A Flying Start for Victorian Butler

Young Victorian Katelyn Butler has been selected for the 2017-2019 intake of the Godolphin Flying Start Scholarship, a two-year full-time international management and leadership-training program for the thoroughbred industry.

Until recently a Swettenham Stud employee, Katelyn is honoured to be the only Australian or New Zealand candidate selected. Other countries represented include the USA, UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands.

Undoubtedly the cream of the crop, only twelve candidates are chosen annually to receive the highly competitive industry scholarship, designed to provide management training to a diverse group of potential thoroughbred industry leaders.

“It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of the Flying Start program. Tailored to the fact that I have completed a business degree, and enjoy both racing and breeding, it is the perfect fit,” Butler said.

Based over two years, Katelyn is excited about the practical experience she will gain through the program at Godolphin operations and in her external work placements.

She is also looking forward to the diversity of the course, covering business management, sales and bloodstock agent roles, public relations and media with a strong emphasis on personal development, leadership and teamwork.

“I will be able to build up an international network by attending social events and race meetings as part of the program. It will be an amazing opportunity to meet thoroughbred industry leaders from all over the world,” Butler said.

Swettenham Stud’s Adam Sangster, until recently the employer of Katelyn, said he is thrilled that Katelyn has taken up the challenge that the graduate program presented to her.

“We encouraged her to apply for Godolphin Flying Start as she had the right credentials, right age, the right attitude, and we supported her to be one of the first female stallion handlers in the covering barn,” Sangster said.

“The Flying Start graduates that are out there now, are paving the way for the future of the thoroughbred industry, and Katelyn has got the potential to be a very significant part of that. She is the ideal candidate to fly the Aussie flag.

“It will give her a wonderful opportunity to travel to all the key thoroughbred countries, learning new skills under the guidance of Godolphin mentors. I would like to fully congratulate Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai and his advisors on the quality of the Flying Start syllabus.”

Katelyn’s family became involved with horses through her grandfather racing horses with Rick Hore-Lacey and Brian Mayfield-Smith.

“He had a Pago Pago Stakes winner called Yachtie who stood in New Zealand. When he passed away we bought a mare from his estate and raced her, called Admiral’s Lady for a couple of city wins – she became out first broodmare.” Butler said.

Katelyn’s parents, Frank and Karen, own the stallion Zupaone and have a quality band of about ten broodmares at their Riversdowns Farm in Seymour.

They have had success on the track in recent years racing Aeratus, Lion Of Belfort, Zupacharged, Zupasonic, Sheila’s Star, Daintree Duke, Roop All, Weekend Special, Sheza Commander and the much loved, highly promising ill-fated Zuprising.

Katelyn gained experience at Chatswood and Yarran, before joining the team at Swettenham for over two years.

“I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to work with the stallions thanks to Tim Jones. He gave me that chance; he believed that girls could do it.”

“He saw how dedicated I was to my work, I was always happy to help out, and hovering around at the late covers or early morning serves. He was a great man, missed by so many people. He gave me the confidence to believe I could do something like this.”

“Paul Fiddian, Swettenham’s Assistant Manager, was also great, helping me with the coverings last season. The stunning grey, Puissance De Lune, was my favourite stallion to work with.”

The Flying Start program starts in August in Ireland at Godolphin’s Kildangan Stud and the University College Dublin, before heading to Newmarket in England for (hopefully) a white Christmas.

Next year, they will begin the Americain leg of the program, returning to Australia, before travelling to Dubai and back to Ireland to graduate.

“I am sad to miss the stud season in Australia, but I will more than make up for it by doing the Northern Hemisphere breeding season in Kentucky,” Butler said.

Godolphin Flying Start graduates are employed all over the world in existing and emerging thoroughbred markets, and following her graduation, there is no doubt Katelyn will be a valuable contributor to the long-term success of the global industry.

TBV wishes all the best to Katelyn on her incredible opportunity and looks forward to hearing all about her travels and experiences.

For more information visit the Godolphin Flying Start program website.

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Alderson’s breeding is a recipe for success

Lynne Alderson, the principle breeder in the renowned Alderson racing family dynasty, was thrilled when her sale-topping Written Tycoon-Many Facets weanling sold on behalf of Bombora Downs for $310, 000 at the recent Inglis Great Southern Sale.

Cindy Alderson, Lynne’s daughter, is a very successful trainer in her own right and speaks proudly of the family’s past and present achievements.

“He was a lovely colt, and we certainly thought he would bring good money, but he far exceeded our expectations. The market demanded the result, and he was the right type by the right stallion. Henry Field said he reminded him of Capitalist, so let’s hope he is as good as him,” Alderson said.

Bombora Downs’ Alderson family bred Written Tycoon-Many Facets colt sold for $310,000

“We put him through the ring as a weanling, as we try to sell one or two a year if they are commercially viable, and he was the best. The timing was right.”

In the beginning, the whole family was heavily involved in Pony Club, which is where Lynne met Colin met. “That’s where it all began, so horses were always on the cards.”

Lynne has been hands-on with horses herself for most of her life, giving her a good grounding and appreciation for her breeding pursuits. Being a part owner of many of the horses trained by Colin, she became increasingly interested in breeding.

Based at Bayles near Koo Wee Rup in Victoria, Lynne has a small select band of about 18 mares, producing about ten to twelve foals a year.

“She (Lynne) has always done all her own pedigrees and stallion matings, and she tries to tick all the boxes. They are all VOBIS qualified and Victorian bred. She doesn’t overly spend on stallion service fees, and she has done extremely well from selecting the right matches.”

The Alderson family had great success with their hombred gelding Walk On Air, who was a winner of the Blamey Stakes. He was an ultra consistent racehorse, contesting Stakes races on eight occasions. The talented galloper was also a dual Group 2 placegetter in the Craiglee Stakes and Waterford Crystal, and also placed in the Group 3 Carlyon Cup.

Although a few years ago now, Lynne based his breeding on the theory that it was Octagonal in reverse. There were a few differences, as the stallion was Eire (NZ) and the dam was an unraced Zabeel mare, Ride The Wind, but the mating certainly paid off, producing a top class performer.

Lynne has also bred Toy Carousel (Toy Pindarri) who won the Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington, Brom Brom (Delago Brom) winner of the Autumn Classic at Caulfield, and additional Stakes winners Manageress (Magnus), Miss Gidget (Gonski), and My Poppette (Snippetson). The Tiger (Catbird) was Lynne’s first homebred Derby runner.

They have had recent two-year-old success with Miss Vixen (Foxwedge) winning at Sale, and in the last year O’Lonera (Danera), was crowned last season’s Super VOBIS Horse of the Year. Earning a significant $97, 300 in bonuses, her best win was in the VOBIS Gold Stayers at Caulfield. Another recent galloper, Rewarding Effort (Reward For Effort) is a four-time winner.

At last year’s Great Southern Sale, the Alderson bred Mihalic (Hard Spun), a stakes-winning three-year-old filly, secured the highest price of the sale when selling for $310,000.

Offered by Supreme Thoroughbreds, she won the Listed VRC Maribyrnong Trial Stakes as a two-year-old, was placed again at stakes level last season, and her yearling half-brother by Reward For Effort sold for $380,000 the 2016 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale to the China Horse Club.

Another thrill for the family was having three homebreds racing on Cox Plate Day in 2015, labelling it a special achievement for their rather small breeding and training operation.

Manageress took her place in the Group 3 Tesio Stakes, home-bred stablemate Miss Gidget raced in the Listed Crockett Stakes, while My Poppette, was cause for celebration, winning the Group 2 Fillies Classic.

