Just a stone's throw from York's outer ring road, it's easy to accidently pass Providence Stud and not notice the lovely setting with acres of land and the silhouette of York Minster on the horizon, but day by day, they are nurturing the next generation of horses from birth to the racecourse. Providence Stud was first opened by owner Mrs Pamela Cockrill way back in 1980 with a mix of broodmares and facilities for recuperation and recovery for horses in need.  As with the case with locally run stud farms, it can be a slow process until one foal can arrive on the scene and develop into a top class racehorse.

In 2002, her own mare Valleyrose was sent to Kabool, a stallion who was successful in the late 1990's when trained in France before being purchased by Sheikh Muhammed, ruler of Dubai, for his Godolphin operation. Despite his pedigree and success on track, Kabool's record at stud wasn't spectacular. Valleyrose produced a colt who had a bit of an aura even in the early months of his life. He was named Kandidate and would be trained in Newmarket by Clive Brittain. Kandidate would go onto become an international and domestic star in the mid 2000's. As a 3-year-old, he would go onto great heights by finishing 3rd in the 2000 Guineas trial, the Craven Stakes, and then would do better still by finishing 3rd again in the 2000 Guineas itself behind the impressive Footstepsinthesand. Kandidate would go on to represent Providence Stud in big races such as the Dante Stakes and St James' Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot when it was held at York racecourse. As an older horse, Kandidate broadened his horizons and was a regular visitor to the Dubai Racing Carnival at Nad Al Sheba. In 2007, he would win a round of the Maktoum Challenge on the dirt surface and return the following year to be 2nd. Back home, Kandidate would also be a smart type at Pattern level, winning the 2006 Roseberry Handicap and September Stakes at Kempton, the rescheduled Doncaster Mile at Lingfield and the Gala Stakes at Sandown. A true flagbearer for the stud farm, Kandidate won £450,000 in prize money. 

The next classy graduate from the Dunnington-based operation was a mare named African Skies. The filly is a daughter of the fantastic juvenile Johannesburg, who went unbeaten in seven starts for Aidan O'Brien and won every top race for 2-year-olds in 2001. As a result, African Skies was a precocious and speedy juvenile herself. Trained by Kevin Ryan, African Skies started her racing career with a 2nd at York on debut before running a big race on just her second start when 4th in the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2008. A return to Ascot in July was successful as she landed the Princess Margaret Stakes, another Group 3, on just her third start. It was a credit to her talent and looks that she was aimed at big races almost immediately. Although African Skies never won again and ran a couple of times in America before her premature retirement, she returned to Providence Stud to continue her legacy. She produced another well-known filly by the name of Calypso Beat. Also trained by Kevin Ryan, Calypso Beat won twice as a 2-year-old and would go on to finish placed in Group 3 and Listed company as a 3-year-old. 

So, what of the next crop of potential stars? Summer is always an exciting time as the newly-born foals are finding their feet in life and the year-older yearlings are enjoying their final few months at the stud before heading to the bloodstock sales and beginning their racing career. I was very fortunate to be allowed access to the stud farm to take a look at some of the foals and mares on the site and it's quite possible that there might be another Kandidate or African Skies. Whether the yearlings end up at nearby yards such as Antony Brittain, Nigel Tinkler or even further afield, I will be keeping a look out for their progress onto the racecourse and hopefully with plenty of success.

