WHILE there is obvious delight with the record-breaking year she is enjoying as an owner, and a memorable year too as a breeder, Kirsten Rausing never gets carried away.

Speaking with her at Goffs this week, she was more inclined to suggest that her success was due to others not doing so well, rather than wallowing in any glory.

The facts tell another story altogether, and I was among hundreds who had been queuing up to offer congratulations to the Lanwades, St Simon and Staffordstown Studs owner after a stunning weekend of success.

In Australia Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux) is full steam ahead for the Group 1 Cox Plate after his comfortable win in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes. The six-year-old was a dual Group 3 winner for Sir Michael Stoute two years ago before being sold to travel down under.

Now in the care of a fast-rising star of the training ranks, Annabel Neasham, Zaaki won the Group 1 Doomben Cup in May and is now on a five-race winning streak, a difficult feat in the competitive racing landscape of Australian racing. Zaaki is one of three Group 1 stars for his sire, another being the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom, and he is the best of six winners for his winning Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer) dam Kerara who was acquired by Lanwades for just 42,000gns at the end of her racing career.

Alpinista

If Zaaki’s victory was a delight, it was as nothing compared to the pleasure wrought from Alpinista’s success in the Group 1 Preis von Europa at Koln, the 59th edition of that famous race. Sir Mark Prescott trains Alpinista and he too was on hand this week to tell me about his joy at handling this grey four-year-old daughter of Frankel (Galileo), who is something of an incarnation of her grandam Albanova (Alzao), and whom the trainer also conditioned.

This is a female line that has been good to both Rausing and Prescott, and binds them closely as owner/breeder and trainer, but also clearly as friends.

“It’s been a fantastic season. I’ve lost count now, but I think 23 winners in the green and white, and that’s a new record,” Kirsten tells me. “Twenty-three was the old record, set 10 years ago, but out of the 27 this year we have two Group 1s, two Group 2s, a Group 3 and five listed wins. So that’s pretty good,” she adds modestly.

“All in all, worldwide, as breeders and owner, we are on, I think, 89 winners, of which there are two individual Group 1 winners of four such races.”

True European

Kirsten Rausing is a true European when it comes to the business of racing and breeding, as her roles within the industry demonstrate all too clearly. She has substantial holdings in England and Ireland, and she wishes that breeding was recognised more as an industry in Britain, something she applauds the Irish authorities for acknowledging here.

At the sale in Goffs this week, Kirsten was surrounded by her team from Staffordstown, a farm she, Julian Lloyd and Paddy Moloney established in 1991, starting with land acquired from the former Dolly’s Grove Stud. The loyalty of the team says it all – many have been with her a lifetime.

At the end of the year, however, there will be a significant change, Julian leaving to live in Wales, and John Oxx taking on the mantle of stud director, with Moloney becoming manager.

Kirsten’s sadness at losing Julian is tempered by her delight at bringing John Oxx on board. One of the most respected individuals in racing, and the man who charted the careers of 35 Group 1 winners, including Sea The Stars, John is a perfect fit for the organisation, of “family” as Kirsten describes it, that she owns.

Always friends

“I obviously will be desperately sad to lose Julian, but we will always remain friends, and I am sure he will continue to take great interest in what we produce and run. When he told me of his decision we had a year to plan, and I sought the advice of great friends here in Ireland.

“When I mentioned it to Derek Iceton, he said “well, why don’t you go to the top”? You should get the top man. I said, who do you mean? He said JMO. It never occurred to me that he could even be interested.

“Anyway, I took the bull by the horns and I rang John after the December Sale last year. It all stemmed from then. I am delighted.

“I am immensely grateful to Julian for all that he has done. He has put Staffordstown on the map, and created a marvellous place. We started with 70 acres and we’ve got nearly 600 now.”

Targets

Meanwhile, there is the matter of a few more racing targets to be met, and hopefully executed successfully. Alerta Roja (Golden Horn) is in Germany this weekend, trying to gain a valuable blacktype race after her recent second to Stradivarius in the Group 2 Doncaster Cup. The race she is targeting is one won by Alpinista’s dam Alwilda (Hernando).

Today, at Ascot, Kirsten will be cheering home Alignak, whose sire Sea The Moon (Sea The Stars) she stands at Lanwades, in the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes. She retains a share in the five-year-old. Last night, at Dundalk, her Jessica Harrington-trained Sablonne (Dark Angel) ran in a listed race.

German target

Runner-up to Snowfall in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, Albaflora (Muhaarar) goes in search of Group 1 glory on British Champions Day, before Alpinista attempts to repeat history and, on November 6th, complete the circle of winning the same three Group 1 races in a year that her grandam Albanova did in 2004. Fingers crossed she does it.