“It was very satisfying and a great thrill for us all; as we raced all their mothers, so it’s become quite the dynasty,” Alderson said.

Having begun her training career in partnership with her father Colin in recent years, Cindy is keeping the family tradition alive.

Alderson Racing has been successfully training racehorses for over 40 years; they are respected in racing circles for their outstanding horsemanship, experience, innovative ideas and an uncanny understanding of the equine psyche.

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A Tiara For Krushka’s Tara

Reproduced from Aushorse

Tycoon Tara didn’t race like a $20 pick in Saturday’s $500,000 Group One Tattersall’s Tiara over 1350m at Doomben.

Jumping straight to the front as the gates flew open, Tycoon Tara didn’t relinquish the lead for a single stride and recorded the biggest win of her career.

And what a career it’s been…a Missile…a Golden Pendant, both at Group Two, and seven other races for $1,173,370 in stakes.

It was a phenomenal Group 1 win number 16 for Victorian bred horses, a tally not seen in many years, if at all.

It did appear Tycoon Tara’s best was past her though following a run of outs since resuming in April: most recently a midfield finish in the Group Two Dane Ripper Stakes, over the Tiara journey, on 10 June.

“She (Tycoon Tara) was nearly sent for a spell after the Dane Ripper,” trainer Peter Snowden points out.

“However, I had another look at her this week and she was the best I’d seen her look for a while.

“She showed a lot of ability in her last campaign and regained that sort of form in the Tiara.”

Port Fairy’s Tony Krushka, who bred Tycoon Tara and races the 6YO mare with family and friends, reckons there were “genuine reasons” as to why his galloper had remained winless since last September, but was more focused on what’s next.

“Tycoon Tara will go to stud this spring,” Krushka advised, “but she’s likely to have another run before then.”

“I spoke to Peter (Snowden) about it on Saturday and the plan at this stage is to give her a bit of a freshen up and then run her again in August … and hopefully win back-to-back Missiles. Peter’s a tremendous communicator and his attention to detail is second to none. Leaves nothing to chance.

“In terms of her breeding future, we haven’t decided on a stallion for Tycoon Tara at this point in time but there’s a short list of around half a dozen and we’ll make a decision in the next week or so.

“You don’t want to leave it too late because a lot of the top stallions would have big books already, but hopefully they’ll manage to squeeze her in.”

A Group One winning mare by Written Tycoon? You’d have to fancy Krushka’s chances of finding a spot somewhere!

Krushka, who runs Port Boutique Accommodation on Victoria’s famous Great Ocean Road, bred Tycoon Tara from the Encores mare, Mosstara…one of only two mares he had at the time.

Mosstara was also bred and raced by Krushka.

Unfortunately, two days before Tycoon Tara won her second race – over 1000 metres at Dunkeld – Mosstara died and, having earlier pensioned off his other mare, Krushka was a breeder without a mare.

He doesn’t have that problem anymore though.

Tycoon Tara’s half brother, The Passage is also raced by Krushka and although the two-time winner couldn’t capitalise on his second at Moonee Valley three weeks ago – finishing 11th at Flemington on Saturday – his owner reckons the Darren Weir trained galloper is “definitely city class”.

“He (The Passage) was only beaten three lengths at Flemington and putting blinkers on him clearly didn’t work, but the horse has a good future,” Krushka adds.

So too, it would appear, does his breeder/owner.

Tycoon Tara’s Tiara also marked the phenomenal rise of her Woodside Park based sire, Written Tycoon.

This was Written Tycoon’s fourth individual Group One winner – following on from Music Magnate, Luna Rossa and last year’s Golden Slipper winner, Capitalist – and the stallion now has 19 stakes winners of $37 million plus.

Commencing his stud career at Eliza Park (now Sun Stud) in 2007 at a fee of $8,250 (which dropped to $6,600 in 2009), Written Tycoon covered a massive book of 224 last spring at a fee of $49,500 – the second most popular stallion in Australia.

Courtesy of his continuing stream of black type winners, a million dollar yearling at the Inglis Australian Easter in April and a ranking in the top 10, Written Tycoon will stand this season at a fee of $88,000.

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Wingrove Park produces a Royal display at headquarters

Breeders Joe and Daria Vella of Romsey’s Wingrove Park  may not be in the headlines everyday, but that may change as the promising colt Royal Symphony certainly made a big impression with his last to first run in the opener over 1200m at Flemington on Saturday.

The “bossy” foal, as his breeder described him, certainly got his way in this very impressive win

The Tony McEvoy trained son of Domesday ran blistering final sectionals rounding the field and sprinting clear with an outstanding four length-win. Receiving a big pat from jockey Dwayne Dunn over the line, he was full of praise for what he describes as a “serious racehorse”.

“In his last two wins, he was trailing dead last, so Dwayne needed to give him a good wake up at the 600m. When he got him to change legs, he just dropped into overdrive and left them for dead,” Joe Vella said

Joe Vella at Wingrove Park

Wingrove Park is a boutique breeding operation based in Kerrie, in the Macedon Ranges. Located on Mt Eliza Road, they share the address with large international breeding operations Spendthrift Australia and Sun Stud on either side.

Wingrove Park certainly punches well above their weight, with the number of racehorses to winners they have bred sitting at an extraordinary 92%.

Vella, a student of thoroughbred pedigrees, believes this success rate is achieved is by line-breeding when choosing the best match for his mares.

“Domesday was the perfect stallion as it gave Royal Symphony, The Minstrel and Nearctic on both sides of his pedigree. We place emphasis on the broodmare, rather than the stallion, and having over 90% winners from my homebreds, I must be on the right track.”

The retired mare, Naturalist, is now enjoying her time in the paddock. She is a three-quarter sister-in-blood to multiple Group 1 winner Naturalism and Queensland Oaks winner Crystal Palace. Born in 1997, she has produced 15 named foals, including the very cleverly named Gonski x Naturalist filly Nudey Run.

With considerable depth in Royal Symphony’s pedigree to suggest the sky is the limit, it seems Naturalist has left the best till last.

“She has produced many very good winners for us, including the black type Hoodlum, a runner-up in the Bendigo Cup, but nothing with the talent we see in Royal Symphony. He is a class well above,” Vella said.

Vella is adamant that the small breeders shouldn’t be underestimated.

“The buyers need to understand that although a horse is not coming from a major breeding barn, don’t discount the boutique breeders, don’t discount what they have to offer, especially when this breeder (Wingrove Park) has a reputation of breeding quality racehorses.”

“The larger breeders, the commercial farms, get the limelight, a small breeder like us is well below the radar.

“We can produce horses just as well as the big farms, sometimes better and it makes it tough when small farms struggle to get horses into the sales, no matter how good they are on type. They rejected Royal Symphony.”

Royal Symphony has been known to throw a few punches himself, being a politely described as a “handful”.

Joe explained that as a young foal, Royal Symphony would take what was his and then more, being pushy and aggressive to other horses.

“Especially at feeding, he would turn his hindquarters and threaten the other youngsters until they surrendered their feed, so I ended up putting him in a paddock on his own,” Vella said.

“He was a colt you would never take your eye off him. Ray Matthews did a great job breaking him in.  You had to stand your ground and only then he would he give in,”

“He dropped a few jockeys on the track, and he was slow to pick things up, but once he got the hang of things he excelled, it was just second nature.”

Royal Symphony was purchased privately through Dunn, when Joe suggested he had something special and is now owned and raced by a large syndicate, including Dunn’s wife, Amanda.

“Dwayne came out to the farm, we popped him on the lounge and gave the colt a spin in the indoor arena. Being impressed with how he moved, he took him then and there.”