CHESTNUT FILLY - Sire: Bated Breath. Dam: Hollow Promise

The flashy chestnut filly certainly catches the eye and is held in high regard by Mrs Cockrill. She is a daughter of Hollow Promise, who herself was by the famous Beat Hollow from a quality Juddmonte family. 
Her sire is Bated Breath, who is starting to make an impact in the breeding world. On the track, Bated Breath was a top class sprinter in 2011 and 2012. Owned and bred by Juddmonte, he was a half-brother to Cityscape who won top races around the world. Bated Breath didn't race until he was a 3-year-old but quickly developed into a very smart horse. In 2011, he was narrowly denied in the Sprint Cup at Haydock in an epic finish with Dream Ahead, but recouped losses 6 months later with a win in Temple Stakes over 5 furlongs. 
As a parent, Bated Breath has bred some high-quality horses in the past few years. His highest earner has been the Richard Fahey trained Space Traveller, the winner of the 2019 Jersey Stakes, as well as the Gordon Elliott-trained Beckford who won the Group 2 Railway Stakes in Ireland in 2017. Bated Breath is capable of producing very good horses over 6 furlongs, even up to as far as 2 miles. 
Based on looks alone, this filly will certainly be one to follow in around 18 months. 

BAY COLT - Sire: Pastoral Pursuits. Dam: Venus Rising.

A nicely made colt who is certainly a home-bred as Venus Rising is a daughter of Valleyrose, who started the ball rolling as the dam of Kandidate. 
The colt is one of the last few progeny of the top class sprinter Pastoral Pursuits. Winner of six of his ten starts, Pastoral Pursuits was trained by Hughie Morrison and despite a light racing career, he lit up the stage in the 2005 July Cup at Newmarket with a brilliant display to win at long odds. He was retired in the same year and has produced a lot of tough and useful horses along the years, many of whom are still in training today. His highest earning son is Pastoral Player, who rose through the handicap ranks in the early 2010's and landed the Group 3 John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock in 2011. Another classy son of Pastoral Pursuits was Sagramor, who landed the Britannia Handicap at Royal Ascot in 2011 and went on to finish 2nd in a few Group 2 races in mid-2012. The quirky but talented on his day Flying Pursuit is also another tough handicapper who holds his form well in class two races.

As mentioned above, Venus Rising is a daughter of Valleyrose, who was unraced on the track but produced the popular and tough Kandidate. Venus Rising has produced several race winners throughout her stud career and her best foal has been Guiding Light, who sold to Thurloe Thoroughbreds to be trained by Andrew Balding. Guiding Light won three times and had a highest rating of 80. Another produce of Venus Rising was Businessman, whose life was cruelly cut short as soon as it had begun. Trained by Mark Johnston, he won the highly valuable Convivial Maiden at York's Ebor meeting in 2009 on his racecourse debut and looked to be very smart. However on just his next start at Ripon, a couple of weeks later, Businessman suffered an injury which meant he couldn't be saved. 

Despite the tragedy, there are plenty of winners in the family which gives confidence that this bay colt will have success on the course

. 

BLACK FILLY - Sire: Outstrip,  Dam: Stolen Glance.

This filly was hard to spot as she was having a nap when I visited, but she is another yearling with strong links to the stud farm. Her dam Stolen Glance produced the now useful filly Strangerontheshore, who has recently won two races in a row at Carlisle and is progressing nicely. 
Her sire Outstrip was a highly talented juvenile for the Godolphin outfit and trained by Charlie Appleby. The British-bred grey had his best times as a juvenile, winning on debut for Saeed bin Suroor before switching trainers to Charlie Appleby, winning the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster's St. Leger meeting before following up with a 3rd in the Dewhurst Stakes over a mile behind War Command. A trip to the Breeders' Cup would put his name in lights as he landed the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf with an impressive display, weaving through traffic and finishing strongly. Outstrip wouldn't train on as an older, finishing last in the 2000 Guineas on his 2014 reappearance and although a 3rd place in the St. James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot was much better, his racing career went backwards and retired in 2015. His stud record is more impressive, producing the very useful French-trained Gold Trip, who was 4th in the 2020 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the talented sprinter Flippa The Strippa, a listed winner as a 2-year-old and decent handicapper. 

Follow the link here to see a full album of photos and once again, a huge thank you to Mrs Cockrill for allowing me to take photos of her horses. I hope to claim the fame of seeing race-winning horses when they were young!