professional staff and a client list that boasts many of the most recognised names in horse racing, eventing and show jumping.”

“Sheikh Fahad is proud of what has been achieved at Longholes but a change in his own personal circumstances means that the farm’s exciting future now needs to be in another’s hands.”

Speaking to Nick Luck of Racing TV in April 2019, Sheikh Fahad remarked:

“We love horses, we’ve grown up with horses, me and my brothers. The idea was always to build something for the future, hopefully the long-term future, for generations to come. I’d like to see my kids grow up into a dynasty of breeding operations, of racing operations that they can take on from there.”

“I watched I think, my early memories… I watched Channel 4 Racing, I think the Cheltenham Festival. It was very different to racing back home. We only had one racetrack and it was flat racing and they go round in the circle. My dad was the leading Arab racehorse owner in the country, so he won everything. It seemed like it was that easy to do and I started watching racing here and I saw all the different racecourses and National Hunt. And we don’t have National Hunt back home, so I was very curious about the whole industry. I wanted to learn as much as possible from every angle of it.”

“I think the quality of racing, as you watch racing around the world, the biggest quality of racing is in England and Ireland in terms of top-class racing… It is good for the breed, it shows the best horses to breed onwards. The classics in Britain always prove to be the best source of that.”

Of the flaws of British racing in general and perhaps hinting at a move to spending more time participating in American racing, the Sheikh continued:

“It needs to up its game. It needs to find ways to attract more people into the sport. At the moment we are very grateful for the Sheikh Mohammeds in the business… Without Sheikh Mohammed [Bin Rashid Al Maktoum], this year would have been a disaster for a lot of people. The thing is that British racing needs to find more ways to attract quality. I think quality is very important.”

“If you look at, for instance, Japanese racing, they have got a two-tier system. They have the JRA and the NRA. The JRA is the elite class of racehorses and horse racing and I think if you don’t break your maiden as a three year-old, then I think, that horse is not allowed to run in the JRA anymore. They have to go down to the NRA. Why can’t that some way be explored in British racing? We can’t be racing, I think you’re asking people to race for two grand or three grand… whilst in Australia they have Saturday races with a minimum of a hundred grand a race. And in America, maidens are worth a hundred grand. And in California, I’ve got horses, and it seems ridiculous that, if you are taking a business point of view of racing and you open your books, that it would be ridiculous to have horses [in Britain] in comparison to there. The only reason we’re racing here is for the quality and prestige that we have at the moment, but you can’t rest on that. You have to change.”

Later, in September 2019, the Sheikh’s Californian trainer, Simon Callaghan, told The Racing Post:

“Sheikh Fahad is upping his interest in racing in America. He’s spending more time in California, so he wants to go after some of these high-end colts and go down the road of the Derby, we hope… I think his Californian wife has something to do with it.”

Agents Windsor Clive seek £6 million ($7.5 million, €6.8 million or درهم27.4 million) for Longholes and offer it as a whole or in two lots. For the firm, George Windsor Clive remarked: “We’re still bringing Longholes to the market in these strange times [in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic] so that buyers can react quickly once restrictions are lifted.”

For now, the other European racing operations of the Sheikh and his brothers and their Qatar Racing Ltd. company – which includes a presence at the David Redvers owned Tweenhills Farm in Gloucestershire and their own Spring Lodge stud farm in County Limerick – remain unaffected.

Notable Results for Qatar Racing Limited – January 2016 to December 2020

2yo turf: Roaring Lion – 36 wins and 64 placed from 218 runs.

3yo turf: Roaring Lion – 40 wins and 45 placed from 222 runs.

2yo AW: Kameko – 10 wins and 23 placed from 72 runs.

3yo AW: Fierce Impact – 12 wins and 36 placed from 96 runs.

Pictured top: Sheikh Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Thani with his wife Sheikha Melissa Al Fahad.

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April 11, 2020
Unfinished Business

519 acre Gloucestershire estate complete with “challenging” high bird estate goes on sale for £16.5 million in spite of needing a further £1.5 million spent on it

A ringfenced Cotswolds estate has gone on sale for £16.5 million ($21.6 million, €18.8 million or درهم78.9 million) in spite of being centred around an eight bedroom house that is basically nothing other than shell.

