In 1996,
Marion and Philipp Stauffenberg started to breed
under
the name Graf und Gräfin Stauffenberg and
boarded their mares and
youngstock mainly in Ireland
and the UK. But in 1999 they turned
their dream into
reality and founded their own breeding operation
at SCHLOSSGUT
ITLINGEN. Philipp grew up
with horses
and used to be a passionate show jumper until he
fell in love
with thoroughbred breeding and racing. He was
active in leading
positions at various stud farms
since 1985 and now acts as the manager
of the
breeding operation. Marion on the other hand was an
active
dressage rider and got her passion for
thoroughbreds and racing from
her father, who was the
publisher of German racing newspaper "Sport
Welt".
She started racing horses under her own name in 1989 and
bred
her first horse in 1993. Today, Marions and
Philipps horses race
under the original champagne and
bordeaux racing colours designed
by Marions
father.
Quality over
quantity
With this approach,
Philipp and Marion have developed a selected band
of
broodmares. Their offspring are sold at all the major sales in
Europe,
whilst some fillies are retained to continue
breeding with their most
successful families. The
number of broodmares ranges around ten and
are mainly homebred, some in third generation
already.
Together Marion and Philipp have raced and/or bred a
number of champions
over the years: Classic winners
Centaine and Que Belle, as well as Four
Sins and Lady
Marian. By the end of 2022, they could look back at
121 winners
which won 384 races more or less
worldwide.