In 1934 King George V had had bought for him a yearling filly eventually named Feola. She cost 3000g and was by Friar Marcus out of Aloe. Friar Marcus’s best victory was in the Middle Park Stakes (actually then Plate) but Aloe was a half-sister to an Ascot Gold Cup winner. George V is probably the forgotten man of Royal Racing, as his father Edward VII was lucky enough to breed and own two Derby winners (though not as reigning monarch). However this is unfair as George was far more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about racing and breeding than his father: he just wasn’t as lucky. And he was unlucky with Feola as she proved a touch disappointing as a 2yo in 6 runs and went into winter quarters as a maiden. On George’s death in January 1936 his son Edward VIII took over and appeared to start the process of dismantling his father’s legacy. Dismissive of most of his father’s interests he soon made it clear he would not be a great supporter of the Royal Stud and racing. What he could not stop was Feola, who after a promising win in the Spring more than repaid her purchase price when running second in the 1000G. She followed that up with (what looked like) a non-staying 3rd in the Oaks. She later won another race over a mile at Newmarket. After Edward abdicated he still owned the Sandringham Stud (it being in his personal ownership having been left it by his father), he wanted to sell it and his brother George was forced to buy it back from him. But George had inherited Feola, and this great King set about continuing the Royal patronage of the turf. Feola duly went to stud and in her 4th year was covered by Sir Cosmo and produced a filly called Knight’s Daughter (3rd living foal). She won three small races and found herself joining her mum at stud in 1944. Later however, as Feola had 3 better daughters in the following years that appeared more promising, she was sent to the 1951 December Sales and bought by an American gentleman called Mr A B Hancock. He took her home to his Claiborne Farm in Kentucky and when 2 years later bred to the imported stallion Princequillo produced the American Champion Round Table (3 years Champion and leading sire). Two years after the Knight’s Daughter mating Feola was sent to Hyperion and the offspring was an angry, temperamental filly called Hypericum. Boyd Rochfort always felt the best Hyperions were with this temperament and one of the best she proved. Her 2yo season culminated in a victory in the Dewhurst Stakes against colts. On her reappearance as a 3yo she ran 4th behind Neolight at Hurst Park but still lined up for the 1000G. Here her temperament inadvertently paid off when she charged the tapes having deposited her jockey, Doug Smith, and ran down the course. She was caught and returned to the start. Boyd Rochfort, always keen on a tilt at the ring, decided to back her as it was a cold day and the rest of the field was left standing around waiting for the return of the Royal filly. Hypericum won comfortably from the favourite Neolight. She failed to stay in the Oaks and after one more run and an injury was retired. Hypericum went to stud and it has to be said she was not a great success. The nearest of her offspring to come near her ability was Restoration (by Persian Gulf) who finished 2nd in the Eclipse and won the King Edward VII Stakes. Of her 5 daughters only one Highlight (by Borealis: a half-brother to Alycidon) was still in the stud at the end of the ‘60s and after 5 foals Highlight did not appear any great shakes either. Then in 1971 she was sent to Brigadier Gerard’s sire Queens Hussar and the resulting filly was Highclere. This big, temperamental filly ran three times as a 2yo winning once and being placed twice (in good company). She reappeared as a 3yo in the 1000G and though relatively unfancied (100-8) won a thrilling race by a short-head from the favourite, and eventual Oaks winner, Polygamy (this was actually the third time they had met and Highclere came out the 2-1 winner). Her next race was the Prix de Diane where she won comfortably from the eventual Arc 2nd, Comtesse de Loir (beaten a neck in the Arc by Allez France), and thrilled the Chantilly crowd. Her next race was the King George in which she was a running on 2nd to Dahlia. Her penultimate run was the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup where she ran no race at all and her career finished in the Arc where she lost what chance she had when she was cannoned into about a mile out. She went to stud and her first foal Milford (by Mill Reef) was thought good enough to appear in the Derby but was outclassed. He later won the Princess of Wales Stakes in record time at Newmarket before becoming a bit soft in his races. Her next foal was a Busted filly called Burghclere whose best effort was a 4th in the Ribblesdale Stakes. She was sold as a 3yo and her first living foal was the useful Capo Di Monte. Later when sent to Alzao she produced Wind in her Hair who, useful on the track, found greater fame as the dam of Deep Impact (by Sunday Silence) in Japan. The next two foals for Highclere were both by Bustino, and the first, Beacon Hill, was