On arrival at Lower Coombe Stables, James and William met for what they thought was the first time. However, it soon dawned on them that they had indeed met before many moons ago when William was head lad for John Hills, a trainer based in Lambourn. James was spending a summer holiday with John Hills, working on the yard exercising horses as a 15 year old school boy and on one particular morning, William was charged with turfing James out of bed following his first serious encounter with previous evening with beer, vodka, rum and whiskey.

William is developing a reputation as one of British racing’s most promising young trainers, hence our interest in meeting him. He has learnt the trade from some of the best in the industry including John Hills and Ed Dunlop and has been building a successful operation down in West Sussex since 2006. His string of horses is improving year on year following his on-track success and his 2011 2-year-olds are the nicest bunch he has had to date.

The horses at Lower Coombe Park are treated to a serious workout thanks to a testing up hill gallop. The facilities here are set in beautiful surroundings that we could not help but feel would be ideal for young horses. They are away from the hustle and bustle of the big training centres like Newmarket and Lambourn and will receive all the attention and time they need to develop into the potential that we hope our horses will show.

With Group 2 and 3 race wins already notched up, we feel William is very well suited to looking after a SMT syndicate horse and a trainer that we would very much like to support. We look forward to introducing share owners to him in the not-too-distant future.

Kingsclere has been home to some of history’s finest racehorses since the late 1800’s; horses like Selkirk, Mrs Penny, Lochsong and the legendary Mill Reef were all trained here. We were blown away not only by the warm welcome we received from Anna-Lisa, but the facilities at Kingsclere are second to none. Fantastic grass gallops, an all-weather gallop, swimming pools, treadmills and 200 acres of land to wonder round – it’s the equine equivalent of England Rugby’s training camp at Pennyhill Park!

But most importantly, it is the people that we were so impressed with. Andrew’s results speak for themselves having amassed over £9m in prize money from 481 winners since 2003. He is surrounded by a fantastic team of lads that look after the horses so well, and his father Ian, who himself trained over 2000 winners from Kingsclere in his training career including for Her Majesty the Queen, is never far from the yard.

Leaving Kingsclere after a delicious breakfast with jockey Jimmy Fortune, we were in no doubt that sending a syndicate horse to Andrew Balding’s Kingsclere yard was a no brainer. I am sure that those of you who come out with us to visit Kingsclere next time will be as equally impressed.

AISCHA
Aischa (Giant’s Causeway ex Al Hasnaa) was Giant’s Causeway’s first ever listed race winner. She won over $83,000 in prize money. Her mother Al Hasnaa is currently at Brick Kiln Stud and is still owned by Mike and James.

ALRASSAM
Alrassam was a top rated 3 and 4 year old winning the most watched televised race (with the exception of the Grand National) in 1999, the Burghclere Maiden Stakes which was supposed to be won by Sir Henry Cecil’s Killer Instinct. Alrassam also won the Budweiser International Stakes (Group 2) and the Prix Daphne (Group 3) in France.

EARL GREY
The aptly named Earl Grey (Twinings ex Regal Peace) was a sprinter with a serious engine who’s highlight was finishing third in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot giving his owners a fabulous day out and earning some decent prize money along the way.

FIRESIDE
Fireside, another decent horse out of Al Hasnaa is now racing in Germany but won a very good maiden race at Newmarket before being given a shot in the 2000 Guineas (the first Group 1 ‘Classic’ race of the 2009 season), which was won by the very good horse Henrythenavigator.

LABEEB
Labeeb (Lear Fan ex Lady Blackfoot) is the most successful horse to have come out of Brick Kiln Stud amassing over $1.4million in prize money over 4 years before retiring to stud where he became a stallion. He won races in England, France and the US with his highlight winning the Group 1 Hollywood Derby and finishing third in the Breeders Cup Mile, a race that attracts the best horses from around the world.  He put Brick Kiln Stud on the horseracing map and holds a very special place in our hearts.