Altered and extended in the 1920s when part of the Dent-Brocklehurst family’s Sudeley Castle estate, Sudeley Lodge was supposedly visited by George III in 1788 and needs a further £1.5 million ($1.9 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.1 million) spent completing its renovation.

Offered for sale due to the current owner having fallen ill and thus become able to complete its refurbishment, this 10,781 square foot Grade II listed former hunting lodge is described by selling agents Knight Frank as “an enchanting sporting estate.” It comes with a farmhouse, keeper’s cottage, two cottages and various traditional and modern farmbuildings.

What makes the property most attractive, however, is the estate’s “challenging” high bird pheasant and partridge shoot. Shot for 13 days per season currently, bags average 150 to 300 birds a day and of it, in September 2012, Country Life remarked: “I know of one syndicate in particular that embodies all the qualities one could ask for in a syndicate day… Studeley Lodge… A beautiful high-bird shooting and farming estate.”

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October 22, 2018
A Con and A Cabriolet

One-off 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI cabriolet to be auctioned; originally commissioned by a British playboy turned jailbird with connections to Princess Margaret but only actually completed in 1993

A 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet with bodywork by the renowned Italian automotive stylist Frua is to be auctioned this month.

Offered with an estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million), this truly unique, one-of-one design was amazingly the final Rolls-Royce Phantom VI completed in spite of the model remaining in production until 1991. This mammoth beast of a car, surprisingly, however, has just 72 miles on its clock and is thus described as “as brand new.”

The car’s first owner, Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson, was a bit of a playboy but sadly he never got to actually drive or be driven in it. A “member of Princess Margaret’s inner circle of friends,” this Cambridge graduate was a member of the “Mayfair mammas’ lists of the season’s most eligible bachelors” until “exchanging his Edwardian hacking jacket for prison grey” in 1954 after being jailed for 12 months for an import/export fraud according to a report in Sydney’s World’s News in August that year.

Some years after being freed, ex-con Buchanan-Michaelson took part in the 10,000 mile 1968 London to Sydney Marathon in a Mercedes-Benz 280SE. In a book about the adventure he was described as both a “successful and wealthy businessman, employing a cook, a butler, a maid and a chauffeur” and as an “accomplished sportsman.” Also listed as a lavish spender, Buchannan-Michaelson was later bankrupted in November 1977 – though at the time he lived in grandeur at both at Churchbury Manor at Fairford, Gloucestershire and 26 The Vale, in Chelsea, London, SW3.

In 1970, in the period between the international car race and his bankruptcy, Buchanan-Michaelson commissioned Rolls-Royce to build him a Phantom VI. After delivery to Jack Barclay Ltd. In June 1971, the vehicle’s chassis was sent to Frua of Torino, Italy to have bodywork fitted but for some reason work stopped and it was not until 1977 – and by now with a new American owner, James Leake, and new drawings of its eventual form – that the project continued.

With Pietro Frua (1913 – 1983) retiring soon thereafter and Mr Leake’s death in 1983, the chassis passed to new ownership and it was only eventually completed as a finished motor vehicle in 1993.

That year, the four-door ‘state cabriolet’ was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show and its boxy look must have surely either have wowed or horrified visitors. It is described as having “an elaborate multi-position convertible top allows the car to be configured as a sedanca de ville, landaulet or fully open convertible.” The interior is trimmed in burled walnut with sterling silver inlays and amongst other luxuries are front and rear heating, air-conditioning, fresh-air ventilation systems, a television, a video player, a radio and a cocktail cabinet. Underneath the seats is a portable Davidoff cigar humidor and even a matching silk-lined ladies’ vanity case. What more could anyone ever need?

RM Sotheby’s will sell the Frua Phantom VI at their Monterey sale in California on 19^th August and term it: “The last word in modern opulence.”

August 8, 2017
Cheltenham Festival 2017

Excitement over the 2017 Cheltenham Festival has already begun and punters are already eagerly placing their bets

In 2016, our man ‘The Tout’s’ tip for the coveted Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in Gloucestershire, Sprinter Sacre, romped home and beat the favourite by seven lengths. This year’s festival is looking equally exciting and punters are already lining up to eagerly place their bets with guidance from such places as Cheltenham Festival 2017 Tips.

Dating back to 1860 and running between 14^th to 17^th March this year, the Cheltenham Festival is a National Hunt meeting with prize money second only to the Grand National at a total of £4.1 million. It has an average attendance of 62,000 people per day and is famous for the ‘Cheltenham Roar’, the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival. Ruby Walsh has been top jockey at the festival ten times whilst Paul Nicholls has been top trainer six times. Willie Mullins comes a close second having trained winning horses five times.

