Archive for category: Industry News

Above: Impending standing at Darley’s Northwood Park, Victoria

With the first crop by Darley’s Impending about to become yearlings, expectations are high from breeders on how the market will assess his progeny, 15 of which are catalogued to go under the hammer at July’s weanling sales.

As a multiple Group 1-winning son of champion sire Lonhro and Group 1-winner Mnemosyne (Encosta De Lago), Impending always had all the credentials to be a top-level commercial stallion and Darley’s decision to stand him at Northwood Park in Victoria has paid dividends.

He served 186 mares in his first season, while his 175 services last year made him the third most popular stallion in the state. Many breeders returned their mares for a second season off the back of foal quality.

Impending has certainly been given every chance to succeed, with 17 per cent of that first book of mares either stakes winners or stakes producers, highlighted by multiple Group 1-winner Jameka (Myboycharlie {Ire}).

That colt, bred by a partnership headed by Jameka’s owner Colin McKenna, has been making an impression at Gilgai Farm, having been foaled at Cressfield. As the first foal of a triple Group 1-winner, he is certain to be keenly followed.

Above: Impending x Jameka (Colt)

“He’s nice, he’s rated by both sales companies as the best foal on this farm,” Gilgai Farm Manager Kelly Skillecorn said.

“He came to us just before Christmas and since then he’s been uncomplicated.

“He’s very much in the mould of his mum as a yearling, and her brother that was here last year.”

Another star mating for Impending in that first season was with the dam of a mare he shared a terrific racetrack rivalry with.

Impending’s victory in the 2017 G1 Stradbroke H. came over In Her Time (Time Thief), and he would be mated with her dam, Hell It’s Hot (Zeditave), who not only produced the dual Group 1 winner, but is the half-sister to the dam of The Everest winner Yes Yes Yes.

The Impending x Hell It’s Hot colt is now at Kanangra, under the eye of principal Fred Moses, who is very happy with his progress, despite a slight setback recently.

Above: Impending x Hell It’s Hot (Colt)

“He’s a very nice looking colt. I’m quietly excited about him. In this game, you can never be assured but he’s certainly developing in all the right ways,” Moses said.

“He had a little bit of an issue, but he seems to have got over that. We had him x-rayed and given time, he looks to be improving all the time.”

What has struck Moses about the Impending colt, is his cool demeanour, something which he believes will help him fulfil his potential going forward.

“He’s a very good natured horse. He’s very easy to handle. Godolphin were out here maybe a month ago and they took some shots and video of him. There were horses galloping all around him and he didn’t even worry about them. He’s got a lovely temperament,” he said.

While the sire has made a mark, Moses said Hell It’s Hot has also had her say in the foal, much as she has with her other produce.

“The dam generally throws to herself quite strongly and they have all been very good types.”

Moses said a decision hasn’t been made on whether the colt will go through the sales ring, with the desire to retain him as a stallion prospect, given his physical characteristics and burgeoning pedigree, growing.

Moses sent Hell It’s Hot back to Victoria to Impending last year, but due to no fault of the stallion, she failed to get in foal, and was eventually remated with a cover to Pariah.

Quality makes its mark

Cornerstone Stud in South Australia was one of those to support Impending in his first season and the result of that support is two first crop foals, including a filly by multiple stakes-winner Lovemelikearock (Fastnet Rock).

Above: Lovemelikearock when racing

She may be the eighth foal from the mare, but she has left an impression on Cornerstone Stud Bloodstock Manager Sam Pritchard-Gordon

“One of our better foals on the farm is out of a mare called Lovemelikerock, who is a Group winning Fastnet Rock mare. She probably hasn’t lived up to expectations up until now, but this is the best foal that she has thrown. She’s a bit of a belter,” he said.

Both of the foals at Cornerstone have similar colouring to their sire and are following displaying similar physical development.

“They are certainly looking well and there is a bit of similarity. Both of ours are bay. They have size and substance and good bone. They are correct and good moving horses,” he said.

“Off the back of that, we have booked mares back to him in the belief that he will be well received at the yearling sales.”

Filly making quick progress

Mornington Peninsula-based Merricks Station opted to take breeding rights in the Darley stallion from the outset. Its early faith has been rewarded by a filly out of Listed winner Military Reign(Universal Ruler), which while she didn’t arrive until late in the season, has not wasted time in her development.

“The Impending filly is an absolute cracker. She’s a bit of a late foal, but she is just as strong and forward as my other foals. I’m really, really pleased with her,” Merricks Station Farm Manager, Dee Gess-Jones, said.

“For a November foal, she is well and truly forward and a real running type.”

The colouring of her sire has not come through to the Military Reign filly, but there are a couple of other characteristics which Gess-Jones does see.

