Alan Brazil was an icon on the pitch for Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Scotland. Now he’s a legend behind the microphone on talkSPORT’s breakfast show, where he gets an audience of 1.4 million. Such is Alan’s penchant for arriving at the studio at 5.58 a.m. during the news bulletin before his show, his producers re-wrote the ‘Living Next Door to Alice’ lyrics: ‘Alan, Alan, where the fuck is Alan?’

But most importantly, he is a huge racing fan. So we agreed to meet at Newsells Park Stud, which is owned by a mate of his, Graham Smith-Bernal. I was, however, pretty certain that I wouldn’t need my drinking boots on, as Alan died for 40 seconds the other day when he was having a liver transplant at Addenbrooke’s hospital.

‘You’ve got to see this place, Charlie, it’s unbelievable,’ Alan had told me. Newsells has been the leading consignor in 13 out of the last 14 years at the Tattersalls Book One sale in Newmarket, the top yearling sale in Europe. It sits in 1,200 acres of chalk-based, undulating slopes in Hertfordshire, perfect for raising thoroughbreds and, as it transpires, growing wine.

‘Good morning,’ I said breezily as I sauntered into the magnificent open-plan offices where I was expecting to find Alan and Graham, who bought the stud and its 50-odd mares in 2021 from the estate of Klaus Jacobs for an undisclosed fortune.

I knew immediately that something was wrong. ‘You are expecting me?’ I asked. ‘Yes,’ replied a charming, smiley man who turned out to be Gary Coffey, Newsells’ racing manager. ‘Tomorrow.’

Gary was relieved by Julian Dollar, who runs the show. I could hardly have picked a worse day. The 26 yearlings heading for the Newmarket sale were being vetted and X-rayed. But Julian couldn’t have been more welcoming, in spite of the stress.

‘I’m going to kill Brazil,’ I said to Graham when he arrived to rescue Julian. Most people would have told me to bugger off, but the 68-year-old tech entrepreneur isn’t a usual man. His journey to owning the most successful commercial stud in Britain – Newsells sold 21 yearlings for a total of 13,500,000 guineas at Book One last year – is fascinating. A former court stenographer, Graham was drafted into Downing Street to be the stenographer for a major interview with Margaret Thatcher. He listened as well as typed and her message was clear: to be a great leader you mustn’t interfere too much.

By this stage, Graham was also developing software that made it possible for lawyers and judges to receive the transcript live, straight from the steno machine, and to interact with the evidence. In 1995, O.J. Simpson’s lawyer called, asking to use Graham’s software in that particular trial – which was, financially at least, game, set and match.

So why did a tech genius want to buy the most successful commercial stud in Britain? ‘Well, I got back into owning a share in a couple of fillies who were retired to Newsells as boarding mares. So I knew the set up as a customer.’

‘Key to any business acquisition is the management team,’ he continues. ‘Julian leaves no stone unturned in the pursuit of perfection and he’s as honest as the day is long. This place also had a huge brand value.’

Why did a tech genius want to buy the most successful commercial stud in Britain?

Graham didn’t win a Queen’s Award for Innovation for nothing and the development of the Newsells brand is getting his full attention, no matter what Maggie said. Four years ago, 4,500 vines were planted on a south-facing slope and the resulting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay-based sparkling wine is indistinguishable from a top Champagne. The ‘Nathaniel Eclipse’ Blanc de Blancs – named after the 2012 Coral-Eclipse winner who now stands at Newsells – is the jewel in the crown.

Graham has also expanded the brand to Newsells Park breeding and racing syndicates. For £100,000 you can buy a share in one of the annual partnerships and dip your toe into the top end of the breeding world. Their first partnership, You Got To Me, won the Irish Oaks in 2024, and was sold for 4.8 million guineas. Sometimes watching a horse you have a share in go through the sales ring is more fun than watching it run.

The first purchase for the 2027 partnership is a 600,000 guineas filly by Sea the Stars, sire of my Arc de Triomphe fancy Maltese Cross. Out of an Aga Khan family, she will be trained by William Haggas.

Whether Newsells can come out of the Book One sale in the first week of October as the leading consignor again will depend partly on the performance of three potential superstars. Lot 237 is a colt by champion sire Frankel and a full brother to Ylang Ylang. Unless he’s got three legs, he’ll surely make seven figures. Lot 318, a filly by the Japanese legend Equinox out of an Arc de Triomphe-winning German family, is guaranteed to stay a mile and a half. Or maybe the sale topper will be Lot 388, a colt by Justify, sire of City of Troy and Opera Singer, out of a champion two-year-old. Now I need to find Alan Brazil…