Archive for category: Industry News

After a season away from his southern roots, Written Tycoon is back in Victoria and busy in the first few weeks of the breeding season. Now at Yulong Stud, the reigning Champion Australian Sire has enough star power to float a farm singlehandedly.

But at Yulong, he’s in good company on a roster that shouts six formidable stallions for the new season, among them the debut sires Tagaloa, Yulong Prince (SAf) and Lucky Vega (Ire).

The latter two are internationally bred and internationally raced, and they’re products, perhaps, of the Yulong eye on global racing.

“We try to target stallions with pedigrees and performances that are going to suit Australian mares,” said Sam Fairgray, the chief operating officer for Yulong Investments. “That’s the key, because finding those stallions that are going to nick well with local broodmares is the key to a stallion being successful here in Australia.”

Yulong is a relatively new player in the Australian breeding scene, pitching its tent as recently as 2018, but its impact has been extraordinary. In a short space of time, Yuesheng Zhang’s operation has climbed into the space of the top breeding establishments in Australia, and the trajectory is pointing up.

This spring, the farm will breed 300 of its own mares, largely to its six resident stallions. The mare numbers have spiked this year with Yulong’s investments in a remarkable number of new, elite broodmares for its band.

At the Magic Millions National Sale in May, the Written Tycoon Syndicate signed for 39 mares, among them the $2.6 million Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) and $1.5 million Greysful Glamour (Stratum).

All of this points to a bright spring for Yulong and, three weeks into things, that’s how it’s tracking.

Lucky Vega gets going

Back in February, the world learned that the Jessica Harrington-trained Lucky Vega would stand in Australia upon his retirement.

Lucky Vega, by the Ballylinch Stud sire Lope De Vega (Ire), was a winner of the G1 Phoenix S. at The Curragh in 2020, and was second to Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) at his last start in June, in the G1 St James’s Palace S. during Royal Ascot.

The colt had the very consistent record of being in the top three in all but two of his eight starts and, in the colours of Mr Zhang, it was widely known that he was destined for duties in Australia.

“Lucky Vega was Mr Zhang’s first Group 1 winner, and not only that but he’s by a fantastic sire in Lope De Vega, who we’ve seen do so well in Australia,” Fairgray said. “Being a Group 1-winning 2-year-old, he also fitted in very quickly to the mould of what breeders like here in Australia.”

The Lope De Vega sireline has, as Fairgray said, done very well.

The Ballylinch sire shuttled to the then Patinack Farm between 2011 and 2014, and from those seasons got no less than Group 1 winners Gytrash, Santa Ana Lane, Vega Magic and Vega One. There was also a raft of other Group winners like Archedemus, Endless Drama and Spanish Reef.

Fairgray said Lucky Vega was a physically ideal horse for Australian mares.

“He’s a great physical, and he looks a real speed type of horse,” he said. “He’s got a great shoulder and a good hind-quarter on him, and he’s a lovely moving horse. He travelled over really well because his nature is fantastic, and he settled into the farm very quickly.”

Between lockdowns, Yulong was able to get people through the stud to see the new Irish horse. Fairgray said that very little had to be said during inspections, that Lucky Vega did all the talking, physically. The stallion will get around 130 broodmares this spring, and among them is Miss Barley (Fastnet Rock), the dam of Gytrash.

Fifteen-year-old Miss Barley was one of the 39 mares plucked out of the Magic Millions National Sale this year. She was bought by the Written Tycoon Syndicate for $300,000, in foal to Nicconi and from the draft of Pepper Tree Farm.

Gytrash was her third foal and she hasn’t produced since 2017, but she’ll head to Lucky Vega after her Nicconi foal with a number of other notables at Yulong Stud.

Gallery: Some of the mares to be covered by Lucky Vega

The new stallion will also get Gypsy Tucker (Zabeel {NZ}), the dam of three-time Group winner Gypsy Diamond (Not A Single Doubt), and the stakes-placed 8-year-old mare Smart As You Think (So You Think {NZ}).

The $2.75 million Fastnet Rock mare purchase Unforgotten is also booked to Lucky Vega. She was a winner of the G1 Australian Oaks in 2018, as well as a pair of Group 2 races in the Phar Lap S. and Chelmsford S. Mamwaazel (Exceed And Excel) won the 2015 Belle Of The Turf S.

“Because of his sireline, he created a lot of interest for breeders,” Fairgray said.

“He’s an easy horse to mate to with all the Danehill blood we’ve got here, so he’s been an easy horse for breeders to consider. Sticking with like to like, the speed lines are where he’ll really work. He was an up-and-go 2-year-old, so that’s what you’d be expecting he’d be leaving.”