“She’s a chestnut, so she’s different in that regard, but having seen other Impendings, they do seem to have that really strong hindquarter, like he did. This one is like her Mum as well. It’s hard to say she’s the image of her dad, when she is a baldy faced chestnut filly!”

So impressed are Gess-Jones and Merricks Station owner Ben Cooper with the filly, they will retain her to race.

“It would be interesting to see her go through the sales, but we are just so impressed with her, That’s what we want, is nice fillies like her that are well bred and she ticks all those boxes,” she said.

Breeders backing first crop

Damian Gleeson has a couple of Impending’s first-crop fillies on his Phoenix Broodmare Farm, including one out of Stratum mare Melaleuca, who is set to go through the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Weanling Sale next month.

Catalogued as Lot 869, she is out of a half-sister to Group 3-winner Rialya (Kempinsky).

The other filly is out of the Fastnet Rock mare Blume, the half-sister to Listed winner Fullazz(Redoute’s Choice), who is the dam of Group 1-winner D’Argento.

It shouldn’t surprise with that influence on her dam’s side that the Impending filly is grey, but Gleeson said she carried a few hallmarks of her sire as well.

“The Blume filly is a lovely type of foal, good strong sort of a filly,” he said.

“She throws to the dam a bit, because she is a good big strong mare and she has the grey markings and colouring of the mare, but he’s a good type of stallion himself and he looks to be throwing good types.”

Gleeson said that Victorian breeders had been returning good reports on the first crop of the stallion.

“They have got considerable scope to grow into nice yearlings,” he said. “He was a good horse himself, a dual Group 1 winner and he’s an emerging horse, and so he is ticking a lot of boxes for a lot of breeders given what they have seen from his first crop.”

Ready to make a sales impact

That positive first impact, combined with eligibility of his progeny for the rich VOBIS bonuses on offer in Victoria, should create considerable demand for his progeny at next year’s yearling sales, according to Pritchard-Gordon.

“I think there’s no doubt about that. He’s a Victorian stallion, and the VOBIS scheme is always well received. I feel that he is one of the better stallions on offer in Victoria,” he said.

Gess-Jones said that Merricks Station has no reason not to continue supporting Impending going forward, and she feels he represents a great opportunity for breeders in the state.

“We’ve got two in foal to Impending this year and have another two booked that we will take this year. We really like him and we are a breeding rights holder in the horse. We really wanted to back Victorian horses and we are really happy to have done that with him,” she said.

“It’s nice to get those commercial horses down here and we want to look after them and keep them.”

Article courtesy of Bren O’Brien TDN

Yulong is launching a two-pronged attack as it approaches the latest round of sales.

After supporting some online sales, Yulong is looking forward to some ‘live’ action with their horses to go under the hammer in round two of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale at Sydney’s Riverside Stables on July 5.

And they will follow up four days later at the relocated Great Southern Yearling Sale, also at Riverside Stables, when they will offer 14 weanlings.

Yulong’s Sam Fairgray said the stud would again offer a high quality of horses at both sales.

As an added bonus caused by the cancellation of live auctions, all of Yulong’s yearlings, except one, have the advantage of being broken in and ready to go to trainers in a bid to speed up the process.

Fairgray said the 14 yearlings on offer on July 5 were withdrawn out of the main Easter sale because the COVID-19 which prevented anyone from being able to inspect them.

“We are offering them now and we sent them all to be broken in and only Lot 34 (Zoustar/River Drift colt) has not been fully broken,” Fairgray said.

“We have got some really nice horses there and probably the pick of then is Lot 85, a I Am Invincible colt out of Gypsy Diamond.

“He is just a smashing looking horse with a great temperament and is a great mover, so he’ll be very popular at the sale.

“We have got three fillies by Frankel and two colts and all of them are nice horses. Lot 6, a Frankel/Lake Hamana filly, is very forward and big and strong for a Frankel, you’d think she may come a fraction earlier.”

Fairgray said Lot 90, the Frankel/Hersigh filly, didn’t look initially to be an early type but really impressed the breaker who mentioned she was a lot more forward than anticipated.

He said a Pierro filly out of Redoute’s Choice mare, Albaicin, would hopefully be another success story of the cross.

“That cross has been fantastic and is something like 28 per cent stakes performers to runners with that Pierro out Redoute’s Choice mares,” Fairgray said.

“Frankel is running at something like 27 per cent of stakes horses to runners.”

Fairgray said Yulong’s whole yearling draft was by proven stallions out of really good broodmare sires, such as Shamardal, Zabeel, Savabeel, Dubawi and Hussonet.