Rivalry between British and Irish trainers is intense at Cheltenham and a cup, named ‘The Prestbury’ in honour of the nearest village to the course, celebrates this annually. The first country with 14 winners or more takes that but the true highlight of the four-day event is ‘The Gold Cup’, this year coinciding with St Patrick’s Day.

Past winners of this legendary race have included such stalwarts as Desert Orchid, Master Oats and Lord Windermere but the greatest successes have come in the form of five times winner Golden Miller (1932 at 13/2, 1933 at 4/7F, 1934 at 6/5F, 1935 at 1/2F and 1936 at 21/20F) and three times winners Cottage Rake (1948 at 10/1, 1949 at 4/6F, 1950 at 5/6F) and Arkle (1964 at 7/4, 1965 at 3/10F and 1966 at 1/10F).

For those more interested in socialising, the Cheltenham Festival provides plenty to do. In 2015, ex-glamour model Katie Price even managed to secure a couple of selfies at the event with The Duchess of Cornwall.

The Cheltenham Festival runs from 14^th to 17^th March 2017 at Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH.

To book tickets, click here or telephone: +44 (0) 344 579 3003.

For betting tips, go to Free Bets, a one-stop shop for betting promotions.

Cyclist turned jockey Victoria Pendleton at the festival

Happy racegoeers

Pippa Middleton at the event

Katie Price and HRH Duchess of Cornwall pose for a selfie

February 10, 2017
A Village Ideal

Unlisted 18^th century Georgian residence near Badminton for sale; ideal for those looking to quit the rat race

City dwellers and commuters regularly dream of quitting the rat race for a life in the country and when they watch programmes like Escape to the Country and Downton Abbey, they see an idealised vision of rural life. Such people could do worse than take a look at Dauncey House at Tormarton, near Badminton in South Gloucestershire, a property that is currently for sale through Hamptons International.

Reduced in price from £1.3 million ($1.6 million, €1.5 million or درهم5.8 million) to £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million or درهم5.4 million), this attractive Cotswold stone village house was also marketed for £1.3 million in 2009 according to Country Life magazine. It is situated within a village where you’ll count the ‘King of Hoovers’ Sir James Dyson and the Duke of Beaufort as neighbours and it is believed that “humans have been active in the area for more than 6,000 years”.

Surprisingly unlisted and providing 3,368 square foot of accommodation, Dauncey House includes 3 reception rooms, 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It stands in 2.5 acres of gardens and orchards and though perhaps a little blandly decorated currently, provides what the selling agents call “flexibility for the growing family”.

Situated just 10 miles north of Bath and 1 mile north-east of Junction 18 of the M4 motorway, this handsome 18^th century Georgian residence would make an ideal home for a commuter. Chippenham, just 12 miles away, provides a direct service to London Paddington.

January 11, 2017
Shoot and Stay

Kelly Double suggests where to learn to shoot and where to stay within easy reach of London

There’s seldom a diversion from city life as effective as a session of clay shooting. In the wake of Team GB’s Olympic successes and as the shooting season is getting underway, there’s never been a better time to put your finger to the trigger and immerse yourself in this heritage, country sport.

The wide rural skies and focus on hitting targets can easily chase away the stresses of urban living with exhilaration. With both grouse and partridge already in season, and pheasants joining at the beginning of October, I have pulled together my top four destinations for learning how to shoot, and which countryside establishment nearby you can rely on to provide you with delicious sustenance afterwards. My options have varied menus and low-key luxury bedrooms and are thus perfect spots to recharge after a long day in the fresh air.

Shoot at The Oxford Gun Company

Located just an hour outside London and set in some 400 acres of stunning quintessential British countryside, The Oxford Gun Company is an award winning family-run shooting ground with over 40 years’ experience in the business. Surrounded by rolling countryside, and a course set across babbling brooks, there is no better place to become immersed in this heritage sport.

The instructors at The Oxford Gun Company teach the Stanbury Method and have the experience that it takes to truly give you the best introduction to the sport, guiding you from the very beginning – Amber Hill trained here and completed its TSC Academy, so they know what they’re doing. Whether you aspire to the Olympic rings, or just want to enjoy some time in the countryside, the team can help you hit the targets to get there.