Fairgray said that Lucky Vega had started the season very well, and Yulong was pleased with his first-season fertility at this point.

Tycoon back ‘home’

On the farm, things have started similarly for 19-year-old Written Tycoon. The reigning Champion Sire is commanding $165,000 (inc GST) at Yulong this spring, and even then he’s looking good value.

Gallery of some of Written Tycoon’s Group 1-winning sire sons.

Written Tycoon has entered his 15th season at stud, and his stakes winners are headed by Golden Slipper-winning Newgate sire Capitalist, G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Booker, Golden Rose-winning Vinery sire Ole Kirk, and dual Group 1 winner Pippie.

At stud, his sire sons include Capitalist and Ole Kirk, as mentioned, and also Dirty Work, who is standing his first season down the road at Spendthrift Australia. There’s Rich Enuff, who is at Woodside Park, and Written By at Widden Stud in the Hunter Valley, while Banquo became the first of Written Tycoon’s sons to stand in New Zealand when he retired to Waikato Stud this spring.

“For us to be able to acquire him to stand at Yulong, it’s great for the brand and fantastic for Mr Zhang,” Fairgray said.

“He’s bought a lot of broodmares which we’ll be able to send to a Champion Australian Sire, and that’s a great thing for us. Written Tycoon did all his hard yards here in Victoria, and I think it’s great that he’s back here for the breeders and for the Victorian breeding industry.”

Yulong didn’t buy Written Tycoon this year to reinvent the wheel. It was a case of ‘more of the same’ when it came to marketing the stallion to the Yulong brand.

“With a horse like him, it was definitely more of the same,” Fairgray said. “Obviously he can get an outstanding physical. He topped the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale this year, and he had other million-dollar yearlings at the other sales around Australia.

“He’s such a diverse sort of horse. He can get fillies and colts, sprinters or milers, so he’s very durable. Like a lot of good stallions, temperament counts for a lot and this stallion tends to get progeny that trainers can really work with.”

Table: Some of the elite mares to be covered by Written Tycoon in 2021

Yulong is expecting 150 mares for Written Tycoon, and among the farm’s own booked to him are In Her Time (Time Thief), who was twice a Group 1 winner of The Galaxy and Lightning S., along with three further Group races. In Her Time foaled a colt, her first, by I Am Invincible in mid-August.

Also booked to Written Tycoon is the fellow dual Group 1-winning mare Viddora (I Am Invincible), who won the G1 Winterbottom S. and G1 AJ Moir S. through a smart career on the track. Viddora lost a foal by Lope De Vega last year, but is in foal to Snitzel at the moment.

Extremely (Hussonet {USA}) will also visit the stallion, and she’s the dam of Champion First Season Sire Extreme Choice. Likewise, Harlech (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) is also booked, the dam of G1 Australian Oaks and G1 Vinery Stud S. winner Hungry Heart (Frankel {GB}).

However, the true highlight of Written Tycoon’s spring might be Melody Belle, who sensationally sold to Yulong for $2.6 million in May. The New Zealand mare won a staggering 14 Group 1 races during her career on the track, which included the G1 Empire Rose S. at Flemington.

Melody Belle was a remarkable horse with a remarkable price tag, but Yulong didn’t think twice. She was purchased specifically for Written Tycoon on a mating that ticked all the boxes.

“She’s by Commands and a high-class race mare, and we thought physically she suited him very well,” Fairgray said. “She’s from a very nice family and we thought, having Written Tycoon on the farm, it was easy to go out and get a mare of this quality to breed to him. Whether it’s a colt or a filly, it’s going to have huge value.”

Fairgray said that any colt from this pairing would have strong stallion potential, but likewise a filly would be something just as valuable, and that doesn’t mean it would be retained.

“Being a commercial farm, we try to look at offering all the yearlings to the market place,” Fairgray said. “If we really like something, we might put a higher reserve on it, but at this stage the idea would be to offer any progeny for sale.”

Tagaloa a first for his sire

On the other end of the experience spectrum to Written Tycoon, debut sire Tagaloa is just starting out. He’s a familiar sight to Australian racing, a winner of the G1 Blue Diamond S. last year and the G3 CS Hayes S. this year.

Tagaloa retired after 13 lifetime starts and nearly $1.5 million in prizemoney. According to Yulong, he is the perfect Australian stallion – good-looking, a Blue Diamond winner at two that trained on at three, and he’s a complete outcross.