Yulong said there was a good mix of desirable sires in the draft of weanlings being offered in the Great Southern Sale.

He said Lot 665 was a nice Sebring foal, the first out of So Foxy (Foxwedge/Apparel), while Lot 673, a Zoustar colt out of Starlike, was also a good type.

Fairgray said Lot 569 was a big, strong filly by Rich Enuff, out of Madam Delponte, which was sure to have her admirers, along with a Toronado filly which is out of a Fastnet Rock, mare Wujimu.

He said Yulong had 130 weanlings on the farm and it was decided to sell some weanlings and take others through to the yearling stage.

Fairgray said he was confident buyers would find some quality racehorses from both of Yulong’s weanling and yearlings drafts.

Sam said with the weanling sale being live, it was a huge advantage for buyers to have the horses in front of them but concedes the online auctions, which featured videos of the horses had gone well.

Above: Atomic standing at Claremont Thoroughbreds

Bargain priced stallion Atomic continues to give his supporters plenty of bang for their buck.

Standing at just $2,200 at Greg Daffy’s Western District property -Claremont Thoroughbreds – Atomic produced another winner on the weekend when Muntham Missile made it two wins in succession with a victory at Bordertown after winning at Mount Gambier.

It was the mare’s fifth win from 17 starts.

The Daffy trained Chortomic ran fourth, beaten just 1.5 lengths, over 1600m at Caulfield on Saturday.

Daffy said Atomic’s progeny were performing well.

“He also had a couple of runners in Adelaide and they were first-up from a spell and they look like they are back for a good prep,” he said.

“I am really, really pleased with them. There is another little mare of mine, Bombshell Belle (trained by Symon Wilde at Warrnambool) and she has won three from seven now.

“We haven’t jacked up Atomic’s price or done anything silly and he is still at the $2000, plus GST and he should get plenty of mares again.”

Atomic (Commands/Fluffy Duck) covered 23 mares last season and Daffy admits he would have liked more. He served 27 the previous year and his most productive year was in his second season in 2013 when he covered 59 mares.

“Last year wasn’t too bad but I think this year he’ll go even better,” Daffy said.

“There are a couple of good ones around. There is a horse called The Last Napoleon and he raced at Flemington the other week and he went pretty well.

“He is starting to get those few more city runners now and I think that’s going to make the big difference to him.”

Atomic was trained to victory by Lee Freedman in the Listed Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) on debut at Sandown in February 2011. Unfortunately, he broke down at his next start in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes won by Sepoy.

A $205,000 purchase at the 20910 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Daffy paid $5,500 for Atomic at the 2012 Great Southern Bloodstock Sale.

Asked whether he thought some people might dismiss Atomic because of his modest service fee, Daffy said: “Possibly, but at the end of the day we have had a clientele of owner/breeders and they have sort of supported us early with the other old horses we had, Musee D’Orsay and Green Perfume.

“The reason we had this affiliation with them was because they could breed a cheap horse. I have always said they need to be able to breed them cheaper than they can go to the weanling sales and buy them.

“The weanling sales have really dictated to the owner/breeder and with our stallions we have had to make sure that it is still affordable or otherwise people would just pull up stumps and go to the weanling sales and buy a cheap weanling won’t they?”

Daffy said the key to Atomic getting perhaps the support he deserved was to have more city runners and runners.

He said that’s what people want to see in a stallion.

“He is getting a few of those now and I think he has had five or six city runners in the past week and a half,” Daffy said.

“That makes a lot of difference.

“I had one, Costa Bomb,  which finished second up the straight at Flemington and won at Sandown and she was perhaps a little bit unlucky that she did not go on to nearly listed grade.

“But she had a few things go wrong, if we can get that type of horse to come through, we should be all right.”

Costa Bomb was Atomic’s first winner.

Daffy said they had also purchased five year-old Royal Symphony (Domesday/Naturalist), a dual listed winner who had his last run in November. He will stand at $4,500, plus GST.

“He was just a horse that became available and I had the Danehill horse, Musee D’Orsay and then the Commands horse and so obviously more Danehill again, so we were really looking for something good, away from the Danehill.

“As I said a lot of our clients had been down that path and we needed the next one and when Royal Symphony became available it became pretty obvious on pedigree, plus his race record was just exceptional.

“It was a pretty easy fit-up.”

He said with the two stallions, he expects it to be a busy spring.

Daffy, who paid $42,500 for Royal Symphony at the Inglis Digital Sale in January, expects his newest stallion to get plenty of support.

“He’ll be really heavily supported and he is a well-known horse and he is going to be popular,” he said.

“Both stallions should be able to complement each other really well and one is a little bit cheaper than the other and one with the race record and one has the score on the board so to speak.