retained by the Royal Stud despite being a maiden. The second was not retained despite being the leading 2yo filly of 1981 through winning her 3 races (the Acomb Stakes, the May Hill Stakes and the Fillies Mile). As a 3yo Height of Fashion won The Lupe Stakes and the Princess of Wales Stakes (beating Ardross, again in record time) before being sold for about £1million to a newish owner called Hamdan Al Maktoum. She went on to produce the colts Unfuwain, Nashwan and Nayef, and the filly Sarayir, who in turn was the dam of Ghanaati. There is no relative of Beacon Hill in the Royal Stud unless the Avonbridge filly Autumn Fire is still there. After these two Highclere didn’t produce anything as good and the best was probably Highbrow (by Shirley Heights) who finished 2nd in the Ribblesdale Stakes. Highbrow was dam of the decent colt Blueprint (by Generous) and the Lupe Stakes 2nd Request (by Rainbow Quest: who later produced the Coronation Cup winner Ask). Highbrow’s daughter Fairy Godmother (by Fairy Ring) is represented in the stud by her daughters Caraboss (by Cape Cross) and Dawn Glory (by Oasis Dream). They carry a big load!! Caraboss’s full sister Good Hope has just won her first race and is likely to join her sisters. Much of Highclere’s latter years were spent in the USA and to Lear Fan she produced a filly called Clear Attraction, who when sent to Rahy produced a filly called Purple Heather. She was reasonable and won one race and, now dead, has a 3yo filly in training called Micras, who though a bit slow may have a future in the Royal Stud. A further US mating (to Clever Trick) produced a filly called Wily Trick who was sold and sent to Australia where she produced the prolific winning mare Elegant Fashion (by Danehill’s son Danewin). After Highclere, Highlight rather came alive as a broodmare. Her next foal, also by Queens Hussar, was called Light Duty and finished second in the Yorkshire Oaks and Ribblesdale Stakes as well as winning a listed race over 10f. At stud she got nowhere near Highclere and her best produce was Special Leave (by Mill Reef) who was fancied as a Derby colt but who broke his leg in the Spring of 1983. There are no descendants of Light Duty in the stud. Her next partner was So Blessed and this mating produced the filly Christchurch. Not up to the class of her sisters she won only a small maiden. Sent to stud her best produce was Church Parade (by Queens Hussar) who won the Champagne Stakes at Goodwood. Her filly Abbey Strand (by Shadeed) also went to stud and produced the eventual Group 1 winner Right Approach (by Machiavellian). His full-sister New Assembly has produced a couple of winners for the Queen, the most interesting of which is this year’s 2yo filly Pack Together (by Paco Boy): again another filly in the Royal Stud who may carry on the Feola line. Highlight then went to Baldric (so in-breeding to Feola as Baldric was by Round Table) and the resulting Circlet looked a great prospect as a 2yo (in fact the same generation as Dunfermline Carson rated her the better prospect at one stage). A good winner of the Blue Seal Stakes on her only start as a 2yo, she disappointed on her 3yo debut and her best effort was a 2nd in the Lingfield Oaks Trial. She retired to stud but produced nothing of sufficient quality to keep the family in the stud. Highlight’s last two foals were again by Queen’s Hussar. The first Light O’Battle won her only start as a 2yo in the listed Radley Stakes. An unco-operative horse she was retired to stud as was her sister Blaze of Glory, but neither flourished in the stud and none of their descendants are represented there: although Darley have some. So Hypericum through her daughter Highlight remains the leading branch of the Feola family. Hypericum’s younger sister Angelola by Tesio’s Donatello had a shorter and more immediate effect. Unraced as a 2yo, she made her debut in the Wood Ditton Stakes for unraced horses and two weeks later finished 2nd in a maiden. Ten days later she won the Lingfield Oaks Trial and then took her chance in the Oaks finishing 2nd to Masaka. After that she won the Ribblesdale, Yorkshire Oaks, Newmarket Oaks, and Princess Royal Stakes, as well as finishing 2nd in the Nassau Stakes. She went to stud as a 4yo, after a season in which she finished 2nd in the King George, a highly prized broodmare and her first foal was a fiery, highly strung chestnut by Hyperion. He was the best colt bred by George V and he was (wonderfully) named Aureole. Aureole appeared as a 2yo at York and won the 6f Acomb Stakes. His next race was the Middle Park Stakes where he was slowly away and finished 6th behind Nearula. His 3yo debut was in the 2000G when he ran a good race to finish 5th, again to Nearula. He next easily won the Lingfield Derby Trial but could get no nearer than 4 lengths to Pinza, when 2nd in the Derby. After that this excitable colt ran 3rd in the Eclipse, 2nd in The King George and 3rd (when 5/4 favourite) in the St Leger. In his last race of the season jockey Harry Carr could not do the weight and Eph Smith rode him to a scintillating victory in the Cumberland Lodge. Sadly Carr lost the mount on Aureole