Norris Bloodstock

Liam and Jenny Norris possess the intuitive horsemanship which can only be gained through a lifetime spent with thoroughbreds.  Liam grew up at Polhampton Stud, where his father Sean was stud groom for Her Majesty the Queen for 38 years, and he spent his formative years helping his dad with the yearlings before running for the school bus. An equine management course at Witney College was followed by a stint in Kentucky  at Lane’s End Farm before returning to the UK to manage Highclere Stud for Lord Carnarvon for 12 years.

 

It was here he met Jenny, who had worked on stud farms in Australia and at the Irish National Stud before going on to manage David Hardisty's Oaklands Farm. The couple later spent three years developing Clairemont Stud in Hampshire for Martin and Lee Taylor. From there, they enhanced their reputation as first-class sales consignors, their pinhooking graduates including the dual Group 1-winning juvenile Shalaa.

 

Liam and Jenny are now consigning under their own Norris Bloodstock banner from the well-appointed Redenham Park Stud near Andover. The couple focus on quality over quantity, a stance which has seen their drafts, both from Clairemont and under their own name, consistently highly regarded.

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Since 2014 at Tattersalls October Book 1, their drafts have routinely returned six-figure averages. Shalaa is far from the only eye-catching pinhook, with others including an Oasis Dream colt ex Caphene bought for 160,000gns as a foal and sold to Roger Varian for 750,000gns as a yearling, and Dutch Quality, a 140,000gns foal later sold for 280,000gns  to Tony Nerses. At Book 1 in 2016, having been sent a select bunch of yearlings from Philippa Cooper's Normandie Stud, Norris Bloodstock was the leading consignor, with four sold for an average of 875,000gns, including the joint-most expensive yearling sold in Europe that year, a colt by Dubawi ex Fallen For You, bought by Godolphin for 2.6 million gns and now named Glorious Journey.

 

As well as being a successful foal pinhooker, Liam also regularly buys in all sectors of the market. His most notable yearling purchase is the dual Classic winner Dancing Rain, who was bought at Goffs for €200,000. After winning the English and German Oaks and the inaugural QIPCO British Champion Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes, she retired with more than £500,000 in earnings to be covered by Frankel. Dancing Rain then became one of the stars of the 2013 breeding stock sales when sold by Liam and Jenny under Clairemont Stud for 4 million guineas at Tattersalls.

 

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