“So hopefully it works out.”

Daffy said he had mares by his stallions that he was looking to send out last season but found it difficult to find what he was after.

He said they had about 200 horses on their 520 hectare property at Balmoral, about 80 kilometres south-west of Horsham.

Above: Danzero won the 1994 Golden Slipper

Rosemont’s flags will be lowered to half-mast and a fitting tribute will stand at the front of the office entrance to honour Danehill’s first ever stakes winner, Danzero, who passed away peacefully on the weekend at the Geelong farm. He was 28.

Danzero holds a special place in the history of the thoroughbred being the first stakes-winner and first G1 winner sired by the late great Danehill and then went on to a successful stud career himself.

A resident of Rosemont since his purchase from Arrowfield in 2011, he covered three seasons before fertility issues saw him retired from duties. But Rosemont principal Anthony Mithen says the striking stallion will hold a special place in the hearts of those at Rosemont.

“He was the first stallion to stand at Rosemont and was in fact the only stallion to stand at our original farm at Ceres.” Mithen said.

“He helped set in motion the stallion business for us and ultimately the purchase of Rosemont Gnarwarre from Tony Santic which is now home to our five-strong stallion roster.”

Danzero was a Golden Slipper hero in 1994 for the Freedman Brothers after being sold to a syndicate at the Magic Millions sale in 1993 by Arrowfield Stud.

“There is no doubt he is one of the finest stallions we have produced.” Arrowfield’s John Messara said when he relocated to Rosemont.

“He was bred by us, sold by us, bought back by us and was Danehill’s first Group One winner.”

Danzero’s six G1 winners are headed by Dance Hero who won 4xG1s – 3 at 2 – including the Golden Slipper giving Danzero the rare mantle of winning Australia’s greatest 2yo race and siring a winner of the world’s richest 2yo event as well.

“It is fair to say he changed the course of what we do at Rosemont. We had an itch to scratch and try the stallion game and he got us off the mark. While his fertility let him down, the horse didn’t disappoint us,” Mithen said.

“It was an honour to have him on the farm and he was revered by all that got to lean over his fence and give him a pat. He helped teach us the stallion game and was a true gentleman.”

Mithen was comforted by the fact that it appeared he went quickly at some time early Sunday morning, enjoying the domain of the paddock named in his honour.

“He has been in the best health for the nine years he’s been with us. He refused to be boxed at night. We built him his own expensive box before he arrived, only to learn he hated being cooped up and just wanted to spend his days and nights outside – rugged and roaming! I think he spent only three nights in that box ever!”

“Our longest serving employee Suzanne Mowat who has looked after him for the best part of a decade found him Sunday morning, resting peacefully. He will now be buried just outside his paddock. May he rest easy.”

Danzero sired 1042 runners for 669 individual winners, 68 stakes horses, 40 stakes winners including G1 winners Dance Hero, Niconero, Fairway, Danglissa, Danni Martine and Jymcarew. He is also the dam sire of 31 stakes winners and 5 G1 winners headed by emerging stallion Exosphere.

For more information contact Anthony Mithen on 0413 486767

Mount Pleasant wins the Group Two South African Nursery at Turffontein, South Africa (JC Photographics)

The success of Australian-bred gallopers in South Africa has been monumental in recent times, courtesy of luminaries such as Horse of the Year, Oh Susanna, Group One star, Whisky Baron and Shadwell Stud’s Champion 2YO, Soqrat (who finished second in Saturday night’s Group One Champions Challenge at Turffontein).

However, the real interest at Turffontein on Saturday – certainly from an Australian perspective – was the showdown between locally sourced 2YOs, Mount Pleasant and Najem Suhail, who both came into the Group Two South African Nursery over 1160m on the back of winning debuts.

Ultimately it would be Mount Pleasant who held sway over the very wayward Najem Suhail, with both being trained out of the all-powerful Mike de Kock yard.

Aside from their obvious proximity, stable and track-wise, both Mount Pleasant and Najem Suhail were bred in Victoria and both were sold at the 2019 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

However, there’s even more of a special connection for the ever prolific Makybe Racing and Breeding which not only bred the winner, but also bred the sire of the runnerup!

Mount Pleasant is by Vancouver, from the Fastnet Rock mare, Life In A Metro, while Najem Suhail is a son of Starspangledbanner, who was a star in every sense of the word, winning a Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and Oakleigh Plate (1100m) in Australia before heading to England where he made it four Group Ones after adding victories in the Golden Jubilee and July Cup.

Notably, Starspangledbanner – the sire of 12 stakes winners including Millisle, The Wow Signal and Home of the Brave – stands at Rosemont Stud, just down the road from Makybe’s boutique property at Gnarwarre.