to Smith thereafter. As a 4yo he did little wrong and after finishing a baulked 2nd in the Coronation Stakes (now the Sir Gordon Richards) he won a competitive race at Kempton before taking the Coronation Cup. He was next sent to Royal Ascot where he impressively won the Hardwicke Stakes and his career ended in the King George where he gamely won from a good field. He was then retired to stud, which would seem amazing today but Boyd Rochfort saw no real targets for him and preferred not to run horses in the Arc. He retired to the Wolferton Stud and in his first crop sired an Arc winner. In his 2nd crop he sired the Derby, Leger and Eclipse winner St Paddy and in the same crop sired Vienna who became the sire of Vaguely Noble. He went on to sire two more Leger winners as well as fine horses like Hopeful Venture, Miralgo, Buoy, Aurabella, Paysanne and Saintly Song. After producing Aureole, Angelola had a full-sister called Angel Bright who won the Lingfield Oaks Trial but was a failure at stud. Angelola produced little else and this branch of the Feola family sadly died out. Feola was producing a good filly every 2 years and 2 years later along came a Straight deal filly called Above Board. She was more immature than her sisters and her first win was in the Yorkshire Oaks, having run in the Lingfield Oaks Trial, Oaks and Ribblesdale. After runs in the Park Hill Stakes and Princess Royal Stakes she absolutely hacked up in the Cesarawitch. Boyd Rochfort had had a huge ante post wager on the filly and had to upset the King’s racing manager as he had wanted her to finish the year in the Newmarket Oaks. Above Board had another year in training but while running well never added to her wins. She retired to stud. Her 2nd foal was the Prince Chevalier colt Doutelle. A relatively small colt, he was unsuited by soft going which he experienced several times that year. Despite that he won a 6f maiden and finished second in the Dewhurst ¾ of a length behind Crepello. Next season he started off in Kempton Park 2000G Trial and won that, and then went on to win the Lingfield Derby Trial before being aimed at the Derby. Many Epsom Derbys are considered rough races but this is usually described as the roughest (apparently only ’62 compares). Doutelle was almost taken off his feet and returned to the stables so cut and injured he was unable to run again until mid-October. His much inferior stable companion finished 4th to Crepello. When he did return he won twice and comfortably won from horses who had finished closer to Crepello than he’d been able to in the Derby. As a 4yo he started well winning a good John Porter Stakes and then beat Ballymoss in the Ormonde. The mistake was then made to run him in the Cup Races, but he didn’t stay and then when brought back to 12f had lost his speed andonly managed a 3rd in the King George behind Ballymoss, he was retired to stud. Sadly after a few years he died after an accident. He did sire the good colt Pretendre, Canisbay, Bustino’s dam Oarsman and the Royal Stud’s rootmare Amicable. Above Board did produce another decent horse in Above Suspicion (by Court Martial) who actually ran as a maiden in the Derby, and as a maiden won the St James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot before going on to win the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood (an almost unbelievable set of races nowadays). He did little after that and was sold to become an indifferent sire. In 1966 Dick Hern was sent 6 yearlings to train for the Queen. The idea being that he eventually took over from Boyd Rochfort as her main trainer. Although ’67 was a good year for Hern the horses were too backward to do much as 2yos. In the following two years, ’68 and ’69, the stable suffered from a virulent virus which almost wiped out those seasons and the careers of the horses who resided in the stable. One horse Hern got in ’66 was a Crepello filly called Guiding Light out of Above Board’s daughter Arbitrate. Having achieved nothing on the track she was sold at the 1968 December Sales where she was cheaply bought. Later when sent to Connaught (by Aureole’s son St Paddy) she produced a reasonable filly called La Dolce. Owned by Captain Marcos Lemos she did win but it was at stud she was to make her name. Sent to Sharpen Up she produced that great, tough filly called Pebbles. (Lemos also owned and bred the Bustino colt Supreme Leader, who was a son of a La Dolce half-sister: a good racehorse he turned out to be a wonderful NH sire). Of course Hern found fame with Highclere, Height of Fashion and Nashwan from this family. Though Arbitrate had some more winning foals this branch of the Feola line has died out in the Royal Stud (though still alive in other studs). In fact the only surviving Feola line in the Royal Stud is the Hypericum/Highlight line through her daughters Highclere (as you would expect) and Christchurch. And if Pack Together or her younger sister Loud Applause (a yearling filly by Royal Applause) don’t make it then it will be totally through Highclere. A great family, they are due another really good horse and with luck it will come from the Royal Stud.