Royal Symphony’s breeding  suggests he will grow into a lovely three-year-old. His future targets include the upcoming Listed Taj Rossi back at Flemington,  the Group 2 Sandown Guineas, and perhaps the Group 1 Australian Guineas in the Autumn.

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Victorian stud to stand blue blooded son of Circles of Gold

The progeny of Circles of Gold were prominent at the recent Royal Ascot carnival, and fresh off the back of this success Victoria’s Jubilee Stud has announced the closely-related Coroebus is set to join its stallion ranks.

Coroebus was star broodmare Circles of Gold’s last foal before she passed away last year.

He was rated as a highly promising galloper by his trainer Danny O’Brien before his race career was unfortunately cut short by injury after only two starts.

Based in Freshwater Creek, near Geelong, Jubilee Stud is a boutique family owned and run property on 80 acres. The farm stands four stallions, Rock Face (Encosta de Lago), Apologia (Danehill), Red Arrow (Red Ransom) and now Coroebus (Choisir).

An exciting new stallion prospect for Victorian breeders, Coroebus is an affordable option for broodmare owners to access the extraordinary Circles of Gold bloodlines.

Highland Reel and Idaho are the top-performing grandsons of Circles of Gold who were victorious last week at Royal Ascot.

Recording an impressive seventh Group 1 victory in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes over 2000m, Highland Reel brought his career earnings to $10,022,595, while his younger brother Idaho claimed the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes over 2400m.

Sired by Galileo, the winning duo are out of Hveger, who is one of nine winning foals from Circles Of Gold.

Circles Of Gold is also the dam of five-time Group 1 winner, Elvstroem, who claimed the Dubai World Cup and amassed career earnings of $5.632 million. His little brother Haradasun was also a Group 1 winner in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot.

Based on this great potential, Jubilee Stud’s Michele Denham is excited about what the future holds for their new young stallion.

“We never saw what Coroebus could have been on the track, which was a huge disappointment for the owners of Circles of Gold. However they have stayed in the stallion with lifetime breeding rights,” Denham said.

“Racing is an interesting game and if he had fulfilled his potential on the track, who knows where he would have ended up. He certainly wouldn’t be here on our little boutique, family-run farm!

“He has an amazing temperament, and although we were not looking to stand another stallion, when we went and saw him, he just blew us away.  We are very lucky to be standing a stallion with his looks, temperament and pedigree.

“Who knows what numbers we will get, it’s a hard game to be in, but as he is only rising four, the important thing is to get quality mares to him from the start.”

Along with 30 years experience in stud breeding and management, Michele was a very successful competitor in eventing and show jumping, campaigning the stallion Jubilee Bay.

Providing a professional education, Michele offers pre-training, and breaking in of youngsters. Her performance horse experience is a real advantage as she has a genuine understanding of horses, while her attention to detail means she can pick up a small issue and manage it correctly before it becomes problem.

“Most of our customers are repeat customers; they just keep coming back year after year, so we know we are doing a good job,” she said.

“I really hope Coroebus generates the attention he deserves. He is a great option for the breed to race owners, as the service fees of commercial stallions are out of reach for many.”

Coroebus will provide Victorian breeders with a fantastic opportunity for their mares to visit a beautifully bred stallion at a realistic cost, increasing the chances of a profitable return in the future.

Coroebus will stand for a service fee of $2,700 in 2017. For more information, contact Michele on 0407 681 462 or email michele@jubileestud.com

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VOBIS Gold nominations for 2017-18 are now open

Racing Victoria (RV) wishes to advise owners and breeders that nominations for Victoria’s lucrative inventive scheme, VOBIS Gold, are now open for 2015 born foals.

A combined total of more than $8.5 million in prize money and bonuses will be on offer next year across 250 VOBIS Gold bonus races and 16 feature races as part of the exclusive VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series.

VOBIS is a great incentive to encourage owners to invest in Victorian-bred progeny, and race them for lucrative prize money.

For a one-off nominal fee of $1100, owners can nominate this year’s rising crop of two-year-olds for VOBIS Gold prior to the deadline of Thursday, 31 August 2017.

The lucrative VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series will be spread across eight tracks during the 2017-18 season with 10 races programmed in Melbourne and six in country Victoria, commencing with the VOBIS Gold Eureka Stockade (1400m) on Ballarat Cup Day Saturday, 25 November.

Among the highlights of next season’s program will be the fourth annual Victorian Owners and Breeders Raceday, scheduled to be held at Caulfield on 21 April, 2018 with a record seven VOBIS Gold Premier Races headlining a nine race program.

The day will feature the second edition of the $310,000 VOBIS Sires (1200m), a  rich race launched this year for Victorian-sired two-year-olds, as well as the running of the inaugural $310,000 three-year-old VOBIS Sires race (1600m).

Eligible horses for these two VOBIS Sires races must be both Super VOBIS ‘Category A’ and VOBIS Gold nominated to compete, meaning they must be sired by Victorian based stallions.

RV Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter said with the support of the Victorian Government, the VOBIS Gold program is making a successful impact on the growth of ownership and the local breeding industry.

“Nomination to the VOBIS Gold program is supported by the State Government’s Victorian Racing Industry Fund (VRIF), and ensures that horses are eligible to compete for lucrative returns in both VOBIS Gold bonus races and the VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series throughout their entire racing career,” Carpenter said.

“Since its inception in 2012, VOBIS Gold has delivered key objectives to promote ownership and breeding growth in Victoria by encouraging owners to buy Victorian-bred horses thanks to the scheme’s added prizemoney and bonus incentives.

“It has produced some wonderful success stories on the racetrack, none more brilliant than that of six-year-old gelding Burning Front (Primus) who this year eclipsed the record for the most amount of career VOBIS prize money and bonuses earned ($515,000).

These record earnings took him past previous VOBIS prize money leader, now Swettenham Stud sire Trust In A Gust (Keep The Faith).

Carpenter said with the start of the 2017-18 season quickly approaching, owners of rising two-year-olds now have their chance to share in a slice of the VOBIS Gold riches on offer and potentially create their own history.

Late nominations for Super VOBIS horses (born in 2015) will also be taken up until the 31 August, 2017 deadline for an additional fee.

Owners, breeders and trainers should visit owner.racing.com for further information about VOBIS Gold and the VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series.

The final races in this current season’s VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series, the VOBIS Gold 2yo Ingot (1400m) and VOBIS Gold Stayers (2400m) will be held at Caulfield on Saturday, 29 July 2017 with each offering $150,000 in prize money and an additional $30,000 Super VOBIS bonus.

Full details on VOBIS Gold and nomination forms can be found on the VOBIS Gold webpage.

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Black Caviar breeder confident of pulling off Cable Bay challenge

Reproduced from Racingpost.com

When it was announced that Cable Bay, coming to the end of covering his second book of mares at Highclere Stud, would shuttle to Australia from this year it might have been assumed that the identity of his sire, Invincible Spirit, was the overriding reason he was in demand down under. Another son, I Am Invincible, ranks as one of the most exciting young stallions there, after all.

Or perhaps it was the fact his granddam, Haydock Sprint Cup heroine Cherokee Rose, was a half-sister to Volksraad, a multiple champion sire in New Zealand; or his good looks, which have enticed breeders to send him 152 mares in his first British book and around 130 in his second; or even his admirable race record, which included a runner-up effort in the Dewhurst Stakes at two and a victory in the Challenge Stakes on his final start at four.