Owned by Tony Santic, Makybe is of course best remembered for the deeds of Makybe Diva, the 3-time Melbourne Cup winner they bred and raced, Makybe Diva, while Najem Suhail’s breeder, Gilgai Farm, has carved its own corner of history as the source of racing immortal Black Caviar.

Yet, while Makybe’s domestic legacy is already assured via Makybe Diva, Starspangledbanner and the likes of Group One winner, Amicus, the farm has really made its presence felt on a global scale this season.

A recent inductee to Living Legends, the Makybe bred and sold Mr Stunning was Champion Griffin in Hong Kong, a world ranked sprinter throughout 2017 and 2018 before capping his marvelous career with a victory in April’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin – his third Group One success in a career which yielded HK$61 million (A$11.5 million). Not bad for a horse sold for just $110,000 at 2013 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale.

Then, just over a week ago, Makybe’s Lonhro 8YO, Jolly Banner – from a half sister to Makybe Diva – won the Group Three Premier Cup at Sha Tin and has banked A$2.7 million from his eight career successes.

“We’re pretty excited … that’s a Group One, Group Two and Group Three in the last three months,” Makybe’s Joe Murray enthused. “The way Mount Pleasant won in South Africa showed he clearly has considerable promise.

“I wasn’t surprised when Mount Pleasant ended up with Mike de Kock as he’d already trained the All Too Hard half brother, Belton Road.”

Offered through the Two Bays Farm draft, Mount Pleasant was knocked down to Form Bloodstock for $90,000.

Mount Pleasant hails from the first crop of Coolmore Australia’s, Vancouver, and while the colt is his first winner in South Africa, he’s also the initial stakes winner for the Medaglia d’Oro stallion who won the 2015 Golden Slipper.

Mount Pleasant, meanwhile, is from Life In A Metro, a winning half sister to Group One Oaks’ winners Abbey Marie and Absolutely, along with multiple stakes winner, Runaway.

Life In A Metro has had four to race for four winners, including last month’s stakes placed, Quantum Mechanic.

“Sadly, Life In A Metro died last year from a colic attack,” Murray reveals. “We sold her Snitzel colt for $170,000 at the Gold Coast in January and her colt by Sebring will likely head toward next year’s Melbourne Premier.”

Selling between 15 to 20 yearlings annually, Makybe has around 35 ‘active’ mares on farm with a number of ‘retirees’ to keep them company.

Among the latter group is Makybe Diva, who produced her final foal – her 10th – last November.

“The filly is by More Than Ready and it’s likely Makybe will retain her,” Murray explains. “She (Makybe Diva) is rising 22 and while she looks like a million bucks, she tends to put everything into her foals and it’s just too hard on her, so we decided to pull up stumps.

“Makybe Diva has a smart filly with Colin Little called Sublime Diva, while we sold the Written Tycoon yearling for $500,000 at the Gold Coast in January. We kept a share in the Written Tycoon … she’s probably Makybe Diva’s best yearling and really has that X factor about her.”

Murray also marvels at another of the mares owned by Santic.

“Gold Anthem is the mum of Starspangledbanner and she’s currently in foal to The Autumn Sun … this will be her 17th foal in a row!,” Murray adds. “We’ll be keeping her Snitzel filly from last spring, her Written Tycoon filly was sold to Sun Bloodstock for $400,000 at Easter in April and her Not a Single Doubt 2YO, The Waterman, is unraced but due to trial this Friday.

“He (The Waterman) has had a couple of setbacks but is with Tony and Calvin McEvoy and they have a huge opinion of him.”

It appears as if Makybe’s season still has some way to run.

Article courtesy of Aushorse

Above: A view of Cornwall Park

Just 50km or so up the Calder Freeway from Melbourne stands an historic property that has enjoyed more than one heyday, once as Gnotuk Park as part of a large pastoral estate, later as a local centre for innovation in agricultural machinery.

A large homestead, still standing with a heritage overlay due to its attractive Federation style, was built in the late 1890s and since then the farm has benefitted from a variety of uses; during and after WWII as a holiday spot for those looking to get away from the big smoke and later the following century as base for the popular annual Djerriwarrh Festival.

But to those in the horse racing world, it is best known as Cornwall Park.

Owned and operated by the Trescowthick family, Cornwall Park was home to a number of popular stallions (at a later time under the banner of the Independent Stallion Station) but its paddocks had been mostly empty in the years before the farm’s sale in early 2017.

Fast forward to late May 2020 and Ballarat trainer Pat Cannon happens to pay a visit, that evening tweeting… “Cornwall Park is virtually empty… a great old stud still in excellent order, would be a great opportunity for a new breeder.”

