Archive for month: March, 2017

The arrival of star speed sires Zoustar and Rich Enuff back at Woodside Park has put a further spring in the step in the staff at the Tylden stud.

With the continued phenomenal success and demand for champion sire Written Tycoon, the coming breeding season is going to be the busiest season yet at Woodside.

Dual Group 1 winning stallion Zoustar is back at his Victorian base following his shuttle season to Widden.

Additionally Woodside is welcoming Written Tycoon’s highest ever rated son, Rich Enuff,  to his Victorian home for the first time.

Matt Tillett, head of Bloodstock and Sales at Woodside Park, couldn’t speak highly enough of the popular stallion Zoustar.

In his third season at stud, Zoustar covered 180 mares at Widden last season, bringing his three season aggregate to more than 500 mares.

“Trainers and other buyers have certainly backed him by paying big dollars at the yearling sales this year,” Matt said.

“More than 60 yearlings have gone through the sales ring, with an average of just over $200,000, more than five times his first season service fee.

“Off the back of these sales results every leading breeder I have spoken to wants to reserve a couple of nominations.

“With first season sires it can be tough without success yet on the track, but they are all happy to back up with Zoustar as they are just such amazing types, and great movers.

“Everyone is saying he couldn’t possibly fail!”

Zoustar is the best son of Champion Sire Northern Meteor having performed at the highest level at two and then backing that up with wins as a three-year-old in the Group 1 ATC Golden Rose and Group 1 VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes.

Zoustar

Rich Enuff is Written Tycoon’s highest rated, best-looking son. Returning from his first season at Glenlogan Park Stud, he had great support from key Queensland breeders with a very nice book of fast, city-winning mares.

“Written Tycoon went to another level after standing for only a single year in Queensland. That year of coverings produced champions Capitalist, Winning Rupert and Luna Rossa among others. Rich Enuff had the opportunity to cover a similar group of mares while in Queensland,” Matt said.

“Victorian breeders can now breed off the back off this crop so, when they are selling their yearlings, the first crop from Queensland will be up and running in the plethora of the Sunshine State’s lucrative juvenile races.

“Every time we see Rich Enuff we just say, ‘wow’, he is just an amazing looking horse, the best looking horse you will see. He will steal the show whenever he gets the chance to parade.”

Rich Enuff burst onto the scene as a three-year-old winning the Group 2 Danehill Stakes down the famous straight six at Flemington. He still the holds the record time for a three year old colt at the track over the 1200 metre distance.

That performance of the Ken Keys trained colt was followed by a win in the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude over 1400 metres and then a gallant runners-up effort in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.

Zoustar will stand at the same fee as last season, $44,000 (inc gst) while Rich Enuff will also stand at the same fee as last season, $13,750 (inc gst) ). Written Tycoon’s fee is yet to be announced.

For any bloodstock enquiries or nominations Matt Tillett can be contacted on 0423074249.

Thunder Snow, the outstanding son of Darley sire Helmet added more prestige to his impressive CV on the weekend by winning the US$2 million Group 2 UAE Derby over 1900 metres. This follows his Group 1 win in France last year as a two-year-old.

Thunder Snow won the UAE Derby with a late rally to overwhelm classy Japanese colt Epicharis.

The win, which was on the dirt track at Meydan, has brought about strong speculation the colt could be targeted at the Kentucky Derby in May. In international betting markets, he is among the four or five most fancied chances for the prestigious race at Churchill Downs.

No doubt, a decision on the colt’s northern hemisphere targets will be made by his owner His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, trainer Saeed Bin Suroor and the Godolphin team over coming weeks.

Interestingly, a win in the Kentucky Derby would be the first for a horse by an Australian bred sire in 64 years. The 1953 Derby was won by Dark Star, a son of the Australian bred stallion Royal Gem.

Coincidentally, Royal Gem, like Darley’s Northwood Park based Helmet, also won the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.

Darley’s Victorian General Manager Andy Makiv said the win is exciting for the stallion as it shows the quality he is able to produce.