Then dine and stay at The Pheasant

Celebrate a successful day’s shooting at The Pheasant, Brill. Just down the road from The Oxford Gun Company, the pub is perched on a hill and enjoys views over the historic Brill Windmill and neighbouring counties. The Pheasant, to my mind, offers the true country pub package.

You can sample a wide range of traditional dishes, made on site with locally sourced, seasonal produce and then head to bed in one of the cosy rooms. Service is friendly and the atmosphere excellent.

Shoot at Lady’s Wood

Set amidst the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside, with easy access from both the M4 and M5, Lady’s Wood is not far from Bristol and Bath. The grounds are set in 65 acres of natural woodland with a quintessentially welcoming Cotswold stone lodge.

The course has a large variety of sporting traps which can simulate anything, from a bolting rabbit to a long distance pheasant thrown from the 120 ft High Tower – a special feature of the school and one of the highest in the country. Lady’s Wood instructors are always delighted to introduce new shooters to the sport, delivering a full and thorough understanding in all aspects of gun safety and shooting etiquette. The team are skilled in the tuition of juniors and ladies and will make you feel relaxed and safe whilst building confidence in your new skills.

Then dine and stay at The King’s Arms

A traditional British pub and hotel set within the small village of Didmarton in the beautiful Cotswolds, The King’s Arms is an absolute treat. Serving local ales and beers alongside an evolving menu of seasonal British cuisine it’s a sure fire way to enjoy countryside comfort. The restaurant only uses the freshest locally sourced produce and all game on offer comes direct from the neighbouring country estates.

With a choice of self-catering cottages in the stables of the original 17^th century King’s Arms, or cottage-style bed and breakfast rooms the luxurious touches will allow you to feel like the Cotswolds is truly your home. Dogs are welcome too – so there’s no need to be afraid of bringing the pooch along for an adventure.

Shoot at The Royal Berkshire Shooting School

Established over two decades ago, The Royal Berkshire Shooting School is recognised as one of the finest facilities of its kind. The school employs seven full-time, professional shooting instructors, and has one of the most expansive shooting grounds in the country.

Its frontline team of shooting professionals has amassed over 100,000 hours as instructors and more than 125 years of experience in the shooting and fishing business. You will know you’re in safe hands. If you want a challenge in a forward-thinking environment, this is the place for you.

Then dine and stay at The Yew Tree

The Yew Tree Inn is a delightful 17th century country pub with rooms and excellent dining situated in the lovely English countryside, moments from Highclere Castle. The food here is an absolute treat, and as a result, The Yew Tree has quite rightly built up a reputation for its high standard of food and service.

With two AA Rosettes, The Yew Tree’s superb kitchen team is headed up by Emma Broom whose has over 20 years of experience cooking great British cuisine. Menus are inspired by the surrounding English countryside, so expect to dine on fresh fish and game plucked straight from forests and rivers nearby. Every one of the rooms has been designed with comfort and relaxation in mind and you’ll not be disappointed. Dogs are more than welcome in some of the rooms and The Yew Tree can even provide facilities such as dog beds and water bowls on request.

Shoot at Bisley

Easily accessible from London and set in the Surrey countryside, the short journey to the countryside will evoke a sudden release of tension that only the outdoors can prompt. A leader in the world of clay shooting, Bisley was founded in 1895 and its grounds are continually being developed to ensure an unbeatable service and variety of targets. It’s ideal for both beginners looking for an introduction to the sport and more seasoned shots. Each instructor is carefully selected and the great majority have shot for Great Britain.

Beginners looking for step-by-step advice can request one-to-one lessons to start off on the right foot whilst seasoned professionals can polish their skills with top tips from the very best in the business.

Then dine and stay at The Inn at West End

Just 20 minutes from Bisley and recently refurbished to the highest standard, The Inn at West End is the perfect escape from the city. Fresh, seasonal produce is the cornerstone of each and every plate and longstanding, excellent relationships with its suppliers mean that the menu changes and evolves according to the best ingredients dependent on the time of year. Nuanced, innovative dishes sit happily alongside more traditional, British pub classics. Disappointment is not an option.

