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Oliver St Lawrence is the first agent to have bought a £20,000 bonus winner
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Oliver St Lawrence is a much respected industry member in his various roles, including managing Aislabie Stud and being a very successful bloodstock agent. He even finds time to be Chairman of the Federation of Bloodstock Agents.
"I believe Shaikh Nasser was thrilled to learn of the £20,000 Bonus and is keen that we look for more races that qualify for the GBB with Concessions. Any owner, old or new, is going to be excited to win such a bonus, which can virtually pay the years training fees in one go. The fact that further bonuses could be won by the filly is obviously very appealing and exciting."
In his role of bloodstock agent, Oliver enabled his client Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa to earn an extra £20,000 bonus when his filly CONCESSIONS won her first start at Chelmsford. He bought the British-foaled and British-sired daughter of Muhaarar at Tattersalls October 2 yearling sales in 2019. And the enthusiastic young owner has already instructed his trainer Richard Hannon to look for more races for his filly to win extra £20,000 bonuses available under the GBB scheme. The ability to win multiple bonuses is quickly catching the attention of owners.
Shaikh Nasser may be a relatively new name to the industry, but he has already had two Royal Ascot winners. This son of the King of Bahrain is highly regarded as an extremely talented sportsman in many disciplines and has exactly the right profile to play a prominent role in the British racing scene.
How would an extra £20,000 prize from a Great British Bonus be viewed by a new entrant to British Racing such as Shaikh Nasser?
"I believe Shaikh Nasser was thrilled to learn of the £20,000 Bonus and is keen that we look for more races that qualify for the GBB with Concessions. Any owner, old or new, is going to be excited to win such a bonus, which can virtually pay the years training fees in one go. The fact that further bonuses could be won by the filly is obviously very appealing and exciting."
What is your overall view of the Great British Bonus scheme and its benefits for the Racing and Breeding industry?
"The Scheme is a shot in the arm for British breeders and should encourage buyers such as myself to target eligible fillies at the sales, which in turn should help make British-born filly foals more commercial. Hopefully more mare owners can therefore turn a profit, meaning there is a knock-on effect of British stallions gaining further patronage."
Will you be changing any practices to take better advantage of the scheme?
"As an agent, the scheme will definitely encourage me to target buying more eligible fillies at the sales with the added selling tool of the Great British Bonus to promote to owners. As a stud manager myself and as an advisor to a number of breeders, we will definitely have to really consider which country our mares foal down in and look more closely at using British based stallions."