Sheikh Fahad acquires farm in England, will not transfer stallions

Sheikh Fahad al Thani has acquired Longholes Stud in Cheveley, near Newmarket, England, as a base for his expanding Thoroughbred operation.

The facility, which offers stabling for 50 mares and foals, encompasses 100 acres of paddocks. It is equipped with a five-horse walker, a lunge ring, and a 10-stall isolation unit.

Sheikh Fahad currently stands Makfi and Harbour Watch, the former a promising young commercial stallion, at bloodstock adviser David Redvers’ Tweenhills Stud in Gloucestershire. Those stallions will not be transferred to Longholes, although Melbourne Cup hero Dunaden could potentially stand there in the future.

"It has been bought primarily for Sheikh Fahad's own horses – a stud where mares can walk to surrounding farms – but also as a base for him in Newmarket,” Redvers told Racing Post.

"We identified that it was a very attractive, commercial proposition to buy it when we did. No firm decision has yet been made as to whether it will be a purely private stud, a pre-training center or even as a place for stallions. The main stallions will always stand at Tweenhills, but there is a possibility that we might stand Dunaden there in the future as he is a particular favorite of Sheikh Fahad."

Redvers added that Sheikh Fahad is looking at the facility as “a blank canvas” and could consider building a main residence there or converting existing farmland into more space for horses.