Tagaloa is by the Japanese success story that is Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), while his dam, the Arrowfield mare Vasilissa (Jpn), is also Japanese-bred by Heart’s Cry (Jpn).

“Tagaloa is such an exciting horse for the industry,” Fairgray said. “Being a son of Lord Kanaloa, who was such a fantastic speed horse, for a son of his to come out and win the Blue Diamond, it was a fantastic success. Tagaloa really is the stallion that, going to stud this year, every studmaster wanted on their farm because of his pedigree and performance.”

Yulong bought into the stallion in February last year, after the horse’s Blue Diamond victory. The operation had tried to get in before the race, but then ownership, including Ozzie Kheir, held fast until the Blue Diamond result.

“We obviously paid a bit more than we would otherwise have had to, but with the horse’s pedigree too we were thrilled that we were able to secure him,” Fairgray said. “We’d been following him for some time.”

Fairgray said the stallion would put plenty of size and quality into his progeny, and among the good mares booked to the horse was Gregers (Commands). She was a dual Group 3 winner in her time, and the very first mare to visit Tagaloa. She has tested in foal to the stallion already.

Yulong sold her 2019 foal by Snitzel at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the filly selling to a consortium of Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Bruce Slade’s Kestrel Thoroughbreds. Gregers herself was a $1.75 million purchase at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2017.

Also booked to the stallion is the Street Cry (Ire) mare Erato, who is the dam of the 2019 G1 Blue Diamond winner Lyre (Lonhro). This is a valuable family through Erato’s dam Mnemosyne (Encosta De Lago), who was co-bred by Ron Quinton to win the G1 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield and G1 Queen of the Turf S. Mnemosyne was subsequently the dam of three stakes winners, including the dual Group 1 winner and now Darley sire Impending.

Gallery: some of the mares to be covered by Tagaloa in 2021

Tagaloa will also serve the G1 New Zealand Oaks winner Miss Sentimental (NZ) (Reliable Man {GB}), along with dual stakes winner Neena Rock (Fastnet Rock) and outcross mare Written Era (Written Tycoon). The latter was purchased by Yulong for $770,000 from Bell View Park Stud at the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

“He’s going to get every opportunity at stud,” Fairgray said. “Physically, he’ll put plenty of size into his progeny, and we think he’ll suit a lot of the Snitzel, Not A Single Doubt and Danehill-type mares where you’ll get that really nice cross of speed with the pairing.”

Tagaloa remains the only son of Lord Kanaloa to stand in Australia, which is surprising trivia given the Australian association with Japanese lines. He is covering his first book at $33,000 (inc GST).

Tarcoola Stud broodmare Hold Me Closer (Danehill Dancer x Intertwined) provided a couple of significant results in less than two days which has left owner Ken Williams contemplating the sale of his good producing mare.

The action started at The Valley on Friday night and continued the following day at Sandown Hillside.

Hold Me Closer’s Thought Of That (So You Think) won the last race of the day at Sandown with nearly an all the victory in the 1800m event for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

The five-year-old couldn’t have been any more impressive, winning by 4.5 lengths.

On the Friday night at The Valley, Thought Of That’s three-year-old half-brother Daily Bugle finished third, beaten less than half a length, in the Group 2 Stutt Stakes (1600m) for trainers Robbie Griffiths and Mathew De Kock.

Tarcoola Stud’s Williams has had some interesting observations in recent months on Thought Of That which he bred and took to the 2018 Easter Yearling Sale where he expected the colt to fetch $200,000-plus.

He walked away with $100,000 but nevertheless was disappointed.

When the horse was again offered for sale earlier this year, Williams went to $100,000 but was outbid by trainer Ciaron Maher who bought Thought Of That, along with a partner, for $140,000.

Williams was again a little disappointed when Maher, who trained the gelding to the 2019 Group 3 Caulfield Classic (2000m), rejected his offer to buy a share in the horse.

“When he came up for sale I thought I’d buy him back,” Williams said.

“I wanted buy a bit of him. Ciaron has owned him for two starts and he has won nearly $100,000 in those two wins.

“You have to laugh don’t you.

“I still reckon he is a good horse and certainly a Group horse.”

Thought of That and Daily Bugle are the only two horses Hold Me Closer has had to the races.

Inspiring Woman, a four-year-old full sister to Thought Of That, never made it to the races. She was sold online in July as a breeding proposition for $40,000.

“I have two beautiful fillies out of Hold Me Closer which we will race ourselves,” Williams said.

