moyglare stud – Building
Success from Tradition.

moyglare stud – Racing Strategy

Since moyglare stud‘s focus is on its own broodmares, this also characterises the strategy of its racing stable. The fillies generally go into training as yearlings and are later entered into races. Most of the young colts are sold, and only a few remain in the racing stable. Well-known historical examples include the colts Refuse to Bend, the winner of the English 2000 Guineas, and Free Eagle, who won the Prince of Wales‘s Stakes in the moyglare colours. A well-known current example is the stallion Kyprios, eight-time winner of Group 1 races and one of the best stayers of all time. Kyprios is presented in detail below.

Kyprios, one of the most successful stayers of all time, shown here winning the Royal Ascot Gold Cup

moyglare stud – Racing Successes

moyglare has an endless palmares in horse racing. 74 different horses owned by the stud have won one or more races at group level. 24 horses have won once or several times at Group 1 level, 22 other horses have won at least once at Group 2 level and 28 horses have shown their best performance with a win at Group 3 level.

Homeless Songs, winning the Irish 1000 Guineas on the Curragh as a three-year-old filly

The list of successes is very international. In Group 1 events alone, moyglare horses have won in twelve countries: Ireland, the, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, the USA, Canada, Peru, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and
New Zealand.

The successes of home-bred horses began in the seventies when Walter Haefner bred Be My Guest, who won several group races in the USA. Be My Guest then became one of the best stallions of his time. He was the sire of Assert, who won both the Irish and French Derby in 1982, and the sire of Go and Go, who won the Triple Crown race at the Belmont Stakes in New York in 1990 and remains the only horse trained in Europe to win this race so far. Another very successful runner in North America was Relaxed Gesture, who won the Canadian International in Woodbine in 2005.

An oil on canvas painting of Assert, the moyglare-bred winner of the French and Irish Derby in 1982

A particular highlight for owner Eva Bucher-Haefner has always been the victories of mares she has bred herself and who have celebrated great victories in her colours. One example is the filly Dance Design, who won the Irish Oaks and two other Group 1 races in the moyglare colours. Search for a Song, the full sister of the later stable star Kyprios, won the Irish St. Leger twice in 2019 and 2020, even beating the best colts over the long distance. The filly Homeless Songs won the Irish 1000 Guineas in 2022, a filly who can surely be described as the most popular Irish 1000 Guineas winner ever. She was imitating Moyglare’s filly Trusted Partner, who had won the same race 26 years earlier.

Volumes could be filled with the description of the impressive series of winners bred by moyglare. Designs on Rome won everything there is to win in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Gold Cup twice. Then there is Media Puzzle, who won the famous Melbourne Cup, which brings Australia to a standstill every year. Refuse to Bend won the 2000 Guineas in Newmarket in 2003 and followed it up with two more Group 1 victories the next year. Free Eagle was the hero of the Prince Wales’s Stakes in 2015 in her black, red and white colours. And Casual Conquest won the Tattersalls Gold Cup in 2009.

Not forgetting Kyprios, but that is a chapter in itself.

More detailed information about breeding and broodmares
is found in the moyglare stud 2025 book.

moyglare stud – Kyprios, The Wonder Horse

Kyprios was a real winning machine. He won no fewer than 17 of his 21 starts, eight of them at Group 1 level. The career of Kyprios, the most successful racehorse moyglare has ever produced and one of the best stayers in decades, came to an end in May 2025.

Stud owner Eva Bucher-Haefner then decided to end the great racing career of her colt. The decision was made due to an old ringbone lesion, picked up after winning a Group 3 prep race in Ireland for the next Ascot Gold Cup. Mrs Bucher-Haefner did not want to take the risk of her superstar suffering a serious injury in the upcoming race, so Kyprios ended his glorious sporting career and became a stallion.

Kyprios, the most successful athlete in the history of the stud, ended his career in 2025

In 2022 and in 2024, Kyprios had won the Ascot Gold Cup twice, as well as the Goodwood Gold Cup twice. In the meantime, he had been forced to take a break due to an injury similar to the one that ended his career, but then he came back as invincible as ever.. In addition to the double triumphs at Ascot and Goodwood, the Irish St. Leger and the Prix du Cadran in Paris were among the most important victories on his calendar.

Kyprios was also the pride of the stud farm because he was purely homebred. He was the son of Polished Gem, the best broodmare moyglare has ever had in its stables.

moyglare stud – the Moyglare Stud Stakes

In 1970, moyglare owner Walter Haefner came up with a special idea. He created and sponsored his own race, the Moyglare Stud Stakes. Today it is a Group 1 Race, the highest level of contest, and is one of the most important flat races in Ireland. It takes place in early September at the Curragh race course over a distance of 7 furlongs and is reserved for two-year-old fillies. Many winners such as Minding, Tahiyra and Lake Victoria have gone on to become superstars in the horse racing world.

Moyglare Stud Stakes, founded in 1970 and one of the most
prestigious Group 1 events for two-year-old fillies

The moyglare colours have never won their own race. But they have come close. Most recently in 2022,
when the homebred filly Eternal Silence finished third.