One of the foundation mares, Suncourt (GB), produced Surama in 1970, who was mated to Literat to produce SURUMU, a Champion Racehorse who became the world’s most influential stallion from the Dark Ronald male line. Six times Champion Sire, Surumu has also been twice Champion Broodmare Sire and his name figures in most of the pedigrees of the Champions bred at Fährhof.

This includes the homebred Champion son ACATENANGO, whose 16 wins in Germany and France include 7 Grade 1 events and whose progeny include the Japan Cup winner Lando. Surumu is also the dam sire of 2002 German Champion Sire LOMITAS, sire of the magnificent SILVANO.

Upon Walther Jacobs’s passing, Andreas took over the mantle of Chairmanship of the family owned Fährhof, whilst father Klaus acquired Newsells Park Stud in England and set up one of the world’s most progressive commercial breeding operations just outside Newmarket. Klaus built Newsells Park Stud into a successful breeding and racing operation.

Klaus Jacobs died in in September 2008, after a long battle with cancer. He loved Newsells Park Stud and spent as much time as he could at the farm, one of Europe’s most successful commercial breeding operations. He was an avid student of pedigrees and took an active interest in matings and the development of young horses. His policy was to invest in the best, with most of his broodmares boasting successful racing careers.

Andreas Jacobs was Chairman of Newsells Park Stud and it’s successes in the sales ring are an indication of a healthy commercial future for the stud farm. Ownership of Newsells Park Stud, home to stallions Nathaniel and Without Parole and the source of multiple Group 1 winners including Japan and Waldgeist, was taken over by Graham Smith-Bernal after the tech entrepreneur and businessman purchased the farm from Jacobs Holding AG in the summer of 2021 for an undisclosed sum.

In Andreas‘s own words

“When my wife Natalie and I first visited Maine Chance Farms in early 2002, we could hardly anticipate that we would have the opportunity to acquire one of the most beautiful stud farms in the world.

A love of horses and of racing and breeding has been in my family for three generations and have applied our experience and respect for tradition in the operation of Maine Chance, which unlike our owner/breeder status in Germany, is run on a commercial basis.

We took over 80 broodmares from Mr Beck, but no stallions and hence the importation of our first stallion, the Fährhof bred SILVANO (Ger), Horse of the Year 2001, who stood his first season at stud in Germany in 2002 at a fee of 7,500 Euro. He was subsequently shuttled to SA and later syndicated locally due to the fact that an outbreak of African Horse Sickness precluded him from being sent back to Germany.

He was an unbeaten 2 year old who progressed into an international superstar, renowned as much for his toughness and constitution as his indomitable will and extraordinary ability to accelerate in an instant. His best trip was the international distance of 2000 metres at which he excelled in winning three Grade 1 events in three different countries. I will always respect him as the consummate traveller with perfect temperament. He is surely the ideal horse to bridge our respective countries and to breed progeny that should have commercial appeal in all the five continents he has participated.”