THE PALMERSTOWN STUD

This wonderful era for the Palmerstown Stud was spearheaded by two exceptional people, Mrs. Anne Biddle, owner of Palmerstown House and Stud, and Tommy Shaw, Head Trainer at the Palmerstown Stud. Both of these great characters were integral to its success and both brought an aura of class and elegance to the racing scene.

Mrs. Anne Biddle was renowned for her glamorous looks and lifestyle. But behind her movie star looks was a woman who was determined to make the Palmerstown Stud one of the greatest stables in Ireland. Indeed she would often work until the early hours of the morning researching bloodlines to see which mares might be suitable for the stable. This incredible determination and leadership did pay rich dividends and from 1958-1964 The Palmerstown Stud had 110 winners. 'Milesian' was the resident stallion and sire of no less than 38 of the 74 horses that raced during this seven year period including Atlantis, Ionian, L'Homme Arme, Marco Polo, Mystery, Partholon and Scissors.

Tommy Shaw was known as the quiet man of racing. He was said to have such a gift for evading publicity that even after one of his horses from the Palmerstown Stud had won a big race nobody, not even journalists, could find the whereabouts of the quiet man from Newbridge, Co. Kildare. However his quietness fooled no one because Tommy was recognised throughout the horseracing world as a remarkable man at his job. Tommy began his racing career as a National Hunt jockey, then became head man to the legendary P.J.Prendergast before starting his profession as private trainer to Mrs Biddle. When he started in Palmerstown Stud many observers thought the job may have had too much responsibility for a man at the start of his training career. However through his own passion for the sport and his in depth knowledge of horse racing he succeeded in making Palmerstown one of the most respected stables in Ireland.

The Palmerstown Stud also owed much of its success to some of the country's best jockeys who proudly wore the Navy and White racing colours of this stable throughout its great history. Probably the best known jockey was Kildare born Liam Ward who rode the majority of their famous winners and these races included the Irish 1000 Guineas, the Ladbroke Gold Cup, the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (twice), the National Stakes (twice), the Ulster Harp Derby (twice) and the Beresford Stakes. Other notable jockeys to ride winners in the Navy and White colours were, Phil Canty, T.P.Burns, Paddy Powell, Joe Mercer, Joe Sime, G.W.(Willie) Robinson and Pat Taaffe.

During its heyday horses from the Palmerstown Stud won some of the most prestigious races in Ireland and Britain. These winners included Bois Belleau and Atlantis in the Ulster Harp Derby in 1959 and 1962 at Down Royal, Zenobia in the Irish 1,000 Guineas in 1960 at the Curragh, full brothers Mystery and Partholon in the National Stakes in 1961 and 1962 at the Curragh, Satan in the Diadem Stakes in 1961 at Ascot, Ionian in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Ascot and March Wind in The Variety Club of Great Britain Stakes at York in 1962.

However these previous years were only a prelude to 1963 which was to become the year in which the Palmerstown Stud was at the peak of its racing powers. As this year unfolded the stable had a string of magnificent results that included L'Homme Arme winning the Ladbroke Gold Cup at Epsom, Mystery winning the Bass/Worthington Bowl at Thirsk, Partholon winning the £10,336 Ebor Handicap at York, Marco Polo winning the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Ascot and Scissors winning the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh.

As well as many great triumphs during this year, Palmerstown Stud also had its fair share of misfortune. As well as Ionian being beaten by a short head in the English 2,000 Guineas and Mystery beaten by a head in the Royal Hunt Cup, the most famous of these was the disqualification of Scissors who had triumphed in one of the most prestigious and lucrative races of its day, the Timeform Gold Cup (£23,377). However, the Doncaster Stewards deemed that Scissors had crossed the path of another horse. The decision was appealed and even though the third placed jockey Lester Piggott confirmed that Scissors had run in a straight line, the decision of the Doncaster Stewards was upheld to the disappointment of the jockey Liam Ward and everyone else at the Palmerstown Stud.

The competitive horse racing era at Palmerstown House came to an end in 1965 when Mrs Biddle made the shock decision to concentrate on her large scale horse breeding interests. Despite the stables short time at the peak of the Irish racing it will always be remembered as one of the finest stables in Ireland.

Indeed today there are still remnants of this great horse racing legacy with fine stable buildings and horses still grazing the lush pastures of this magnificent estate.