“Helmet has proven very quickly through the deeds of Thunder Snow, who is from his first northern hemisphere crop, that he is capable of siring an elite horse.,” said Makiv.

“Here in Australia, Helmet has sired the likes of Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes winner Archives and Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview winner Limestone as well as Group performed colt Malaise, so he is showing all the signs that he has a long and successful career ahead of him as a stallion.”

The Godolphin homebred Thunder Snow won on his racecourse debut last year and has raced solely in Group company ever since. He finished second in both the Group 2 Vintage and Group 2 Champagne Stakes before romping to a five-length victory in the Group 1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud last October.

The colt is one of four stakes-winning foals of Eastern Joy, a mare by Darley Stud’s Group 1 Royal Ascot winner Dubai Destination.

Woodside Park Stud is home to champion stallion Written Tycoon, as well as dual Group One winner Zoustar and they are looking forward to showing off their homebred progeny at this year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

Matt Tillett, Woodside Park Stud’s Bloodstock and Sales Manager, is proud of the select group of yearlings they are presenting as part of their debut draft at the prestigious Easter sale.

“The five yearlings we have selected are a true representation of the attributes our stallions produce, and we have a filly and a colt from both Written Tycoon and Zoustar in our draft to demonstrate this,” he said.

“Over recent years, we have purchased several high quality European mares brought overseas to send to our colonial bred sprinting sires.

“I think these crosses over our commercial stallions will provide an interesting mix that will appeal to the international buying group you find at the Inglis Easter sale.”

Lot 186 – Written Tycoon chestnut filly from the imported Zamindar mare, Invested Capital (GB)

“This filly is from a mare we purchased at Tattersalls sale in the UK. This is a yearling that just keeps improving and Woodside has no doubt she will attract a very good home. Her dam is a three quarter sister to Gainful, a half sister to Index Linked and Fully Funded, from the running family of Multiplex and Memorise.”

Lot 222 – Written Tycoon bay colt from the Stratum mare Manzanilla.

“A proven cross with a stakes winning two-year-old, Manzanilla is half sister to Viking Hero and a winner at Caulfield in the MRC Joe Brown Handicap. Her fourth foal, this is a quality city winning family.”

Lot 324 – Zoustar chestnut colt from the Storm Cat mare Ryzhkina.

“Her third foal, her dam is the Group 3 winning mare Lucky, a sister to King of Kings, Amethyst and half sister to General Monash.”

Lot 352 – Zoustar bay filly by from the Kingdom Bay mare Simply the Best (NZ)

“An up and running family, Simply the Best is stakes placed. Half sister to Shaquille and dam of Best Yet To Come, a Listed winner in the BRC Princess Stakes, and Simply Put a four-time winner with a second in the Group 3 MRC Mannerism Stakes.

The first lot to go under the hammer at Inglis’ Newmarket complex for Woodside is lot 18, a bay colt by Lope De Vega from the Rock of Gibraltar mare Zarzuela (Ire) who is a half sister to Glass Harmonium.

What Tyabb’s Eldon Park lacks in size and profile is made up for in quality.

And that quality will be reflected at next week’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale with a farm bred Written Tycoon colt set to raise eyebrows at the historic Newmarket sales complex.

Offered through the Milburn Creek draft, Lot 338 is a stunning chestnut colt by the champion sire Written Tycoon from the Elusive Quality (USA) mare Shabtis.

This is just the second foal of Shabtis, with her first foal, the filly Take Pride (Reward for Effort) winning the Group 3 MVRC Champagne Stakes.

Take Pride returns to winners stall at Moonee Valley

The dam herself was a handy horse winning over 1000 metres and comes from a sparkling family. Shabtis is a half sister  to five-time Group 1 winner Mummify and the black-type performer Medusa’s Miss. She is also a sister to Byzantine, the dam of group 3 winner Ottoman and stakes placed Nemrud.

Eldon Park’s Donald Byrne sold the outstanding colt from the paddock a few months ago.

“He was just a beautiful, athletic type, well grown, a lovely looking horse. He has had a healthy, injury free upbringing.

