About Us

Edward Stanley, the present 19th Earl of Derby, inherited the title and stud on the death of his uncle in 1994. Shortly thereafter he sold Stanley House and some paddocks to Sheikh Mohammed, who already owned the racing stables. The stud is now concentrated between the Snailwell and Fordham Roads. The stud has traded using both the Stanley House and Woodland Stud names, and following the Sheikh's decision to rebrand his operation, Godolphin Stables, the stud is now known as Stanley House Stud.

It was the 16th Earl of Derby who founded the Stanley House establishment in the late 1800's. Subsequently the stud was run in conjunction with the Knowsley Stud at the Derbys' Merseyside home, outside Liverpool. At one time the family also owned both Plantation and Side Hill Studs in Newmarket as well as Thornton Stud in Yorkshire. Eddy Derby (the 17th Earl), was the greatest ownerbreeder of his era, witness his extraordinary contribution with regard to stallions. No fewer than six 'Derby' colts became champion sire during the 20th century, with the mighty Hyperion (six times), Fairway (4 times), Phalaris (twice), Swynford, Pharos and Alycidon.

He also owned and bred seventeen winners of twenty two classics and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He raced Swynford, who was actually bred by his father, as was that great broodmare sire, Chaucer. The diminutive Hyperion, one of the most influential stallions of all time, whose life size statue surveys the High Street in front of the Jockey Club building, was one of three Derby winners sandwiched between Sansovino and Watling Street. The bronze was sculptured by John Skeaping and left to the Jockey Club by the 18th Earl - John Derby.

Ironically the best horse bred in recent times by the 18th Earl is the gelded Teleprompter, and the 1985 Arlington Million hero is buried on the stud where he was bred and reared. Group One winning sprinters, Owington and Piccolo, are two more recent Stanley House celebrities. Ouija Board takes the Stud into the 21st century with her dual Classic and Breeders' Cup victories.