All of those factors may have contributed to the cause of Cable Bay’s working holiday at Woodside Park Stud in Victoria, but the main motivation for Rick Jamieson orchestrating the deal to secure the stallion’s southern hemisphere breeding rights was in fact deeply hidden elements of his pedigree that the breeder of unbeaten sprint queen Black Caviar has pinpointed.

For Jamieson is an avid analyst of thoroughbred families and, by choosing matings seemingly – the word seemingly is used because the exact details of his method are not disclosed – based on determining influential ancestors and matching them between the sire and dam, he managed to breed five Group 1 winners from only around 54 foals to have raced in the space of six years.

And what makes the achievement all the more impressive is that the sires he has chosen are not necessarily the most fashionable or expensive. Black Caviar’s sire Bel Esprit is a solid source of talent but has never reached the heights of a Redoute’s Choice or Encosta De Lago, while this season’s Caulfield Cup heroine Jameka, one of the latest star graduates of Jamieson’s Gilgai Farm, was bred from the unpretentious Myboycharlie.

“Look, I know there’s a lot of luck involved, I’m not stupid, but those winners were from modestly bred mares and I was not afraid to go to less commercial stallions as long as they fitted my matrix,” Jamieson said at last week’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast, where he and his agents were busy sourcing mares for Cable Bay. “Breeding and planning matings is my hobby, and it’s worked out extraordinarily well.”

Now Jamieson has set himself the reverse challenge of finding his own stallion and testing whether an impressive strike-rate of winners to runners can be achieved if correctly matched mares are sent to him.

“I wondered for some time whether the same theories I used for mating my mares could apply to a sire,” he said. “My friend Peter Anastasiou [the breeder of Cloth Of Stars] pushed me into turning it into reality. He looked for a stallion, starting in Australia then stretching out and looking in the UK.

“Peter suggested some stallions to see if they had what I looked for and one of them was Cable Bay. The more I peeled back the pedigree, the more comfort I took that we could match mares to this horse.

“So we got him out here and the mission is to turn him into a stallion with double-digit stakes winners to runners. A good horse in Australia might get six to seven per cent; to get over ten per cent is exceptional, then you’ve got a serious horse.

“It’s a bit of a personal challenge, to correctly mate mares to him. I’m pretty confident I’ll do it.”

The team that joined Jamieson to import Cable Bay to Australia includes Woodside Park Stud, Grand Lodge and B2B Bloodstock. The partners will be sending around 50 mares who correctly match with the sire, and 12 lots were purchased at Magic Millions by Dermot Farrington and Damon Gabbedy’s Belmont Bloodstock for that purpose. They included Miss Cover Girl, a Group 1-winning daughter of Monashee Mountain, for A$500,000 (£296,000/€337,000).

Jamieson did not reveal what criteria those mares filled, saying only his method was “too difficult to explain” but that he looks for “a lot of things – synergies and multiples”.

He dropped one clue by adding that Dancing Brave is “dynamite” in a pedigree due to the influence of that brilliant horse’s sire Lyphard and damsire Drone. Dancing Brave was the sire of Cherokee Rose who, remember, is the maternal granddam of Cable Bay.

So there you have it: the key selling point for Jamieson in the acquisition of southern-hemisphere breeding rights in Cable Bay was not necessarily his sire-line, his racing performance or quality of his first foals, as strong as any of those claims may be. Rather, it appears it might have been ancestors in his third and fourth generations and deeper pedigree analysis that clinched the deal.

Cynics would do well to remember the breeder of Black Caviar’s phenomenal strike-rate of nine per cent Group 1 winners to runners.

He might just know what he’s talking about.

Group 1 winners bred by Rick Jamieson

Black Caviar

Bel Esprit-Helsinge (Desert Sun)

The sprint queen, a daughter of inexpensive sire Bel Esprit, retired undefeated in 25 starts, 15 of them at the highest level including a memorable raid on Royal Ascot that just came off when jockey Luke Nolen stopped riding near the finish of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

All Too Hard

Casino Prince-Helsinge (Desert Sun)

By some margin the best horse by his sire, this half-brother to Black Caviar was beaten by Pierro in Group 1 company at two but gained revenge at three when he defeated his old foe to win the Caulfield Guineas before also taking the Orr Stakes, Futurity Stakes and All Aged Stakes.

Jameka

Myboycharlie-Mine Game (General Nediym)

The filly by Myboycharlie – a sire who punches well above his lowly covering fee – is rated comfortably within the top 20 of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings after taking this season’s Caulfield Cup and BMW by wide margins.

The Quarterback

Street Boss-Soorena (Encosta De Lago)

Jamieson took the punt on US Grade 1 winner Street Boss in the first season he shuttled to Australia, at a fee of just A$16,500 – around £9,700 or €11,000 – and was rewarded by breeding The Quarterback, who sprang a surprise by winning the prestigious Newmarket Handicap last year.

Lucky Bubbles

Sebring-Bubble Below (Hussonet)

Jamieson paid a snip more for the nomination to Sebring – A$49,500 (£29,000/€33,000) – but at least he caught the sire on the way up, as he eventually stood for as much as A$77,000. The result was Lucky Bubbles, a new star in Hong Kong sprinting and winner of the Chairman’s Sprint Prize last month.

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Swift Alliance overcomes the odds

“I cannot really describe how a big a performance that was,” said Singapore race caller Matthew Jones after the exceptionally impressive victory recorded by the lightly raced and talented Clarton Super at Kranji on Sunday.

Rising in both class and distance, the David Hill trained four-year-old took on classy and seasoned gallopers in the Intercept Stakes – giving them all a galloping lesson.

“He went straight by them in the home straight,” Jones said.

“To sit three deep, for a horse having only his fifth start, he must be a very talented horse. That was the highlight of the day.”

Already a three times winner, Clarton Super – who caught the eye flashing home for third at his only Australian start in October 2015 – is considered one of the most exciting young horses in Singapore.

And the prestigious Singapore Derby, a race that brings together the best four-year-olds, is a possibility.

Clarton Super is one of only four foals from the debut crop of Springview’s Swift Alliance, a stallion who despite his outstanding racetrack form and imposing stature has not been afforded many opportunities at stud.

But he is overcoming odds and doing the job with all four of those four-year-olds being winners including Chief Advocate who provided his sire with a weekend double racing away to an easy win over 1300m at Rockhampton on Saturday.

Meanwhile, from a handful of three-year-old runners Swift Alliance has been represented by the winner Speed With Ease and Allied Victory as well as the promising placegetters Essemess, Starlight Treaty and Western Alliance.

And from just four named two-year-olds, he has had the debutant placegetter That’s Madness whilst tThe Michael Moroney two-year-old Bolek has trialled nicely.
A tough, classy and durable galloper from the Zabeel sire line, Swift Alliance won nine of his 19 starts with three of his victories coming at Gr.3 level and another two in Listed company.

Also second in the Group One Galaxy, Swift Alliance was highly regarded by Gai Waterhouse who described him as a horse “with so much brilliant speed.”

Described by Gooree Stud’s Andrew Baddock as “a top class sprinter,” he also impressed jockey Nash Rawiller who said “this horse has a heart as big as himself. He is a little champion in his own right, he never lets you down.”

Just to recap – Swift Alliance had just four named foals in his debut crop – all have won and he has well and truly overcome the odds producing a potential top-liner from such a tiny opportunity!

Making his Victorian debut last spring, he served well related mares by Written Tycoon, Bianconi, Artie Schiller, Brief Truce, Desert King, Commands, Testa Rossa and Scenic… as well as the metropolitan winners I’m Posh, Ravishing Reward, Carlin and Blue Nile – plus the dam of Group One winner Mental.

For further details on Swift Alliance who stands at $3300 (incl gst) contact Peter Smith on 0418 531 255 or Join the Facebook Group.