Spying that tweet was Arrowfield Stud’s Stephen Irwin, friend to Peter Boyle and Lisa Gordon, a Hunter Valley based couple with a long history of involvement in the thoroughbred breeding industry. They had been on the lookout for a while for the perfect farm though it was not until their successful photography business (LMG Photography) took a Covid hit that they stepped up their search.

“Our work stopped like a freight train,” Lisa said, “which forced our hand a bit. But we had both been keen to come back into thoroughbreds… it is an addiction after all!”

Above: Peter Boyle and Lisa Gordon

Reading Cannon’s tweet on a Friday evening, the couple sprung into action – driving to Victoria the following day, viewing the farm on the Saturday, signing the dotted (lease) line on the Tuesday – and moving in the following weekend!

“It was a whirlwind,” Lisa joked, adding that an instant rapport with Cornwall Park’s current owners Alex and Nicole McIntyre helped to speed things up.

“They are the loveliest people we could ever hope to meet,” Lisa said. “They had tried different things for the farm from glamping to agistment and realised what would be most perfect is for someone to restore Cornwall Park to its former glory, for it to once again become a successful thoroughbred stud… enter us!”

And so in the three hectic weeks since their move to Victoria, Peter and Lisa have been “cleaning, gardening and mowing” and are “ready to fill the paddocks with beautiful thoroughbreds again!”

“It is great to see Pete able to utilize his 25 years working at studs,” Lisa said, noting that he brings to Cornwall “a wealth of experience following long term associations with such famed thoroughbred nurseries as Segenhoe Stud, Byerley Stud, Baerami Thoroughbreds and Emirates Park Stud.”

Lisa also boasts an impressive equine resume having competed in a variety of disciplines from a young age, devoting years to her passion of horse photography.

“I am going to juggle photography and Cornwall Park,” she said, already delighted with the response from breeders – “we have had so many people say how happy they are to see us here… and we are really keep to make our mark!”

And already a stallion has been found to launch Peter and Lisa’s reincarnation of Cornwall Park with Redoute’s Choice’s Gr.1 Spring Champion Stakes winning son Hampton Court arriving late last week, immediately settling in.

Above: Hampton Court who has recently arrived at Cornwall Park

“He is such a gentleman, just so easy to work with,” Peter said of the striking bay who has sired 19 runners from his first 35 runners in Australia, America, Canada, Malaysia and South America.

A $500,000 Easter graduate trained by Gai Waterhouse, Hampton Court won the Listed Dulcify Stakes and the Gr.1 Spring Champion Stakes (defeating First Seal) before starting favourite but ending up in the wrong part of the track in the Gr.1 VRC Derby.

A son of the imported stakes winner Roses ‘N’ Wine from the family of superstar mare Makybe Diva, Hampton Court is still in the early stages of his stud career with his first local crop being only three.

“He will stand at a very reasonable $2,500,” Peter said, keen to support local breeders.

“Hopefully he can attract some nice mares whose owners are willing to give him a try for a small outlay,” he said, also hoping to attract business to the “new” farm… “we are looking forward to creating and building our piece of thoroughbred history here in the coming years.”

Meanwhile Lisa is keen to expand on her equine photography business, available for stud shoots whilst also happy to open Cornwall Park to visitors – its large and well equipped auditorium suitable for functions, horse sales and conferences.

Above: The auditorium at Cornwall Park

Visit us at www.cornwallpark.com.au or get in touch:

Peter: 0427 459 795 peter@cornwallpark.com.au

Lisa: 0439 000 671 lisa@cornwallpark.com.au

Perhaps it was veteran Corowa trainer Geoff Duryea’s natural instincts that told him to do what he’d never done before – breed from a mare he’d trained.

Duryea trained Stacey Lee (Bel Esprit/Curio Jade) to five wins from 20 starts, and the mare’s three minor placings including two thirds in Melbourne.

When the time came to retire Stacey Lee from the track, Duryea said the current owners weren’t interested in breeding from her so he suggested to his two sons, Paul and Marc and daughter, Beth, that they buy the mare with some of their friends to breed from.

Duryea said his family and friends didn’t pay “very much” for the mare but it’s been a wise investment that resulted in her second born, Front Page, generating big news last Saturday with a dazzling victory in the A.R Creswick Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.

The phone has been ringing at Duryea’s home with some fairly significant offers from Hong Kong where big dollars are easily handed over for a class horse.

Duryea, who says he is only the trainer and has no financial interest in the three year-old gelding, said a decision would be made on Tuesday whether an offer was accepted.

“I have told these people who have been ringing me that it will either be yeah or nay on Tuesday,” he said.

“I have put it out to the syndicate and I am just waiting for what the majority say and it’s up to them.”

