History
Rathbarry Stud has been built on the principle of providing a personal service and a high level of expertise at a reasonable cost. It aims to serve breeders from all over the world. Never do the Cashman family shy away from this principle and it has undoubtedly helped their farm become a world leader.
Rathbarry Stud came into existence in the mid 1930s when Paul Cashman purchased the 159 acre holding at Towermore Lower on the Castlelyons – Conna boundary, in 1935. The arrival of stock on the farm included a thoroughbred stallion named ROYAL POM. At that time the onus was on the stallion master to take his stallion to various centres one day a week to accommodate the mares.
Since that time obviously the onus has changed thanks to the huge progress of transportation and now any mare visiting the stallions, come to the stud farm rather than vice versa. Rathbarry hence expanded to accommodate such mares and is now firmly established as the largest family-owned stud in Europe.
In the late 1970s, Liam Cashman decided to invest in a stallion to breed potential champions on the flat. This horse was KAMPALA (The Leading First Season Sire in 1984) who stood for four seasons at Rathbarry before being sold to Australia. Among his most successful progeny was Tony Bin, winner of the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe and he became a very successful stallion in Japan. The year after KAMPALA’s purchase, Colonel Dick Warden, who was then racing manager to a then unknown Arab named Sheikh Mohammed approached Rathbarry with the offer to sell 75% of a 4 year old horse named TAUFAN, who had been a very good two year old but had injured himself as a three year old and would not race again. The offer was accepted and TAUFAN (The Leading First Season Sire in 1985) became one of Rathbarry’s brightest stars all through the 1980s and 1990s. TAUFAN’s son, the Group 1 Winning TAGULA (The Leading First Season Sire in 2000), also stood at Rathbarry right up to his retirement. Who was to know at the time that Sheikh Mohammed was to become the most powerful man in the bloodstock world and he stood his first ever stallion at Rathbarry. It is fitting that BARATHEA (The Leading First Season Sire of Stakes Winners in 1998), the most successful sire, to date, to stand at Rathbarry and one of SADLER’S WELLS most successful sons at stud, carried Sheikh Mohammed’s world famous colours with such distinction when winning the Gr.1 Breeders Cup Mile and the Gr.1 Irish 2000 Guineas.
Liam Cashman is widely regarded as being one of the most brilliant stallion masters of all time. Investing in three and four year old racehorses and hoping that they will be successful stallions is a high risk business but Liam’s uncanny eye and feel for a horse has ensured some very shrewd judgements in purchasing young stallions. His reputation of standing leading sires can be seen in his record to date with KAMPALA (1984) TAUFAN (1985), ALZAO (1988), BARATHEA (1998) TAGULA (2000), NAMID (2004) and ACCLAMATION (2007) all being crowned Champion First Season Sires in their respective years.
The Flat Stallions, ALZAO (The Leading First Season Sire in 1988), KAMPALA (The Leading First Season Sire in 1984) , TAUFAN (The Leading First Season Sire in 1985), MUKADDAMAH, CHARNWOOD FOREST, SHINKO FOREST, NAMID (The Leading First Season Sire in 2004), TAGULA (The Leading First Season Sire in 2000), ACCLAMATION (The Leading First Season Sire in 2007) and BARATHEA (The Leading First Season Sire of Stakes Winners in 1998) – whom Liam historically purchased before he was crowned World Champion Miler by winning the Gr.1 Breeders Cup Mile in 1994 – are a few of Rathbarry’s successes to date.
Some of the successful NH Stallions that Liam has been responsible for include the former stalwarts STRONG GALE, PHARDANTE, POLLERTON, PERSPEX, HUSYAN, KING’S RIDE, GOOD THYNE, ANSHAN, ROBIN DES CHAMPS, PRESENTING. In 1991, due to the success and popularity of our National Hunt stallions, it was necessary for Liam to open a separate stud which he called Glenview Stud to cope with the further influx of mares. Liam’s reputation obviously carried a lot of weight and hence breeders treated his judgement with respect and supported his stallions with a great deal of hope that their progeny would firstly be popular in the sale ring and secondly be successful on the racetrack. More often than not the stallions did come up with the goods in both divisions and so another Rathbarry star was born.
The sudden passing of Liam to his eternal reward in March 2010 left a terrible and huge loss to the bloodstock and racing world in not only Ireland but throughout the World, but it is hardest felt by the Cashman family, his wife Catherine, son Paul and daughter Niamh, his extended family and many friends and staff. But Rathbarry stud will continue to strive, under the owner management of the Cashman family of Catherine, Paul and Niamh, with the help of their very accomplished and loyal staff, to ensure that Rathbarry Stud will continue the same ethos and ensure that Liam Cashman’s legacy will live on through Rathbarry Stud. Everyone at Rathbarry are very proud of the performance and success of our stallions to date, however this success would not have been possible without the support of our loyal patrons, and we would like to thank all our loyal clients for that support. We look forward to welcoming clients old and new, to Rathbarry and Glenview for the years ahead to try and continue that success.