“We have a Spirit Of Boom filly which we will race and I have got another full sister to Thought Of That who is yearling at the moment and is absolutely magnificent, absolutely magnificent. It is a stunning horse.”

Williams said the Spirit Of Boom filly will probably be broken in soon and they were thinking that with two fillies, maybe they should sell Hold me Closer.

“Do well sell the mare – it might sound a bit stupid,” he said.

“The mare is going on 12 and she is hopefully going to be in foal to Brazen Beau and the way prices are at the moment, and we have got two fillies, so what will do is race them and have a bit of fun with those and then breed from them and sell the mare.

“They are obviously halves and fulls to Group horses and maybe we grab our money of the mare. Look, I’m not sure but it’s an option.”

With a lot of fillies that Williams would like to keep and races, he said Tarcoola Stud doesn’t have an abundance of horses to take to the sales so the economics become a big factor.

“It becomes a bit tricky,” he said.

“As a breeder and owner of a horse stud, not a big one but we employ three people, it’s fun and games just trying to break even all the time.

“But it’s a lifestyle and it’s a bonus if you do it without going broke.”

Hold Me Closer was late going to Brazen Beau last year but didn’t get into foal, but Williams said they’ll know probably know next week whether the recent return mating has been successful.

He said it didn’t hurt the mare to have a season off.

“The mare herself is a magnificent horse and has a bit of history that will make you laugh,” Williams said.

“She was a foal share with us and Coolmore to Danehill Dancer because he was $130,000 or something and we took her to Queensland to sell and for whatever reason she wasn’t that popular which was crazy.

“She was a good looking filly but at that stage her legs were a little bit not quite perfect but are now and Coolmore and us bid on her but the Coolmore boys bought her,” Williams said.

“They bought me out and raced her and she wasn’t a bad racehorse and probably should have won more than she did but won in Sydney.

“And then Colm Santry (Coolmore) rang me up and said do you want to buy her back for breeding, but I won’t tell you what I paid for her but it wasn’t a lot.”

Shane McGrath paid $30,000 for Hold Me Closer at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale and she was sold soon after to Coolmore man, Colm Santry, for $45,000.

And after Thought Of That won the Caulfield Classic, Williams was offered $400,000 for the mare.

He said the Coolmore boys always laugh when they see him.

But Williams said he would expect to still get a big dollar for Hold Me Closer, whose dam Intertwined (Sir Tristram x Twining) produced the 2002 Golden Slipper winner, How Funny.

He predicts the mare still has the capabilities to produce at least three or four more foals and believes the family will keep improving.

“We will wait and see what we do with the mare and it depends on how the sales go,” Williams said.

“I couldn’t be happier with the mare and those two horses.

“We didn’t do too well with the So You Think when he only made $100,000 but should have made $250,000.

“But that second one to raise Daily Bugle made $230,000 which was pretty good for a Press Statement so can imagine what sort of type he is, really nice.”

Hold Me Closer’s first foal, also by So You Think, died three weeks after being born.

After being guilty of selling multiple Group winners rather than retaining them to race, Williams said that was a major reason for deciding to keep Hold Me Closer’s two fillies.

Williams has nine of his own broodmares his breeding from, and has a similar number of outside mares on the farm.

Stakes mare Tarcoola Spirit has dropped a Brazen Beau filly and Vivacious Spirit is in foal to Impending as part of the stud’s DNA breeding.

“Black Caviar has got a double cross of Vain in the female side so we look at things like that. I have got a guy in England who helps me out with all that stuff,” he said.

“We have got a Merchant Navy out of a mare, Explosive Cross, that is throwing some very nice horses. She is a Bernardini mare that has come from nowhere and the first foal out of her was a thing called Tarcoola Diva and Gemma Rielly had her and she is a beautiful, beautiful mare and is back in work now and we are hoping she is a stakes horse.”

Tarcoola Diva, who Williams also races, is yet to have a start for her new trainer Gavin Bedggood at Cranbourne.

The third foal out of Explosive Cross, which Williams also bred and raced, was sold at this year’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale to Griffiths and De Kock racing for $260,000. The colt is by So You Think.

After Thought of That’s win on Saturday, winning trainer Maher said:

 

“He’s a really enigmatic horse. He’s got a lot of talent. It is taken a little bit of time to find the key, but just changing things up, you’ve got to keep the horse guessing.

 

“Credit to Josh (jockey Josh Richards). He was pretty forthright which is unlike him. It was a really good ride.