LITTLE INDIAN
Little Indian (Little Missouri ex Both Sides Now) was a very capable horse who won two races during his career, the highlight being victory in the Group 3 Solario Stakes at Sandown.

Each shareowner enters into an agreement with SMT to share in the prize money and the proceeds from the sale of the horse(s) once the syndicate is wound up.

James and Mike Anderson with the help of leading bloodstock advisors, purchase horses for the Square Mile Thoroughbred syndicates at the world’s leading auction sales in England, Ireland, France and North America. In order to comply with Jockey Club rules, the horses remain the property of SMT.

Depending on the nature of the syndicate the next steps will naturally vary. A syndicate that purchases a yearling for racing will see their horse sent to one of the leading trainers in the country where it will be ‘broken in’ and trained to race. We also purchase mares from which our bloodstock are bred. Foals that are produced by these mares are subsequently sold on as foals or yearlings or can indeed be kept to race.

SMT also offer pin-hooking services, whereby we purchase foals at the sales in December, prepare them and grow them into yearlings and offer them for sale the following autumn, hopefully generating a profit.

Owners have the opportunity to see their bloodstock at Brick Kiln Stud at the yearling parade held after the sales in October and also throughout the year at regular visits organised by SMT. Given the small and bespoke nature that we operate on unlike the other large syndicates, you will have full access to your horses at your convenience (within reason!).

We do not like to specify how long a syndicate may last as it depends entirely on how the horses are doing. If a horse is not up to scratch, we will sell it and cut our losses and look to utilise the capital on a better horse. The horses may be sold at any time throughout the year with the approval of the syndicate should we receive any attractive offers.

Once the horses are sold, the syndicate is wound up and surplus income over expenditure will be distributed to the share owners.

James grew up on Brick Kiln Stud and soon got the horseracing bug spending every waking second with the horses on the farm when not at school. He went onto attend university at Imperial College London reading business and financial management and upon graduating embarked on his career in the financial markets with his first posting in Hong Kong working with high net individuals. After eighteen months living the ex-pat life, James returned to London with a global asset management firm and is now plying his trade at Babson Capital Europe.

James created Square Mile Thoroughbreds with the intention of combining his passion for horseracing and his finance career, whilst at the same time introducing his fellow City workers to the wonders of racehorse ownership.

Sarah Barrand, Director

Sarah’s roots are also in the horse world competing in Pony Club events from a young age before moving on to polocrosse where she represented Great Britain. Sarah attended university at Imperial College London graduating with a First in business management. After graduating she was selected for the Lloyds Bank Graduate Program, which saw her work in various parts of the Bank throughout Europe. Six years on she is still with Lloyds and works on the rates and fx desk.

Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day running of our shareowner services, ensuring that all syndicates are kept up to speed with what is happening with their various horses.

Michael Anderson, Chairman

Mike has been breeding racehorses for close to thirty years from Brick Kiln Stud in the heart of Warwickshire. He was responsible for breeding some fantastic racehorses over that time that have won major Group 1, 2 and 3 races throughout Europe and the United States.

Mike and James in conjunction with Richard are responsible for selecting the horses that go into the SMT syndicates. Mike specialises on the breeding side of the operation and with his head for mating plans will be emulating his success with Brick Kiln Stud here at Square Mile Thoroughbreds.

Square Mile Thoroughbreds is run by a highly experienced team who have been successfully breeding and racing thoroughbred horses for over two decades. The most successful was the colt, LABEEB who won over $1.4m in Group 1 races in the UK, France and the USA. James and Mike Anderson based out of Brick Kiln Stud have a handful of high quality mares that they breed from each year. The star of the group is Al Hasnaa (half sister to LABEEB) who already at a young age has bred a Group 3 winner.

Just as important as the level of success of our horses is the level of service we offer to our shareowners. Our objective is to provide everyone with a personal level of service that is unrivalled in the racing industry and to feel as if he or she is the sole owner of their horses.

I truly hope you will join us in this exciting venture and help make Square Mile Thoroughbreds the most successful multiple ownership team in the City.

James Anderson
Managing Director