WHILE many opt for a quieter pace of life upon retirement, Sir Eric Parker is not among them.

Having spent many years as chief executive of the property and investment conglomerate Trafalgar House, Parker is well known both as a successful owner under both codes with horses such as the 1991 Grand National victor Seagram, Whitbread Gold Cup winner Topsham Bay, and the dual Group 1-winning miler Indian Lodge, and for his role in racing politics.

A member of the Racehorse Owners Association for 13 years and president from 1998 to 2001, he remains active on the ROA executive committee, was until recently a board member of both the Tote and the National Stud, and having been involved with the Levy Board and BHB in the past. As if this were not enough, 76-year-old Parker is also owner of the thriving Crimbourne Stud near Wisborough Green, WestSussex.

Parker, who had surgery for cancer of the colon in January and is currently undergoing chemotherapy, bought Crimbourne upon his retirement. "I was retiring as chief executive of Trafalgar House at the age of 60 and I felt I'd like to do something else as well as a few non-executive things, so we set up Crimbourne Stud," he now recalls.

Crimbourne Stud was founded by the Jockey Club member Major John Baillie in the 1950s, and found notoriety as the nursery that produced the top sprinter So Blessed. Winner of the Nunthorpe and July Cup in 1968, So Blessed traced to the 1924 Coronation Cup winner Verdict, who was barred from the General Stud Book. Baille campaigned for years for the family to be admitted, finally succeeding in 1969. 

The picturesque stud, including Parker's lavish gardens, now spans 130 acres and employs a staff of seven, headed by stud groom Paul Naughton, who has been at Crimbourne for around 18  months. Parker explains: "We bought the stud in 1989 in a completely derelict state from Baillie's nephew who inherited the place, and set about bringing things up to date. We built the stable block and redid the house and so on, and then bought our first mares in 1991."

Prior to his purchase of Crimbourne, Parker was not involved in bloodstock, and as he set about developing the stud he was advised by the late Joss Collins. The link between Collins' Blandford Bloodstock and Crimbourne is now maintained by Tom Goff.

Crimbourne has operated as a commercial  venture from the outset with the aim being to breed at the highest level. "We tried to build up a quality band of broodmares, and we aim for Part 1 of Tattersalls October with our yearlings," Parker says. "Our policy is generally to sell yearlings, but it has become less easy, so we might sell two or three as foals and one or two might go to the breeze ups."

The stud, which preps its own sales drafts, has enjoyed great success at the sales over the years, including recent seasons when a yearling colt out of the Indian Ridge mare Coyote by High Chaparral sold for 180,000gns at Tattersalls, and a Galileo filly foal from the same mare made 120,000gns now named OH GOODNESS ME a group winner for Mr J Bolger, more than repaying the 150,000gns Parker had paid for Coyote in 2003. In foal to Montjeu at the time, her subsequent colt was named Eradicate and is now the winner of a Listed race and Group 3 placed.

There are currently 16 broodmares at Crimbourne, the highest number in recent years, along with one boarder, and the mares include several black type performers, including Listed winners Broken Peace and Shersha, as well as close relatives to Group winners. Parker is a regular at the breeding stock sales as he seeks to upgrade his broodmare band, while aiming to keep the numbers at around their current mark.This policy of upgrading is reflected in the fact that nearly half of the mares are under ten, with the matriarch of the group, Morina, aged 21.

Breeding from younger mares is not, Parker says, "a deliberate policy but it just seems to happen, although I do think it is quite important to keep the band of mares reasonably young. I know it's easy to say because it's hard to find, but you have to go for quality in this market. "

The stallions visited by the Crimbourne mares this season reflects Parker's desire to produce quality, with established names such as Galileo, Green Desert, Red Ransom, and Danehill Dancer on the list along with top younger sires such as Dansili, Invincible Spirit, and Medicean. With foaling already over for the season the stud has welcomed foals by sires including Galileo, Pivotal, Oasis Dream,Teofilio, Dylan Thomas, Manduro and Dubawi.

Selecting the right stallions for his mares is a part of stud ownership Parker particularly enjoys. Naughton, Parker's son Charlie, and Tom Goff are all involved but it is Crimbourne's owner who has the final word. Although he owns small shares in several stallions, Parker is not keen to invest more in that aspect of the business because "I like to be able to choose from a blank piece of paper and not be committed to one stallion."

The stud lost two of its older mares in recent years with the deaths of both Hasta and Hatton Gardens, dam of six winners including the high-class Lime Gardens.

"I quite like to try and keep a connection with the families that we have, especially when they've done well for you. It's like getting married- you've got to live with the mares for five years before you know if they're any good or not. You can't make premature decisions, you have to give them as much chance as you can. We do take a commercial view though and keep an eye on building up the band of mares as best we can. We try to breed only from winners and obviously black type is very important."

The oldest resident at Crimbourne at present, Morina, a daughter of Lyphard out of the Grade 1 winner Arewehavingfunyet, has given Parker his biggest successes as a breeder. The 21-year-old is dam of the 1995 Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner Mons, sold for 31,000gn as a yearling, who went on to be fourth in the St Leger and a Listed winner and Group 1-placed again at four. Both Mons and Morina's 1997 foal Inforapenny, who finished third in the Irish Oaks, are by Deploy, and the mare this year  has a yearling colt full sibling, after producing a filly by Daylami in 2006 called FUNDAY and in foal to DALAKHANI 2009.

 Parker has four horses in training at present, including the dual all-weather winner Rocker, who is the first foal out of Jessica's Dream, half-sister to last season's ill-fated Lockinge runner-up Majors Cast.

 "She's a black type sprinter and that's a family we're very keen on," Parker says of the dual Group 3 winner, who foaled a colt by Teofilio last month, having produced a Galileo colt from her 2006 mating. Plans call for a return to Kildangan this year to visit Tefilio again. 

 The rising cost of stallion fees is one of the aspects of commercial breeding that Parker believes makes the industry tough for smaller breeders. "Stallion fees inevitable go up, and it's very difficult if you're breeding commercially to take those kinds of risks, and yet you want to keep going for quality. Some of the fees are manageable, but some are a big punt," he says.

 Although he does sometimes retain one of his yearlings, Parker's racing and breeding interests remain largely separate. As he explains: "I think keeping breeding and racing more or less separate is on the whole best- I think its a different sort of mentality. I try to resist the temptation to go into National Hunt breeding too- it's tough enough on the Flat- but sometimes I stray over the line!"

 In spite of his other commitments Parker remains keen to keep developing his breeding operations. "People have been telling me I should be looking at France and have a little offshoot of my breeding operation," he says. "I'm going to have a look at it anyway. It is not easy to make [a stud] viable, but I enjoy the planning and the excitement of the sales. I enjoy it all really."