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Record price at Oaklands Junction broodmare sale

Group 3 winner Scarlet Billows (Street Boss) topped the broodmare session when knocked down to the bid fo $460,000 from Damon Gabbedy of Belmont Bloodstock at the 2017 Melbourne Great Southern Sale.

It was the highest price for a horse sold at the Great Southern Sale since Written Tycoon was sold for $625,000 as a stallion at the 2009 edition of the sale.

The Great Southern Sale broodmare session recorded 207 broodmares sold for an aggregate of $4,084,800, up from $2,700,000 in 2016.

Although the clearance percentage dropped, the average increased by a massive 46.5% to $19,733, up from $13,500 and the median of $6,000 was up from $5,500, a solid 9.1% rise.

“Scarlet Billows was a massive result and we’re so pleased for (her owner) John Richards of Galadi Holdings. We greatly appreciate his support and we’re thrilled with the result we were able to achieve for him,’’ Inglis’ Victorian Bloodstock Manager Simon Vivian said.

Scarlett Billows the daughter of Darley’s Street Boss and dam Hushabye Baby was bred by Shepparton’s Fred Borg.

Gabbedy was acting for the Cable Bay Syndicate when purchasing the mare so she will have a date with the new Woodside Park based shuttler in 2017.

Gabbedy was very happy to secure the well-performed young mare.

“(The Cable Bay Syndicate) really likes the Street Boss-line mares. She is a good outcross and could go to any stallion down the track.”

She’s a tough, sound, Group-winning mare, who ticks all the boxes.’’

Scarlet Billows’ biggest success came in the Group 3 VRC Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes during the Flemington spring carnival and was runner-up in the Listed Hareeba Stakes at Mornington.

A $20,000 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale purchase by Galadi Holdings from the Kristinvale Stables in 2012, Scarlet Billows is out of the winning Hussonet (Mr Prospector) mare Hushabye Baby, who has two foals to race, both winners.  The mare’s second dam is the Group 3 SAJC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Smytzer’s Rivalry (Made Of Gold).

Hushabye Baby’s yearling colt by Reward For Effort sold at this year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $75,000, and she returned to the Chatswood Stud stallion last season.

Damon Gabbedy’s Belmont Bloodstock also paid top dollar for the black-type winner, Lot 678 Golden Penny.  Purchased for $270,000 she was consigned by Supreme Thoroughbreds, in foal to Woodside Park Stud’s Written Tycoon.

“She is another tough race mare from South Australia who is by a very underrated sire in Blevic who is doing a really good job as a broodmare sire and we think the Written Tycoon mating is a very good one physically,” Gabbedy said.

“Written Tycoon is flying at the moment and with what his yearlings and weanlings are selling for she was great value.”

With the sale going from strength to strength, and the quality of broodmares improving each year, the Melbourne Inglis Great Southern Sale will be a happy hunting ground for buyers, and a profitable sale for vendors in the future.

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Chatswood Stud gets ready to welcome Ajaya

Ajaya (GB) has departed Ireland’s Rathbarry Stud and is on his way to Invincible Spirit’s old barn at Chatswood Stud.

He is due to depart from his quarantine in Ireland on Thursday 20th July and his scheduled post arrival quarantine release in Melbourne is on Saturday 5thAugust.

Chatswood Stud are also delighted to see their freshman sire have his race record boosted this week at Royal Ascot. Second in the Gimcrack Stakes to Ajaya, Ribchester romped home to win the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes for Godolphin, confirming his ranking as one of the top 3 rated horses in the World whilst shaving 0.49 seconds off the mile track record.

The Moonee Valley Racing Club has also invited Ribchester to the 2017 Cox Plate, where he would be a rival to Australia’s racing heroine, Winx.

Chatswood’s former stallion and sire of Ajaya, Invincible Spirit was also on the score sheet this week at Royal Ascot with Zhui Feng winning the Royal Hunt Cup over 1 mile for 3yo’s+ and his sons Profitable and Muthmir finishing 2ndand 4th respectively in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes over 5 f for 3yo’s+.

Also, Ajaya shares his grand-sire Hennessy with Scat Daddy who will undoubtedly finish Royal Ascot 2017 as leading sire having already sired 4 winners, namely Lady Aurelia winning the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes over 5 f for 3yo’s+, Caravaggio winning the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup over 6 f for 3yo’s, Sioux Nation winning the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes over 5 f for 2yo colts and Con Te Partiro winning the Listed Sandringham Stakes over 1 mile for 3yo fillies.

Ajaya looks like the perfect fit to follow in his sires footsteps and make it as a sire in Australia. He is a strong and compact type who loved firm tracks, one of Invincible Spirit’s greatest 2YO’s and has the pedigree to back it all up. The I Am Invincible legacy was created from Invincible Spirit’s first crop at Chatswood in 2004. Here’s hoping Ajaya can follow this successful trail.

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Fillies feed the Faith

Keep The Faith 3yo fillies Be True and Second Step have the potential to handle city assignments after promising provincial victories on Friday.

Be True (3f Keep The Faith – Steely Choice by Choisir) firmed into $4.60 before the Bendigo Bank Telco Hcp (1140m) at Geelong and stable supporters were happy to see her settle on the heels of front-runner Russian Ruby.

“She wasn’t beaten far here last month after being trapped wide,” jockey John Allen recalled.

“The good gate helped today and she had a nice run although she was travelling hard.  I angled for a gap on the inside and she quickened to sprint away.”

Be True had provided Darren Gauci with his last-ever provincial win earlier this year.  Bred by Don Campbell and trained by his son Andrew, she had been backed from $31 into $14 to land her maiden at Terang in February.

Second Step was even more impressive winning the Thrifty Car & Truck Rental Hcp (1108m) at Bathurst.  She jumped straight to the front and put three lengths on the chasers when Mitchell Bell opened the throttle in the straight.

She started a $1.50 favourite first-up following a Wyong maiden win last November.  “I like the sire and I haven’t got to bottom of her yet,” Warwick Farm owner-trainer John Steinmetz said.  “Carting her around to the provincials will help long-term but the time’s coming when we will have to keep her in Sydney.”

Second Step (3f Keep The Faith – Crimson Code by Redoute’s Choice) is a half-sister to Moonee Valley winner Barcode (Kaphero) and Singapore winner Be Bold (Equiano).  She is from the Group winning “Alberton” family in New Zealand.

Keep The Faith (Sunday Silence) maintains a 67% winning strike-rate – one of the best in Victoria – and he stands for a $3,300 (inc gst) fee at Greta West Stud.

The farm enjoyed further success at Wagga Wagga on Monday when farm bred 3YO Kabrocco (Kaphero) saluted for connections including trainer Brendan McCarthy Jnr.

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More Victorian records at Inglis Great Southern Sale

Two Victorian studs helped set joint record prices for weanlings sold in the southern state at this year’s Inglis Great Southern Sale.

Swettenham Stud and Bombora Downs now both share the record honours after selling their respective weanlings for $310,000 each.

The record priced lots helped the select weanling sale’s gross to a strong $8,838,250 with an improving clearance rate of 76%, an average of $30,062 and a median of $15,000.

In a sign of how far the Victorian industry has come, just three years ago average weanling prices were $14,504 and the median was a mere $6,000.

Swettenham kicked off the record breaking on Sunday with a More Than Ready Calming Influence colt going to the bid of renowned pinhookers Ampulla Lodge of Bunyip.

This Swettenham Stud presented More Than Ready – Calming Influence colt sold for $310,000

Offered for sale on behalf of the Marheine family, the Lot 204 colt took an opening bid from Ampulla’s Steve Jostlear of $200,000.

