Cheveley Park Stud

Patricia Thompson and her late husband, David, purchased Cheveley Park Stud in Newmarket, Suffolk, out of receivership, in 1975. Down the years, their distinctive red, white and blue colours have been carried to victory in dozens of Group 1 races on the Flat, by the likes of Pivotal, Medicean, Russian Rhythm, Integral, and Inspiral.

David Thompson sadly died on December 29, 2020, aged 84, after a short illness, but prior to his death the pair had rekindled their interest in National Hunt racing. Way back in 1993/94, the Thompsons had briefly, and unsuccessfully, campaigned their Britannia Handicap runner-up Just You Dare over hurdles for Martin Pipe. This time around, though, they invested heavily in some ‘serious’ National Hunt horses, which were sent into training in Ireland and would make a significant impact at the Cheltenham Festival.

A Plus Tard, for example, won the Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase for Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore in 2019 and three years later, in 2022, made history for his trailblazing jockey when justifying favouritism in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Likewise, Envoi Allen won the Weatherbys Champion Bumper in 2019 and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle in 2020, when trained by Gordon Elliott and, following his transfer to Henry de Bromhead, returned to Prestbury Park to win the Festival Trophy, a.k.a. the Ryanair Chase, in 2023.

Indeed, Envoi Allen was the third consecutive winner of the Festival Trophy for Cheveley Park Stud, with Allaho, trained by Willie Mullins, having won back-to-back renewals in 2021 and 2022. Mullins also saddled Sir Gerhard to win the Weatherbys Champion Bumper in 2021 and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle in 2022, having already won the former race with Ferny Hollow in 2020. Henry de Bromhead, too, won the Triumph Hurdle with Quilixios in 2021.