Each room is individually decorated in a contemporary country style and equipped with all you need for a relaxing stay in rural idyll. With beds that look (and feel) like clouds, flat-screen TVs, broadband access, en-suite wet rooms, safes sized to accommodate shotguns and many other thoughtful details this is an inn that will impress. Two rooms even cater for dogs, and one for guests who require additional accessibility facilities.

Kelly Double is an account executive at Zambuni, a marketing agency specialising in the country lifestyle sector. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyDouble1.

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September 17, 2016
Five of the Best – Follies for sale

A selection of five of the best follies for sale in Britain and elsewhere

A folly is unlikely to make an ideal home for a family, but for someone a little more quirky – a writer or artist perhaps – they can easily make an ideal home.

Our selection of five of the best currently on offer follows:

Church Brow Cottage, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire – £280,000 ($367,000 or €328,000) through Davis & Bowring

Originally built by an eccentric vicar in the 1830s and spread over three floors, this Grade II* listed folly was restored by the now defunct Vivat Trust and opened as a holiday let by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 1993. It features in JMW Turner’s painting of what is known as ‘Ruskin’s View’ (sold for £217,250 in 2012) and includes one bedroom, a sitting room with a balcony, a kitchen and a bathroom. An informally landscaped leads down to the banks of the River Lune and access – on foot only – is via the adjoining graveyard.

Treia, Macerata, Marche, Italy – £337,000 ($441,000 or €395,000) through Cella-Shirley Immobilliare

Built in medieval style in the 18^th century, this “landmark building” outside the ancient walls of the town of Treia stands on a hill with about 2.5 acres of land including secular olive trees. A former farmhouse, the property needs complete renovation, currently consists of 8 rooms and a number of outbuildings and has been reduced in price from £440,000.

The Summer House, Alderley, Gloucestershire – £990,000 ($1.3 million or €1.2 million) through Knight Frank

Grade II listed and built circa 1770, The Summer House is a completely refurbished “perfect romantic weekend getaway” that is being sold fully furnished. Originally used as a small banqueting house by the great-great-grandson of Lord Chief Justice Matthew Hale, the 1,108 square foot Georgian property stands in 2.1 acres of gardens and woodland and features a sitting room, breakfast kitchen, two double bedrooms and a bathroom.

The Tower, Sway, Hampshire – £2 million ($2.6 million or €2.3 million) through John D. Wood

Believed to be the world’s tallest unreinforced concrete structure at 218-foot tall, Sway Tower – also known as Peterson’s Folly – was constructed between 1879 and 1886. The structure cost Andrew Peterson (1813 – 1906) some £30,000 (the equivalent of £3.4 million today) and came about after a medium told the Anglo-Indian barrister, socialist and spiritualist named that Sir Christopher Wren expected him to prove concrete could be used to create such an edifice. It now provides 4,707 square foot of accommodation over a total of 14 floors and includes 4 bedrooms, 3 en-suite bathrooms and a crucifix shaped ground floor with a drawing room, dining hall, sitting room, kitchen and conservatory. The top three floors of the Grade II* listed building are let to mobile telephone providers at an annual rate of some £34,000 and within the 0.7 acre plot, there’s also an indoor swimming pool, extensive garaging and a tennis court.

Woodstock Castle, Connecticut, USA – £24.4 million ($32 million or €28.6 million) through Christie’s

Described as “just weird”, Woodstock Castle was built “for exotic women, exotic animals, both or neither” according to a 2008 feature by the Worcester Massachusetts Telegram. John Pizzi of Randall Realtors Christie’s International Real Estate takes a different view and describes the 18,177 square foot, 126-foot tall building as “majestic” and “a dream come true”. Used by its “colourful and impulsive” owner, importer-exporter Christopher W. Mark as a home for his family and his collection of emus, zebras and camels, this oddity comes with 9 bedrooms, an auditorium with a stage and 75 acres of land.

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August 30, 2016
Will and Calum Thompson (AKA “The Eat Wild Boys”)

Pictured with country sports PR guru Claire Zambuni, the Gloucestershire born co-founders of Eat Wild – Will and Calum Thompson – can be credited with shaking up how game is cooked. (more…)

March 4, 2016
Fishing in Green Park

New columnist Laura Bott takes a group fishing in Green Park, London with Orvis (more…)

March 1, 2016
HRH Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark

One of five children of an exiled prince and hedgefunder and an American heiress, Her Royal Highness Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark was born in New York and grew up in Cheyne Walk in London. (more…)

January 18, 2016