But Duryea, who said all the 13 owners will have a vote, says the horse would then obviously need to pass a stringent veterinary examination if the offer was accepted.

Sun Stud, which stands Front Page’s sire – Magnus – is hoping the owners will reject any offer for the gelding which joins outstanding sprinters Nature Strip (2018) and Gytrash (2019) to win the Creswick Stakes and then go onto Group 1 glory.

Sun Stud’s Adam Henry said he was hoping the son of Magnus could emulate the Group 1 feats of Nature Strip and Gytrash in Australia which would give the sire more prominence in the local market.

“Front Page has now won four out of six and looks untapped and it’s exciting to have him coming through because you just don’t know what level he will get to,” Henry said.

“The Creswick is usually a good form race with Nature Strip and Gytrash being the last two winners and Front Page’s time was much quicker than those two.”

Henry said Magnus was having another fantastic year and was always in the top 20 active stallions and has produced Group 1 winners in four of the past five seasons.

“He is just tremendous value for what you are going to get,” Henry said.

“His winners to runners is 70 per cent and he can get you a top liner as well. He has had 10 stakes performers this season, including Group 1 winners Streets of Avalon, Group 2 winner Kemalpasa and Group 3 winner Halvorsen. It’s pretty impressive stuff.

“He gets winners every week and can get you a top liner as well.”

Henry said Magnus’ advertised service fee is $15,400 and with Written Tycoon’s departure, he is the best performed Victorian stallion on the table at the moment.

He said Magnus would again cover 100-plus mares in this season he concedes will be COVID affected but was the safest bet for people who like proven horses.

Henry expects there to be a fairly even spread of demand for Sun Stud’s stallions with National Defense, which served 159 mares last year, and again in strong demand in his second season. And he says Fiorente continues to get the job done and new boy on the block, Palentino, is again in demand with his yearlings selling so well and his first runners will hit the track later in the year.

Unfortunately, Front Page’s dam, Stacey Lee, won’t be returning to Magnus this year, but she could be heading back to him in 2021.

The Duryea’s sent Stacey Lee to Vancouver last season but when she failed to get into foal, she was served by Rubick, who she is now in foal to, on December 17 last year.

Duryea said she would obviously have a late foal so it was decided not to have her served this year.

Front Page’s older full sister, News Girl, is Group 3 placed and has won three races at Caulfield with her latest victory over 1100m in May.

The four year-old is also trained by Duryea and raced by his three children and a group of friends.

The family has also breed a filly – Page Three – out of Stacey Lee by Stryker – and has weanling filly out of the mare by Dundeel (NZ).

Duryea, a former jockey who rode Red Hope in the 1973 Melbourne Cup, said Magnus was obviously high on the list of stallions for Stacey Lee.

“I don’t know whether it’s good judgement or whatever, it’s a good cross of Vain in both pedigrees and would you believe but both News Girl and her brother Front Page are chestnuts,” he said.

“The Stryker is brown and the Dundeel is brown. It’s interesting.”

Duryea said he always believed that Bel Esprit, who also stands at Sun Stud, produces better females than males.

He said the owners who raced Stacey Lee told him didn’t want to breed from her, he advised his children and a few of their mates that he thought they were mad if they didn’t buy her.

“She hurt her knees when she was a young horse but she still had a good turn of foot,” Duryea said.

“So they thought what have they got to lose and the rest is history.”

Duryea said that while Stacey Lee was placed in town, she could almost break 10 seconds for a 200m sectional.

“Say from the 600m to 400m – that type of thing,” he said.

“That’s what I said to family and friends, it’s bloody hard to do. If you can get a horse to rattle that off, they can run and when she won the Queen of the South at the Wagga Cup Carnival, Willy Pearson rode her and I told him she would run him 10 seconds for 200m or maybe even break it.

“He was sitting in behind them and went whoosh and won by three lengths and he said, oh Geoff I only let her run ten and a half so I still had a bit up my sleeve. We just laughed.”

Duryea said he’d trained a lot of good mares but just had the inkling that Stacey Lee could be a special broodmare because of that quick sectional she could produce.

Amazingly Front Page could have been relegated to the classified section as he struggled to put it together during his early development, but Duryea always knew he could gallop.

“He just couldn’t get the penny to drop to know that when the stalls opened you are supposed to get out and get running,” Duryea laughed.

“The first time he trialled he got beaten 10 lengths and they told me I had to trial him again because he wasn’t competitive. It sounds stupid but I preserved and preserved with him and the penny dropped and he hasn’t looked back.”

Duryea said Front Page had now gone for a spell – and there are plenty of people hoping the horse that kicked off his career in Albury will remain in Australia and not bob up next at Sha Tin.

