Ballyhane provides a full and complete service to the breeding industry.
Stallions
Ballyhane has established a reputation for standing leading commercial and successful stallions over the last 20 years. Leading first season sires such as General Monash and Rossini preceded the current roster which includes multiple group 1 sire Captain Rio.
The studs sires progeny usually prove popular at the sales and Captain Rio typifies this with his yearlings realising Stg 400,000, Stg 300,000 in the last few years from nominations bought for just 4,000Euro.
Foaling
A recently built foaling barn is the base for the farms foaling and neo-natal unit. With a 24 hour foaling security watch and a dedicated staff, newly born foals and their mothers enjoy first class care and attention. Colostrum quality levels are checked on site to ensure that the foals get a good start to life.
Boarding
An exclusive 12 month boarding service is provided to discerning breeders who wish to avail of the studs facilities and expertise. Boarding mares are housed with Ballyhanes own mares and receive top class attention. Mares can be walked out to all the Irish stallion farms and the studs midlands location is ideal. Kildare is only a 35 minute drive while Tipperary is 50 minutes away.
GROUP / STAKES WINNERS PRODUCED BY BALLYHANE:
Pharata - Yomalo - Rainfall - Fine Fellow - Pyrrha
Rose Blossom - Eastern Purple - Capt Chaos
Wunders Dream - Mister Hughie - Vagabond Shoes
Ffestiniog - Chinchon - Ronda - Rose Hip etc.
FROM CONCEPTION TO THE RACETRACK
Consigning
Ballyhane provides a professional sales preparation service and consign to all the major sales around Europe. Reputation is all important in the sales ring and Ballyhane is well known to all the leading foal, yearling, mare and breeze up buyers. Indeed, the stud sold the record priced yearling at the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale when selling the Invincible Spirit-Announcing Peace filly for Stg 275,000 Guineas in 2007.
Attention to detail is vital in preparing horses for sales and a balance of careful feeding, correct exercise and generally good horsemanship is necessary to do the job properly. Shrewd management of the actual sale of the horse is important also to achieve the best possible return to a horsess owner.
Pre-Training
A full breaking, pre-training, schooling and resting service is available at Ballyhane. Horses are broken in the slow, old-fashioned way and are brought along gently to canter upsides on the farms Fibresand gallop. Careful attention is paid to this aspect of the job as this is the groundwork that makes a successful racehorse.
Pre-training racehorses involves all the required preparatory work that a horse must complete before he starts full training including walking, road-work, trotting, cantering, etc. State of the art cardiovascular meters are used to gauge horses fitness levels.
BREEZE UP - PRE TRAINING
The installation of a Fibresand gallop in 2007 heralded the beginning of a new department in Ballyhane, overseen by Jane Foley, which is the riding/ breezing/pre-training section of the farm.
Jane has established an immediate reputation as a preparer of 2yos for sale and training and in her first year of consigning to the breeze-up sales, her draft included Royal Ascot winner Rainfall (sold for Stg140,000) and multiple Group and Stakes winner Rose Blossom. Indeed, the last named filly broke the Hamilton Park track record on her first start for Richard Fahey just 6 weeks after leaving Ballyhane.
Jane's philosophy of bringing her horses along gently and putting in weeks of steady groundwork pays dividends as her 2yos dont need to be pushed hard to show fast times at the sales grounds, thereby leaving plenty of scope for improvement for the trainer.
This section of Ballyhane also houses the pre-training department and has all the facilities required such as a horse-walker, indoor school, menage, schooling grounds, etc. A half-mile winding avenue through the farm to the gallops allows the horses to remain relaxed before and after their work which shows in their calm demeanour.
The new Pre-training facilities have been used by owners and clients of trainers such as R.Hannon, B.Meehan, R.Beckett, T.Dascombe, W.Haggas, J.Fanshawe, C.Laffon-Parias, P.Deegan, etc. in recent years and National Hunt horses are also catered for.
A new 6 furlong wood-chip gallop is planned to be installed in Spring 2012 which will allow the horses to complete all their work at Ballyhane before heading to the Breeze-up sales or into training. A dedicated transport service is also available to provide instant travel for horses to move anywhere around Europe at a reasonable cost.
FACILITIES & STAFF
Ballyhane is made up of 3 farms with the main farm the centre of the stallion department and the riding/training facility. The studs mares and permanent boarders reside at Ballygowan while the weanlings and yearlings are based at Rathwade.
The staff are the most important people at Ballyhane and are a dedicated and hard-working team. The riding section boasts winning jockeys amongst its team and others with similar ambition! Students are a welcome addition to the Ballyhane team at various times of the year and we have hosted French, German, Italian, English, Spanish, Australian and of course Irish people over the years and we hope that they enjoyed and learned from their Ballyhane experience.
THE COMPLETE SERVICE
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