Wilmcote

The five-year-old Jack Hobbs mare Wilmcote is an exciting addition to the Deva Racing string. She is trained by Olly Murphy and is named after the Warwickshire village in which he is based. 

One of the chief attractions of Wilmcote to Deva Racing was her pedigree, as she is a half-sister to the wonderful Deva-owned mare Space Voyage. When Space Voyage completed her hat trick of wins last season, she not only popped tens of thousands of Great British Bonus payments into the bank, but she also signposted the burgeoning breeding line of her dam Maiden Voyage.

British-bred like her sister, Wilmcote is also eligible for the lucrative GBB scheme, meaning she can win up to £20,000 in bonuses per eligible race. 

Twice a winner over hurdles for Paul Webber, Maiden Voyage is also the dam of the chase, hurdles, and point-to-point winner Crest (Kayf Tara), who made €60,000 as a three-year-old, and further winners by Malinas, Universal, and Yeats. She is a half-sister to the 2016 Grand National winner Rule The World (Sulamani) and the Gr.2-winning and Gr.1-placed novice hurdler Venalmar (Kayf Tara), amongst numerous others. This is an exceptional NH family. 

Adding to Wilmcote’s appeal is the identity of her sire, Jack Hobbs. Winner of the Gr.1 Irish Derby and runner-up in the Gr.1 Derby during his racing career, the now 12-year-old stands at Overbury Stud and welcomed his first NH runners during the 2022/23 season.

Exciting bumper winners such as Intense Approach, As Legends Have It, Audacious Annie, and Stungbythemaster have quickly showcased his potential, while his useful Flat stayer The Gadget Man sold for 310,000gns at the 2022 Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale. The aforementioned Intense Approach made £210,000 at the 2023 Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale after winning his point-to-point, and numerous others have sold for six-figures. 

Clearly capable of imparting a potent mix of speed and stamina to his offspring, Jack Hobbs looks set to become one of the most influential British NH sires in the years to come and it is exciting to have such a well-bred youngster by the sire within the Deva Racing setup. 

Olly says: ‘Wilmcote has shown us plenty of potential at home, she’s straightforward, clean-winded and seems to have a very good attitude. She’s got a fantastic pedigree and her siblings have done very well so far, so I don’t see any reason why she won’t follow in their footsteps.’