Brian Gorman, Swettenham’s Operations Manager, was not surprised to see the spirited bidding for him in the ring.

“He was just enormously popular, hardly ever in his box, and the number of inspections he did was just phenomenal,” Gorman said.

“His level of maturity that he displayed was what you would expect from a seasoned yearling, not a weanling.

“Swettenham is very proud to jointly hold this Victorian record…it shows we are ticking the boxes. We now hold the record for the highest priced yearling filly (in Victoria), and now the highest priced weanling, and they have both been in the last couple of years,” said Gorman.

Less than 24 hours later Christoph Bruechert from Bombora walked into the Oaklands Junction sales ring with the Written Tycoon – Many Facets colt and walked out minutes afterwards with the joint record for a weanling sold in Victoria.

Bombora Downs’ Alderson family bred Written Tycoon-Many Facets colt sold for $310,000

The colt, bred by Lynn Alderson at Bayles, was purchased by Newgate Farm and China Horse Club and has already been marked to go to the stables of Peter and Paul Snowden.

Bruechert said it was Bombora Downs’ second-best result ever for a horse of any age, behind only a $350,000 Written Tycoon colt it offered at this year’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

“It’s great for me, and it’s great for Victoria. To have two equal-record lots in two days here is great, and it’s fantastic that we’ve finally got a headline stallion in Written Tycoon, who I truly believe has got many great years ahead of him,” Bruechert said.

“I don’t generally get a lot of feedback but I had a lot of people telling me the past few days that this is the nicest horse they’ve seen here, or one of the best they’ve seen anywhere this year.

“A lot offered positive feedback which for me at least is quite rare, not that I get negative feedback, it’s just generally you don’t get any.”

Rochester’s Burnewang North claimed leading vendor honours, selling all 12 of their offerings for an aggregate of $747,500.

The leading buyer by number of purchases was TBV member Sheamus Mills Bloodstock with nine weanlings bought.

Woodside Park stallion Written Tycoon was a clear leading sire, topping both the aggregate ($1,090,000) and average price ($155,714) for three or more sales.

It was also a solid sale for First Season Sire Brazen Beau who stands at Darley Northwood. His two lots to sell recorded an average of $210,000, placing both in the top five overall lots in the sale.

Inglis’ Victorian Bloodstock Manager Simon Vivian said the sale was especially strong for the Victorians.

“To have Written Tycoon and Brazen Beau both perform so strongly, to have Burnewang North end with 12 from 12, Bombora Downs and Swettenham offering the top two Lots which equalled the state record, I think it laid a fantastic foundation for future weanling sales at Great Southern in Victoria,” Vivian said.

“There are definitely areas we will work on and improve moving forward but overall, I’m very happy with how the weanlings sold.”

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New addition to the TBV ranks

With the Victorian thoroughbred breeding industry growing strongly, the stories of success in the sales ring and on the racetrack have also been increasing.

Off the back of this growth, Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria has established a new position of Marketing & Communications Officer.

Jessica Moodie, with a strong family background in the breeding industry and exceptional marketing and communications qualifications, will start in this new role later this month.

Jessica grew up in a family consumed by racing and breeding. Under the brand Contract Racing and more recently Hesket Bloodstock, the family business has achieved enormous success out of the breeding barn and on the race track.

Jessica has a Bachelor of Arts (focusing on Media & Communications), from the University of Melbourne and is currently completing her Masters in the same field.

She has also undertaken important public relations and social media roles for the Victoria Racing Club and Godolphin in recent years.

“Having grown up around the thoroughbred racing and breeding industries with incredibly accomplished and passionate parents, I am grateful to have inherited their keen interests as well as their strong work ethic,” Jessica said.

“When contemplating what type of work to pursue, complementing my own passion for thoroughbred racing and breeding with my studies was a very natural progression.

“It is a great privilege to be appointed in this new role at TBV, and I have now realised one of my ultimate ambitions. I am eager to commence my work with the team at TBV and strive to cement the prestige of thoroughbred racing and breeding in Victoria.”

Jessica will work alongside TBV Executive Officer Patrick Clancy who will shortly begin an additional role of Director of Policy for Thoroughbred Breeders Australia.

President of TBV James O’Brien said the appointment of Jessica to the new role was a feather in the cap of TBV.

“The quality of candidates applying for this position was exceptional with applicants from across Australia and overseas. Jessica was a stand out across this quality group of people.

“The TBV Committee welcomes Jessica on board and looks forward to her contributing to the further growth of our local industry.”

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Milford bred winners in the East and West

It was quite a momentious weekend for Avenel’s Milford Thoroughbreds with farm raised winners on both sides of our vast continent.

Scales Of Justice (Not A Single Doubt), touted as the best in the west, showed a dominant performance in Group 3 Hyperion Stakes at Belmont Park, while Catch That Cat (Tale Of The Cat) took out the 1200 metre last race at Moonee Valley.

The WA galloper has a brilliant record of seven wins and eight placings from his 15 career starts including victory in last year’s Group 1 Railway Stakes.

Bred by Gerard and Kathy Hammond at Millford, Scales Of Justice was consigned to the 2014 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale where he was knocked down to Boomer Bloodstock/Lindsey Smith for $180,000.

Millford’s Jarrod Byers thought he would make around $80,000 to $100,000 in the ring as he was a slow maturing horse.

“He had grown out really well at the farm and was always a nice type. It turned out though that both Craig (Rounsefell) and Robbie Laing were very interested in him, and he eventually sold for $180,000.”

“It was great for Gerard and Kathy…they breed from three or four mares every year and have been long-time clients.”

“There’s a lot of swings and roundabouts in this industry. They sold a Written Tycoon colt for just $5,000 at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale which was then pinhooked as a ready to run horse for $90,000 before going on to win over HK$5 million in Hong Kong as New Asia Sunrise.”

“So, it’s great to see them get a result like they did in Melbourne and also for Craig, Lindsey and the entire Scales of Justice team.”

Scales of Justice’s dam, Beymatilla, failed to meet her reserve of $400 when consigned to the 2014 Inglis Great Southern Bloodstock and Weanling Sale, only months after her colt went through the Oaklands Junction ring.

The Hammonds then gave the mare to Millford Thoroughbreds which put the mare in foal to Magnus, but sadly she passed away around three months short of foaling.

Trainer Lindsey Smith will step up Scales Of Justice to 2000 metres in the Strickland Stakes in a fortnight, and if he wins, he is expected to target this year’s Cox Plate and take on Winx.

Back in Victoria, Catch That Cat, bred and raced by Valda Klaric & Ivan Cajkusic in the filly’s early days, was the second Milford raised city winner on Saturday.

Millford raised Catch That Cat wins at Moonee Valley (Ross Holburt-Racing Photos)

Millford’s Jarrod Byers was in the ownership himself, and recalls that even though she has had some setbacks, her race results show that she is a genuine, tough mare.

Trained by Gwenda Johnstone, the seven-year-old mare has proven herself to be a quality galloper with a treble of Moonee Valley wins during her career.

“I was involved when she raced in town, and although I gave up my ownership when she looked to train off, a number of the guys stayed in along with the trainer. It’s great to see her get another Valley win and everyone has done a very good job to get her where she is,” Byer said.

By Tale Of The Cat, her dam by Octagonal, Apollonian has produced four winners from six foals, and her grand-dam hails from the family of black type producers, Force Apollo, Speedy Leo, Graceful Anna and Prince Rubiton.

Offered for sale at the Inglis Great Southern Sale on Tuesday as Lot 611, Catch That Cat will now have the opportunity to pass on her toughness and tenacity to her progeny.