Hoofnote: At the time of writing this article, connections had not yet made a decision regarding the offer from Hong Kong. As of the morning of the 23^rd of June 2020, connections have knocked back the offer from Hong Kong and Front Page will race on in Australia.

Above: Mares and foals in springtime (Sharon Lee Chapman)

With the establishment of a Thoroughbred Aftercare Welfare Working Group (TAWWG) – along with the release, earlier this month, of an issues paper – submissions have highlighted the concern for regulating post-race/breeding careers.

“We’ve been encouraged by the response from those within and outside of the industry and expect quite a few more will be sent before submissions close on 24 July,” Thoroughbred Breeders Australia CEO, Tom Reilly, reveals.

Drawing upon considerable expertise and allowing for the diverse nature of the industry, the TAWWG panel is headed by former Victorian Premier, Minister for Racing and veterinary surgeon, Dr Denis Napthine, but he and his team will also consult regularly with a steering group which includes Reilly; Champion trainer Chris Waller; Victoria Racing Club board member, Neil Werrett; Vin Cox, Managing Director of Godolphin Australia; John Kelly, owner of Newhaven Park Stud; Martin Talty, CEO of the Australian Jockeys’ Association; and Andrew Nicholl, CEO of the Australian Trainers’ Association.

Like everyone on the panel and the steering group, Nicholl is driven about a successful outcome for thoroughbred welfare.

The Australian Trainers’ Association is the peak national body for the thoroughbred training industry, representing the interests of some 3200 trainers throughout the nation, and for the past five years, and Nicholl is a ‘self confessed’ addict when it comes to racing.

“You meet so many genuine people in racing, real people with a passion for what they do. And of course, the thoroughbred is such a magnificent animal,” Nicholl enthused. “We don’t believe our role is to limit this conversation to trainers only. Equine welfare affects everything we do … fail to properly manage this area, and the results can be disastrous for everyone, not just trainers.

“So, we see our role more broadly, one supporting the whole industry with the design, management and promotion of welfare and welfare practices.”

Nicholl also believes one of the greatest problems the industry faces is public perception.

“What we do well across industry is simply not well understood by the public,” Nicholl believes. “On the contrary, any failing is invariably heavily publicized … the Meramist expose on the 7.30 Report last year being a startling example. The reality is that this has lead to the industry being harshly judged.

“We need to find ways to better engage with the public, and arm them with the facts, and only then will we be able to improve public perception.”

One way for better managing the welfare of our horse population, post-racing career, is through a national traceability scheme, Nicholl claims.

“I consider ‘traceability’ to be at the core of managing welfare outcomes. It’s a simple mechanism for defining ownership – and of course, ensuring one’s accountability with that ownership,” Nicholl adds.

“Racing Australia and the Federal Government have been discussing the merit of this system for some time now. The conversation to date has been encouraging, but we need to advance that conversation to agreed actions … sooner rather than later.”

Another major issue concerning Nicholl is the inconsistency of welfare spend and activity between the state racing jurisdictions. This often varies dependent upon size and financial capability, and of course, objective.

“For example, $8.25m million is currently directed towards thoroughbred welfare activities in Victoria, versus $200,000 in Tasmania,” Nicholl explains. “The formation of TAWWG will hopefully help drive industry to change outcomes for everyone.

“I’m excited by this project: the terms of reference and the formation of the independent panel which has some fantastic people on it … just take a look at their experience.

“This is without doubt, the most far reaching welfare review ever proposed for the industry. It also has broad support from so many leading industry stakeholders, and corporate support. “I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”

And now it’s time to have your say: visit thoroughbredwelfareintiative.org.au and either email your submission to secretariat@thoroughbredwelfareinitiative.org.au or post to TAWWG, PO Box 149, Canterbury, NSW 2193 prior to 24 July.

Article courtesy of Aushorse

Above: Last Typhoon who will be standing at Larneuk Stud this season

Blue-blooded Street Cry (IRE) stallion Last Typhoon is moving to Larneuk Stud this season following the decision of Bullarook Park’s Malcolm and Jan Boyd to retire this year.

The only foal from ill-fated Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy, Last Typhoon was a two time winner on the track, but his real appeal lies in his pedigree.

By world renowned, proven sire of sires Street Cry, best known here in Australia for giving us world champion Winx, Last Typhoon has a female family bristling with Black Type that includes current season Group I VRC Australian Guineas winner Alligator Blood.

The oldest progeny for Last Typhoon are yearlings and his fee this year is set at $4,400.

He will stand at Larneuk Stud alongside O’Lonhro, Cluster and Wolf Cry.

Article courtesy of Breednet