“Unfortunately, being older, I sell when I can now, but he is sure to make a good price, the Written Tycoon’s can do no wrong.

“I have his full sister weanling in the paddock, and will look at selling her at the Inglis Great Southern Sale. Shabtis is back in foal to Chatswood’s Reward For Effort.”

The colt has shared Eldon Park’s quality pasture with Byrne’s small select group of mares.

Eldon Park also provides agistment to Christoph Bruechert’s Bombora Downs operation and Robert Crabtree’s Dorrington Farm.

She Will Reign’s victory in the Golden Slipper could not have been more perfect for Blue Gum Farm and is a massive fillip for the broader Victorian breeding industry.

The Euroa operation announced in February that the now Slipper winner’s sire, Manhattan Rain, will relocate south to stand on the Blue Gum roster starting in 2017.

It means the sires of the past two Golden Slippers, Manhattan Rain and Written Tycoon (with Capitalist), are now both based in Victoria.

Renowned racing scribe and breeding student Danny Power tweeted on the weekend that this hadn’t occurred since the days of Showdown and Century in the 1970s.

Blue Gum Farm’s Phillip Campbell said the impressive Manhattan Rain has been at the farm now for a month and has settled in beautifully.

“His bookings were already very strong before the result on Saturday, but they are exaggerated further now after She Will Reign’s success,” Campbell said.

“With already four crops of racing age, two Group 1 winners and only being eleven years old, he has a very big future ahead of him.

“I remember as soon as Rubiton left New South Wales his stock just continued to rise and we are confident that Manhattan Rain is headed in the same direction.”

Manhattan Rain is a Group 1 winning half-brother to three-time Champion Sire Redoute’s Choice.

His champion sire, Encosta De Lago made, made his name at Blue Gum before moving to Coolmore Stud in the Hunter Valley.

“I remember the day I was told he (Encosta De Lago) was leaving vividly. It was a very sad day, but it is funny how things work out and having Manhattan Rain at the farm goes a long way to making up for it.”

Manhattan Rain has already sired the winners of more than $10 million in prizemoney and that figure is growing rapidly. Among his sire successes have been numerous Group and/or Stakes winners.

As well as the Golden Slipper winner, he has sired the Group 2 winning two year old Scarlet Rain and Group 2 winning mare Wild Rain.

And, in January, Whisky Baron became his sire’s first Group 1 winner when taking out South Africa’s most prestigious race, the Kenilworth Sun Met.

“We always rated him highly then and we rate him even more highly now. I believe that he is a fantastic fit for the Victorian breeding industry now as there is simply no guess work involved,” Campbell said.

“He is already a proven and consistent source of quality group performers and his yearlings continue to be in high demand with a top price of $360,000 already attained at the Gold Coast Magic Millions Sale in January.”

“Manahattan Rains is certainly a very handy addition to Victoria’s stallion ranks and, after consultation with the owners, we’ll be announcing his fee for 2017 over the next few days.”

Dual Group 1 winning stallion and future Victorian stallion added the Group 2 Blamey Stakes to his resume with an outstanding win at over the mile Flemingotn on Saturday.

The gorgeous son of Teofilo annihilated his opposition winning by over three lengths with Mark Zahra in the saddle.

“He is one of my favourites for sure, I have ridden two Group 1s on him and a Group 2 now,” said Zahra.

“He was explosive and raced like he could have beaten anything today.”

The mile at Flemington has been a happy hunting ground for the imposing chestnut – having won the Group 1 Australian Guineas at three-years-old last year and the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at four over the same track and distance in the Spring.

Reigning Champion Victorian trainer Darren Weir is convinced his million-dollar-plus earner has what it takes to make it as a sire.

“He was brilliant today and he is going to make it as a very good stallion,” said Weir.

David Grant, Operations Manager at Sun Stud certainly agrees with Weir.

‘Being a Flemington track specialist over a mile, it was his perfect distance and he won very well.

“A lot of good breeders and judges rate the mile as the best distance for a future stallion as it gives more flexibility to the mares they send.

