Beech House Stud is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorseHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
breedingHorse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
farm located on Cheveley Road near Newmarket,
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
currently owned by
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum'sHamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry of the United Arab Emirates . He is the second son of the late ruler, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ....
Shadwell RacingShadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.Introduced to Thoroughbred flat racing while a student in the United Kingdom, Sheikh Hamdan established his first racing stable there in 1981...
operation.
Originally a land parcel within the Cheveley Park Stud of
Col. Harry L. B. McCalmontColonel Harry Leslie Blundell McCalmont was a British army officer, race-horse owner, yachtsman and Conservative party politician....
, it was purchased by Charles Hackford who sold it in 1930 to Martin H. Benson. Benson developed Beech House Stud into a major breeding operation. Among the sires he owned was
Windsor LadWindsor Lad was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a three-year-old in 1934 he won both the Epsom Derby and the St Leger in record time. In 1935 he won the Coronation Cup and the Eclipse Stakes before his career was ended by injury....
, winner of the 1934
Epsom DerbyThe Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
and
St. Leger StakesThe St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
and in 1935, the
Coronation CupThe Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
and
Eclipse StakesThe Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 7 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.-History:The event is named after Eclipse, a...
.
In 1938, Benson purchased the unbeaten
Italian-bredItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
NearcoNearco was an Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 mile 7 furlongs ,...
from owner/breeder
Federico TesioFederico Tesio was an Italian statesman and one of the most important breeders of Thoroughbreds in the history of horse racing.Born in Turin, Federico Tesio obtained a degree in science and architecture...
for £60,000.