 An entrance to Dalham Hall Stud, part of Darley Stud in Newmarket, Suffolk, England | |
| Divisions | Dalham Hall Stud,Kildangan Stud,Jonabell Farm, Northwood Park,Kelvinside |
|---|---|
| Website | www |
Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall,[1] the globalbreeding operation owned bySheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler ofDubai and vice-president of theUnited Arab Emirates.[2] It is on the outskirts ofNewmarket, Suffolk, the international headquarters and historic home ofthoroughbredhorse racing.[3]
Darley currently stands more than 50stallions around the world: in England atDalham Hall Stud; in Ireland atKildangan Stud; in the United States atJonabell Farm, inLexington, Kentucky; and on twostud farms in Australia: at Northwood Park,Victoria, and at Kelvinside in theHunter Valley inNew South Wales. Darley stallions also stand in France and Japan.[4]
Darley was founded in 1981 when Sheikh Mohammed purchased Dalham Hall Stud.[5] Today, Darley studs are home to many of Europe's leading stallions. These include father and son supersireDawn Approach andNew Approach, andDubawi, already the sire of a number ofG1 winners.[citation needed]
Other famous stallions who have stood at Dalham Hall includeDubai Millennium,[6] Sheikh Mohammed's favourite horse.[7] Born on the stud and trained in Newmarket, he won theDubai World Cup in 2000[8] and was the eight-length winner of thePrince of Wales's Stakes atRoyal Ascot in the same year. When he retired fromhorse racing, Dubai Millennium returned to the stud but sired just one crop offoals before dying ofgrass sickness.[9]
In addition to standing stallions, Darley manages the racing interests of Sheikh Mohammed and various members of the Maktoum family, and hasracehorses with a number of trainers in the UK, Ireland, France, the United States, Australia, and Japan. The best of these horses transfer toGodolphin, Sheikh Mohammed's racing stable.[10] AuthorJilly Cooper visited the stud as part of her research for the novelMount![11]
In 2014, Darley Australia, together with rivalCoolmore and a number of localviticulturists, won a battle against Anglo American Coal to stop the expansion of the company's Drayton Southopen cast mining operation in theHunter Valley.[12]