“If their mare has speed then Palentino can give her distance to stretch over 1200 metres or 1400 metres and if the mare can stay, he will inject some speed into her.

“He will be the only stallion to win both the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (formerly the Craiglee Stakes) and the Group 1 Australian Guineas since the immortal champion sire Zabeel.

“He is free of Danehill, being by Teofilo out Palantine Hill, a Palace Music mare, so there are many different mating and pedigree options that will suit breeders, and give Danehill mares an outcross.”

“A flashy, impressive type he topped his sale as a yearling so those looks will certainly appeal to breeders. He has also been very sound all the way through, an underrated quality I believe and he has trained on very well. Every preparation he has won a group race.”  Grant said.

Palentino now has a few options to consider with either a trip to Sydney for the prestigious Doncaster Mile before heading to stud or racing on for another year.

Sun Stud’s Managing Director, Danielle Cheng, said an international target was also not ruled out.

“There are a lot of reasons to send Palentino to stud this year but equally, some compelling reasons to keep him racing,” Cheng said.

“There’s even a chance he might race overseas … Sun Stud is a global operation and Palentino could be a real hit in Europe. He really is a striking individual and his sire, Teofilo, has an excellent record in the northern hemisphere.”

The Blamey Stakes victory will no doubt elevate Palentino back to the top of the four-year-old Timeform Ratings in Australia. Among all aged horses, he may be only bettered by superstars Winx and Hartnell.

It was double rewards came for Victoria’s Rosemont Stud at the Hong Kong Derby race meeting on Sunday.

It kicked off with the win of farm bred three year old Strathclyde in race four. Not only was he was bred by Rosemont, the gelding is by resident sire Toorak Toff.

Strathclyde as a foal

And then Rapper Dragon won the Hong Kong Derby which was a residual bonanza for the Geelong region stud. Anthony Mithen and the team at Gnarwarre purchased, in 2015, two mares very closely related to the Derby winner.

These two are Amanpour (Northern Meteor), a Group 1 winning half sister to the dam of Rapper Dragon; and Swing Sensation (Northern Meteor), a half sister to the Derby winner. It certainly adds to the attraction of future Rosemont sales drafts

Strathclyde was a timely winner for Rosemont having been a graduate of their Inglis Easter draft of 2015. This year’s Rosemont Easter draft of nine yearlings is in the final stages of sale preparation before making the journey north.

Sunday’s winner is also the highest priced yearling by Toorak Toff having been bought by his Hong Kong trainer Tony Millard for $300,000.

Mithen said the Strathclyde was extremely well received at the 2015 sale being a sibling to the Rosemont bred Group 1 winner Alboran Sea (Rock of Gibraltar).

“I remember being quite emotional after he was sold at such a good price. This was after all a yearling out of our own mare and by our own stallion.

“Tony Millard was quite enamoured with the yearling before the sale, but really didn’t know much about the sire who was presenting just his first crop of yearlings that sales season.

Strathclyde as a yearling

“But Tony has been a regular inspector of Rosemont’s drafts ever since!

“Tony was over for the Premier Sale a few weeks ago and indicated he was confused with Strathclyde.

“He was showing enormous ability and trialing extremely well but just couldn’t put it all together raceday.

“He certainly made up for it yesterday!”

Rosemont bought the American bred dam Lady’s Light (Toolighttoquit) for just $20,000 in 2011.

“She has been a ripper for me helping to grow the profile of our broodmare band and her progeny grossing $1 million in yearling sales.”

On the subject of the upcoming Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, Mithen is brimming with excitement and expectation.

“It is the nicest bunch of horses I have taken to any sale,” he said.

Strathclyde in Inglis Easter Yearling sale ring

“It has all the hallmarks of a high end, boutique draft of high quality horses with a broad range of sires and pedigrees.

“I think our wow factor yearling is our Redoute’s Choice colt out Catshaan. He is actually the only yearling in the sale with two Australian Group 1 winning siblings (Abbey Marie and Absolutely).