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Blue Gum’s record breaking Premier draft delivers more city class

Blue Gum Farm’s record breaking 2016 Inglis Premier draft continues to produce outstanding city winning two-year-old graduates.

Pure Emotion (Exceed And Excel) showed her class when the well-bred filly broke her maiden status at Moonee Valley on the weekend.

Blue Gum’s Phillip Campbell highlighted that she is now the third city winner from the draft, with the other two being the highly impressive stakes winners Ducimus and Jukebox.

Blue Gum Farm was the leading vendor from the 2016 Premier sale with an enormous aggregate of $4.7 million. Holding the record for a Premier Sale vendor, it included the top lot at that sale, the stunning $700,000 Snitzel x Beauty World colt.

“It was a lovely draft of horses, and it’s pleasing to see a nice flow of high-quality racehorses coming out of that draft, and performing on the racetrack now,” Campbell said.

“Pure Emotion has only had five starts with a couple of good placings in quality races. She ran second to the Group 1 placed Tulip at Moonee Valley in December. You can see she is a good, tough little filly.”

Trained by Clinton McDonald, Pure Emotion will now be aimed at stakes races during the Spring Carnival following her impressive Moonee Valley effort.

“We’d love to get some black type somewhere with her,” McDonald said.

“If we aim for something in the spring, maybe it could be the Group 3 Quezette at Caulfield over 1100 metres. She will have fitness on side, while the others will be resuming.”

Pure Emotion is out of the Encosta De Lago mare Beautiful Soul. Her second foal, she has a Sebring yearling filly and a Hallowed Crown weanling filly. She is in foal this season to I Am Invincible.

Ciaron Maher’s Blue Gum Farm sales graduate Jukebox and the Hawkes trained Ducimus both looked super impressive in their major Melbourne wins earlier this year.

The expectations for both colts are very high going into the Spring Group 1 features for three-year-olds.

“We assembled a lovely group of horses again at this year’s sale, achieving an aggregate of $3.5 million. That is the name of the game for us – getting as good a sales draft together as we possibly can and then watching them compete with distinction on the racetrack,” Campbell said.

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Brideoake’s homebred Self Sense brings home the Cup

David Brideoake One of Victoria’s most acclaimed trainer/breeders recorded yet more stakes success over the weekend with one of his homebred gallopers.

The Brideoake trained Self Sense (Street Sense) recorded his second stakes victory in the feature Listed Ipswich Cup on Saturday.

The six-year-old gelding lead going into the home bend and then powered away from the field winning by an impressive seven lengths on the soft track.

Bred by Brideoake, Self Sense has now won eight of his 40 career starts for career prize money earning of $664,140.

David Brideoake has achieved many successes as a breeder.

His premier result as a breeder has been the Group 1 Galaxy Stakes win on bonny mare Griante, but he and the family have bred a string of other top quality gallopers including Magic Millions Sprint winner Target In Sight and stakes winners Shylight, and Thames Court.

Added to that are many city winners such as Harmony, Biancon Rose and Jugahlation. Most recently he has bred and trained the Mornington metro-winner Street Spun and the Flemington winner Northern Journey.

“I have around a dozen mares that I breed from every year,” Brideoake explains.

“I’ve got a property at Violet Town that is managed by my son, Tom, which caters for my mares and some for clients. Around 20 mares all up.

“I trained Self Sense’s mum, Be My Person, who was a very good racehorse and won a Saturday race in town (Moonee Valley).

“She was a terrific broodmare too : six winners from seven to race. Self Sense’s half sister, Shylight, was a Group winner in Adelaide, while his half brothers, Ambitious Glory (Hong Kong) and Bulldozer (Singapore) have won overseas.

“It’s been a terrific family over the years (Lonhro, Lankan Rupee, Tavago et al), while one of Be My Person’s daughters in Street Belle has produced a multiple winner in Street Spun that won a race for me at Mornington last Monday.

“Unfortunately, Be My Person died at the end of 2015 and the last foal she left was a Reset colt that’s now a yearling, but I’ve got three daughters out of the mare to go on with.

“We tend to keep all the fillies and race them with friends and long-time clients. By racing the mothers too you really get to pick up on certain traits in the family and it helps to orchestrate the breeding and training.”

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Rebel Raider heads the 2017 Wyndholm Park stallion roster

Ballarat based stud Wyndholm Park announced its stallion roster and 2017 service fees last week which was followed up almost immediately by a city win for a daughter of one of their star stallions in Rebel Raider.

Emerging stallion Rebel Raider heads up Wyndholm Park’s 2017 stallion roster at an advertised service fee of $6,600 (GST inclusive).

From his first crop at Wyndholm Park, which are now three years old, he has had 17 runners for 9 individual winners and 4 individual placegetters (13 of the 17 runners have won or placed – 76%).

In addition, he has had two stakes winners, Waging War (Group 3) and Pretty Punk (Listed), and two additional stakes performers, including the Group 1 Queensland Derby runner up Rockstar Rebel.

The Group 1 placed Rockstar Rebel

Talented filly Pretty Punk grabbed another city win on Saturday at Morphettville for her trainers Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas.

From Rebel Raider’s second crop at Wyndholm Park, currently two years old, he has hadfive runners, including the metropolitan winner Red Raider and the multiple placed Danger Deal. The latter is a promising colt who was second in the $200,000 Adelaide Magic Millions, third in the $310,000 VOBIS Sires at Caulfield and an unlucky fourth in the Group 3 SAJC Sires Produce Stakes.

Rebel Raider’s service level has been priced to ensure that he is strongly supported by breeders in 2017 and, at $6,600, he is arguably the best value sire in Victoria.

Sports Edition enters his second season at stud in 2017 at an advertised service fee of $9,900 (GST inclusive). The impressive son of Northern Meteor had an interrupted inaugural season at stud due to injury which significantly restricted the number of mares that he could cover. The stallion has fully recovered and is expected to cover a strong book of mares in 2017.

The very well-bred and performed Crackerjack King will stand in 2017 at an advertised service fee of $6,600 (GST inclusive).

For further information please contact Wyndholm Park’s Dr Kim McKellar on 0418 508 212 or email kesf@bigpond.com

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Bluebloods profile: Spendthrift’s Cuddy

Reproduced from Bluebloods

Garry Cuddy thanks his lucky stars for having an uncle who introduced him to the world of the thoroughbred at a very young age. This exposure, and encouragement from his first employer Vin Cox, set him on his life path and today the 27 year-old is general manager of Spenthrift Australia.

For nearly half a century, Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky was an undisputed leader in the world of thoroughbred breeding. The farm’s reputation soared to great heights in 1955 when Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Nashua was syndicated for a then unprecedented $US1.2m to stand at Spendthrift.

A dominant force in the yearling sales market Spendthrift later stood such distinguished performers as Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed.

Going public in 1983, the empire began to lose traction, until Spendthrift was purchased by billionaire B. Wayne Hughes in 2004, rebuilding the farm into one of America’s top stallion stations.

Three years ago, in a tribute to the appeal of the Australian thoroughbred industry, B. Wayne Hughes took on the challenge of expanding “down under” after testing the waters at the 2014 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

This led to the foundation of Spendthrift Australia and the appointment of 27 year-old Garry Cuddy as general manager.

Despite his youthfulness Garry, by then, had many years of experience. His learning curve began under the tutelage of his uncle Peter Boyle, who took him racing and taught him the rudiments of stud work, before being employed by Vin Cox in his bloodstock agency.

