Highclere Stud

300 acres of undulating grassland

Highclere Stud covers 300 acres of undulating grassland in a sheltered valley located in the heart of the Hampshire Downs. Established for over a century, the success that has derived over the years can be attributed to the outstanding grazing in this breathtakingly unique setting combined with top-class management from the Warren family and their ancestors.

The Warren’s commitment to continually invest in Highclere Stud’s state-of-the-art facilities and naturally fertile grassland result in the stud being one of the world’s best environments in which to rear thoroughbreds. Under exceptional standards of practice and expertise, the stud has enjoyed enormous success and maintained its consistently high quality at both the sales and on the racecourse including multiple Derby winners, Classic winners, Champions and World Champions.

Highclere Stud has been a proud guardian of some of the finest and most successful bloodlines in thoroughbred racing. The stud currently hosts a resident band of around 30 active broodmares, including some very high-class race fillies.

History of Highclere Stud

There has been a stud at Highclere for over 100 years, Siddown Warren Stud as it was originally named was founded by Jake Warren’s Great Great Grandfather the 5th Earl of Carnarvon in 1902. The stud is made up of 300 acres of rolling chalk paddocks situated in the valley between Beacon and Siddown Hills; a location which affords shelter and has an ideal mix of flat and undulating paddocks.

The 5th Earl laid out the foundations of the stud’s broodmare band with the purchase of Grand Prix (by St. Simon) in 1900 for 700gns. Grand Prix was the dam of the outstanding broodmares Jongleuse (by Juggler) and Malva (by Charles O’Malley), the dam of the 1930 Epsom Derby winner Blenheim. Not only did the 5th Earl found Highclere Stud, but he was also a keen supporter of the new racecourse at Newbury which opened in 1905 and he was one of the first stewards. The 5th Earl was also the famous Egyptologist who together with Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

The 6th Earl (1898-1987), who was a well-known amateur jockey in the 1930’s, bought further success to Highclere Stud by importing yearlings from the USA. Nevertheless, it was the 7th Earl (1924-2001) who truly developed the bloodlines at Highclere. Lord Porchester, as he was then, did this by reintroducing the families that had been around in his grandfather the 5th Earl’s day. In 1962 he bought Grand Prix’s descendant Jojo. Jojo foaled 13 winners in all, including Queen’s Hussar (the sire of champions Brigadier Gerard and Highclere) and the outstanding broodmare Hiding Place. Group 1 performers Little Wolf and Smuggler were both progeny of Hiding Place, as was the mare Cubbyhole who produced the 1,000 Guineas second Niche, the first filly to win the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot.

John and Carolyn are always aiming to improve and develop the bloodlines at Highclere Stud, and have made a number of significant purchases in recent years, namely Model Queen (Kingmambo), the dam of 3 stakes horses including dual Gr.1 winner Regal Parade and Miss D’Ouilly. The development of this family lead to John and Carolyn breeding their latest super star, World Champion Miler Palace Pier.

Since 2021 the stud has been run by John and Carolyn’s eldest son Jake who hasn’t taken long to achieve yet more success from the stud when in 2022, Commissioning who was born and raised at Highclere Stud, won the Gr.2 Rockfel Stakes and Gr.1 Fillies Mile to finish the season as European Champion 2yo filly for her owner breeders Isa Salman and Abdulla Al Khalifa. 2022 proved to be a year of the filly for Jake as he also purchased the 1000 Guineas winner Cachet for Highclere Thoroughbred Racing as a 2yo at the breeze up sales for the remarkably shrewd sum of just 60,000gns.

The Hon Harry Herbert, younger brother of the current Earl and Jake’s uncle, runs the most successful racing syndicate in the world, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing Ltd, in which John Warren is also a director. Successful horses include Lake Coniston, Tamarisk, Petrushka, Delilah, Highest, Collection, World Champion Harbinger, Royal Ascot Racing Club Champion Motivator (who was managed by Highclere), Memory and Royal Patronage. The syndicate also achieved Classic success in 2022 with 1000 Guineas heroine Cachet.

As his father was, Harry Herbert is currently a member of The Jockey Club as are both John and Lady Carolyn Warren.