00:00A good start in life is worth anything
00:28and nowhere is it more accentuated than with the thoroughbred who we breed for performance an ultimate reward.
00:36The valley of the River Maig in County Limerick boasts an impressive history of success at the highest level.
00:43From British and Irish Classic winners to the Breeders' Cup and right across the globe,
00:48such elite thoroughbreds can be traced to an upbringing in this unique piece of Ireland.
00:54Within the heart of this enviable environment lies Mine Coot Stud, 500 acres on prime limestone land
01:01that over three generations of the Lillingstone family has nurtured the formative years of some truly special horses.
01:09Luke, it's a huge pleasure for me to visit Mine Coot where a continuous number of illustrious horses have been bred or raised.
01:28It's something you should be proud of.
01:30We certainly are. I've been lucky enough to live here all my life and now run the farm for the last 25 years,
01:39taking on from my father. One could honestly say it's a privilege.
01:43What do you feel it is about the farm, about the land that is so beneficial for thoroughbred production?
01:48Well, it's a fantastic area for breeding racehorses. The Maig Valley has got an amazing track record
01:57and we're in that great area. It's fantastic land. There's obviously a great climate.
02:04Success in many ways speaks for itself.
02:07I notice large fields, healthy swards of grass for mineral intake and sources of energy and wonderful natural shelter.
02:16All very important, I feel.
02:18I think it's hugely important. You can breed a good racehorse anywhere, but I think to breed good racehorses consistently,
02:25year in, year out, having a good stocking ratio, generous stocking ratio, good land, good pasture management
02:34and plenty of space must be one of the principal underlying reasons for, you know, for ongoing success.
02:43You mentioned the Maig River. It is very influential. Can you put reason to it?
02:49It's obviously fantastic land and, you know, the alluvial plains along the main river and its three tributaries.
02:57There are so many good racehorses are bred here every single year and Mount Coote is part of that.
03:03I noticed that over the years, Mount Coote has had clients who board their mares here for care and husbandry and advice and whatever else.
03:13Is this a necessity? Is it something that you enjoy?
03:16Well, from a business point of view, it's an important part of our, you know, financial management to have boarding clients here.
03:24From an enjoyment point of view, very much so. We love people coming here, visiting their horses, seeing their horses, the interaction with those clients.
03:34And so it's double sided in that respect for sure.
03:38You're obviously very well situated.
03:40Yeah, we're very lucky. We're only an hour from both Cork and Shannon airports.
03:44And with the modern motorway system of Ireland today, it's very easy to get around the country.
03:49So Dublin isn't too far away either.
03:51Whatever you're doing works. What is the ideal? I mean, you've got your 500 acres.
03:56How much of that, for instance, is in pasture?
03:59Approximately 450 acres in pasture. This allows us to have approximately 45 mares with a generous stocking ratio of 10 acres for every mare unit.
04:15It also means that we can raise all the horses outside all the year round so that when the mares and foals are turned out full time in April or thereabouts,
04:26those young stock are raised out of doors all the year round until the following autumn when they start to come in for their yearling preparation.
04:34Luke, I want to talk about the graduates that have come through Mine Coot.
04:39I mean, it's a wonderful, wonderful list.
04:42Europe, America, Down Under, the Far East.
04:47I noticed that you bred two, or raised here, two winners of the frisette.
04:53I mean, one of America's top two-year-old races on the dirt for fillies.
04:58It's rather, it is rather extraordinary.
05:00I thought it was interesting.
05:01The first of those was for Will Farish, Lanes End Farm, who used to be a boarding client here back in the 70s and the 80s.
05:08A filly called Charleston Rag.
05:11And we had another filly as well, which we raised for some clients in the Middle East.
05:18But yeah, on the dirt, two-year-olds, I guess you need a sound and precocious horse to do that.
05:25But you don't expect to go from County Limerick to New York that quickly.
05:30Well, you also went from County Limerick to Hong Kong.
05:33I mean, two winners of the Hong Kong Derby.
05:35We may be the only farmer in the world who have bred and raised two winners of the Hong Kong Derby.
05:41But that's an interesting achievement and an interesting record.
05:46Tell me about Love Divine, how she came into the Mine Coot story.
05:51Love Divine, I bought her down for Trevor and Libby Harris.
05:54And before they bought Lordship Stud in Newmarket, they kept some mayors here for two or three years.
06:03And Love Divine was in that short period of time and went from here.
06:10And Henry Cecil trained her and she won the Oaks.
06:13And in due course, she bred a St. Ledger winner as well, 60s icon.
06:17Hatter was another significant filly.
06:20She won the Molcombe Stakes, but more significant.
06:23I think she was Sheikh Mohammed's first good horse, wasn't she, that got him?
06:28Very much so. We were very, very fortunate to have that connection.
06:31Sheikh Mohammed was a very young man at the time.
06:34At the time, came to the sales in Newmarket with Colonel Warden,
06:38bought a couple of yearlings from us.
06:41And Hatter was Sheikh Mohammed and indeed the Maktoum family's first winner and their first group winner.
06:48That's a lovely connection to have.
06:50Then you've got the likes of Batsu, Prince of Wales winner.
06:54Lush Lashes, very prolific dream loper, won the Moolah.
06:58What about moving down under now?
07:01A winner of the Sydney Cup, a winner of the Caulfield Cup.
07:05You know, it's nice to know that there are horses gone from here to win big races all over the world.
07:11Got a particular love and affinity with Australia.
07:14All the good was a really impressive winner of the Caulfield Cup.
07:18Might have won a Melbourne Cup if he hadn't gone wrong just before the race.
07:21A Sydney Cup winner as well, as you say.
07:24So we've shown that we can do it on a global basis.
07:29And Fiji, a little bit special, an Eclipse Award winner, a remarkable filly.
07:33Yes, she was raised here for Prince Fired Salmon and was trained by Neil Drysdale.
07:41Yes, she was the Eclipse Award turf winner.
07:44There's only one of those every year.
07:46She was exceptional.
07:47Something else that struck me because she was another favourite of mine a few years ago.
07:51One in a million.
07:52Same family as Deep Run who also came through Mount Coote.
07:57One in a million was a wonderful mare.
07:59She was an amazing mare.
08:01Not very much of her.
08:02I remember her quite well on the slight side.
08:05But she had a big heart and she was a promising two-year-old.
08:09And then a brilliant three-year-old filly.
08:11And obviously went on to be one of the founding mayors of Mian Valley Stud
08:16and that family continues to be very prolific today.
08:19And then you've got Tamarisk, a champion sprinter.
08:22Yeah, he was one of High Clear Thoroughbred's sort of earlier Group One winners.
08:26Champion sprinter indeed.
08:28Yeah, great racehorse.
08:29Very, very speedy.
08:30It's been wonderful talking to you, Luke.
08:32And long may this wonderful tradition continue here at Mian Coote.
08:37Well, lovely having you here, Robert.
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