With Vin having become Keeneland’s Australasian representative in 2003 arrangements were made for Garry, then just 19, to attend the 2007 summer sale in Kentucky.

Subsequently, when B. Wayne Hughes was seeking a spearhead for his Australian venture, Chauncey Morris, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, and Vin both recommended Garry and the position became his.

“It all happened very quickly and it was all very exciting to have such an opportunity at such a young age,” he said. “It came about through the contacts we had made and the work we had done in America in the previous years. Being in a position to be able to establish a farm and to be putting everything together with a brand as big as Spendthrift was obviously a great thrill, it was unbelievable really.”

Originally the Spendthrift’s intentions were to send stallions to stand during the Australian breeding season but this then segued into the idea of establishing a farm and by April of 2015 Spendthrift had acquired the 138ha Yallambee Stud at Kerrie about 50km north west of Melbourne.

“We have pulled out all the old fencing and have brand new Kentucky style four board post and rail fencing along the road and the driveways. We don’t have all the infrastructure in place yet but it is on its way to becoming a world class facility.”

With the farm operational, Spendthrift stood the Into Mischief horse Can The Man (USA), Hampton Court, Jimmy Creed (USA), who is by Distorted Humour, and the Gr.1-winning Medaglia d’Oro horse Warrior’s Reward in 2015 and again last year.

“We found 2015 a tough year because we were trying to do too much too quickly but last year was completely different,” Garry said. “By then we had the right team in place with Grant Burrill coming in as farm manager and there are plenty of people to share the work load so it all went pretty well.”

Spendthrift’s first Group winner was the Redoute’s Choice Swear, a $725,000 purchase. Winning the Tattersalls Club (NSW) Ming Dynasty Quality-Gr.3, he placed second ATC Spring Champion Stakes-Gr.1 and fifth in the VRC Victoria Derby-Gr.1. He will be standing his first season at Spendthrift in 2017 for $8,250.

New Spendthrift stallion Swear wins the Group 3 Ming Dynasty (Pic-Racing and Sports)

“This is an exciting time at Spendthrift Australia. We have a lot of big things on the horizon as we continue to grow our brand. We are particularly looking forward to standing our first colonial stallion Swear, who was a stand-out yearling at the sales for us.”

“Swear lived up to his looks as a Group winner on the racetrack, and we invite everyone to come out and take a look at him. You won’t be disappointed,” said Cuddy.

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Victorian breeders see the light (mask)

Bringing a mare in under lights to have her ready to breed is common practice on thoroughbred farms and studs around Victoria.

This activity is based on the proven theory that by increasing the length of daylight exposure, you help stimulate a mare biologically to begin cycling in readiness for an early cover in the season.

This of course can be an expensive practice in time, labour and money. Breeders, in order to achieve success, need to stable the mares at the same time each day with sufficient lighting to trigger their natural hormonal receptors.

The Equilume Light Mark is an alternative solution to this intensive exercise.

The mask helps breeders increase the hours of light a horse is exposed to daily while allowing the mares to stay in a paddock environment.

A mare wearing an Equilume Light Mask

Equilume was established in 2012 by company founder, Dr Barbara Anne Murphy whose academic research identified the optimum blue light intensity needed to be biologically effective to improve reproductive efficiency and performance in horses.

Designed similar to blinkers, the mares are able to wear the mask 24/7. Fitted with a blue light, it will turn on automatically when it senses the approach of dusk, from 4pm to 11pm daily.

The mares benefit from this alternative solution, as they can stay in a natural herd setting, eliminating the stress and anxiety that comes with stabling. In the paddock they can constantly move and have unrestricted access to grazing. Mares that are happy and relaxed have greater success with fertility and pregnancy.

The masks are a godsend for stud managers, as they remove the need for additional labour to clean out boxes daily, reduce hay and hard feed costs and eliminate expensive bedding. They also have improved flexibility with time management, by not having to bring the mares in at the exact time each night.

If a mare does change her location or travels before the stud season for a cover, the light mask can stay on and go with them, continuing to deliver optimum light stimulation to the eye on time every day.

Smaller operators that do not have access to stabling can now still offer light therapy to clients, with the same excellent results.

From around the middle of June, mares begin a period of approximately 90 days of simulated longer day-length in readiness for the season ahead.

TBV spoke to three Victorian breeders who will be using the Equilume Light Masks this season, and how they have improved their breeding results in the past.

The new Victorian Retailer and Distributor for Equilume is Damian White who can be contacted for orders on 0418 477 090 or email to damian@dwsrealestate.com.au

Sherah Sullivan – Noorlim Park, Arcadia

“They speak for themselves, we got 100% mares in foal last year, even all our maiden mares off the track, so you can’t get better than that.

I also found it helped shortened the pregnancy of a couple of older mares that had gone over their due dates frequently by a month, reduced to only a week when we were using Equilume.

From a management point of view, the labour costs are greatly cut, we don’t need staff to do boxes, and there are no bedding expenses.

I can just pop the hoods on, rug them up and turn them out into the paddocks. They are much happier, less stressed and the older mares are much cleaner, with less fluid as the can move around and stay active.”

Nioka Wozny – Moorookyle Park, Smeaton

“We have been using them since they first came out with fantastic results, they have never let us down, a 100% strike rate.

Being based near Ballarat, we are such a cold climate, that when the mares get the light on them and we rug them up, it has such a positive effect.

Even a 20-year-old problem breeder has really responded to the Equilume masks. At her first serve, she was in foal, no mucking around, no transition period, we brought her in, and she was cycling.

We find the effects of using the masks to be better than bringing them into boxes, as the mares are settled and relaxed in the paddocks with their rugs on.

Jarred Byers – Milford Thoroughbreds

After three years, our stats show that we are getting just as good results with the Equilume masks as we were with the old fashioned method of stabling under lights.

We leave them out the whole time, un-rugged, so the labour is minimal, no need to worry about doing boxes or needing additional staff.

We are pleased that they are now bringing out the replaceable eyepiece and battery, as owners will be glad to utilise more than one season out of the unit.

Equilume helps Victorian breeders gain the competitive edge, by assisting mares get in foal early in the season, be it first time maidens or problem breeders.

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Stakes success & Royal Ascot entries for Helmet

Darley’s Victorian stallion, Helmet (Exceed And Excel) sired another stakes winner on the weekend when his first-crop son Eqtiraan won his first black-type race in the Listed Cathedral Stakes.

Third in the Group 3 Solario Stakes as a juvenile, he had been tried over a mile at the start of the season without success. Sprinting though looks to be his optimum conditions and he ran on well to triumph by a neck over more seasoned, older performers.

Eqtiraan becomes the fifth Stakes winner of the season for Helmet after Classic heroes Thunder Snow and Anda Muchacho, Newmarket listed winner Taamol and Australian Group-winning juvenile filly Limestone.

The win of Eqtiraan was accompanied by a further win for his progeny on Sunday in the United Kingdom with Helovaplan scoring at Doncaster.

Helmet has a number of representatives at Royal Ascot this week. Leading the charge is his Group 1 winning Thunder Snow who is third favourite for the prestigious Group 1 St James Palace Stakes.

Godophin’s Thunder Snow (Helmet) will line up in Royal Ascot’s Group 1 St James Palace Stakes on Tuesday

Other entries for the week include two-year-olds June Dog (Listed  Windsor Castle Stakes) and Pilkington (Group 2 Norfolk Stakes), Taamol (Group 3 Jersey Stakes) and Tricorn (Britannia Stakes).

Helmet is taking all before him in the UK and Ireland holding down a position in the top 40 sires by earnings despite only having two crops of racing age.

He will stand for $16,500 at Darley Northwood in Victoria this year.

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