 

“We won last time and he’s only going to gain confidence again from

that. He’s a very likeable horse at home, a kind soul but he leaves a bit for himself occasionally. ”

 

After a disappointing performance in the 2019 Derby when he started at $4.80, Thought Of That had remained winless since his 2019 Caulfield Classic win until his victory at Sale in August and then made it two in a row with last Saturday’s Sandown triumph.

 

Longwood Thoroughbred Farm (LTF) is thrilled to announce the expansion of its operations base in North East Victoria. LTF has entered into a long term lease arrangement with the new owner of the recently purchased Lauriston Park (now known as Longwood Park) which adjoins its current property in Longwood East, Victoria. LTF will now comprise almost 500 acres of prime thoroughbred land in the heart of Victoria’s thoroughbred country.

The expansion will be seamless as both properties were previously part of one farm – the Victorian base of Vinery Stud with state of the art infrastructure and equipment.

LTF, owned and operated by Michael Christian along with wife Siobhan and brother Brad, was launched in 2018 and offers a comprehensive broodmare and rearing service to clients along with racehorse spelling opportunities for trainers.

Christian said, “we have some wonderful facilities and outstanding staff and by doubling our acreage we can now offer our high quality care & service to a broader array of clients. Whether it’s foaling down with our around the clock foal watch team, mare reproductive services, weaning, weanling and yearling sales preparation we pride ourselves on our great care and attention to detail”.

He added, ”we also have nearly 40 specifically designed spelling paddocks for racehorses looking to have a break in our beautiful climate”

LTF also has its own small band of broodmares with Christian already responsible for breeding a raft of stakes winners including Unpretentious, Hallowell Belle, Fuddle Dee Duddle, Eloping, Of The Brave, Fuhryk and of course last Saturdays Group 3 How Now winner, Bella Nipotina.

LTF is enjoying an exciting year with a yearling colt (bred in partnership with Widden Stud) out of Fuddle Dee Duddle selling for $1m and a yearling filly (bred in partnership with Segenhoe Stud) out of Eloping selling for $900k at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale in January. The farm also purchased on behalf of clients Group 1 winning mare Volpe Veloce for $1.9m and multiple Group 3 winning mare Rimraam out of the Shadwell draft for $1.5m at the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale in May.

“We’re all looking to the future with great excitement and welcome you to join us for the ride” says Christian.

 

Head to our website www.longwoodthoroughbredfarm.com.au and follow us on socials. Instagram/Facebook/Twitter

He’s A Balter has certainly lived up or even exceeded the huge wraps placed on the horse when he went under the hammer at the VOBIS Gold Yearling Sale in 2018.
Offered through Rosemont Stud’s draft, the Victorian-bred colt sold for $120,000 – the then highest-priced horse sold at a Gold auction.

The now five-year-old gelding started his racing career with Peter Gelagotis at Moe, but was transferred to Will Clarken at Morphettville earlier this year.
Already with two wins on the board before Clarken took over the Victorian-bred gelding’s training, He’s A Balter completed his fourth win in succession when he won an open handicap over 1100m at Caulfield last Saturday.
It was a case of back-to-back wins at Caulfield after success at Morphettville and Murray Bridge.
He’s A Balter has raced 25 times for seven wins, five seconds and two thirds. Since joining Clarken’s stables in April, the gelding has had nine starts, five wins and two thirds.
Clarken said He’s A Balter had been a lot of fun for the owners, who include former Carlton player Fraser Brown.
“He has got his confidence up, and we most recently changed his racing style a little bit, and he has become a real handy type of sprinter,” he said.
“He has got his confidence up and he has got a fairly high rating now so he will have to go to another level to keep going with it and the owners are having terrific fun with him and hopefully he can do that.”
Clarken said that He’s A Balter was now a 90 rated horse which will allow him to tackle a stakes race.
At this stage the gelding looks like tackling the listed G.H. Mumm Century Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on Oaks Day.
“We will just have to have a look and see how we go,” Clarken said.
Clarken said He’s A Balter was transferred to him after discussions with his friend Manny Gelagotis who is general manager and assistant trainer at Peter Gelagotis Racing.
“The ownership group wanted to shift him to South Australia, and I think they had another trainer in mind, but Manny pulled rank for me, thank God, and he got him into my camp,” he said.
“Everyone has got different systems and he has obviously fitted into ours really well. Peter and his team do a wonderful job but for some reason he has just clicked with our system.”
The progression of the horse hasn’t surprised Rosemont Stud’s operations manager Gerrard Jones who at the time of the sale said the yearling was the colt of the sale.
“We’re ecstatic with the result,’’ Jones said,
“He’s been out of his box all day today especially so I’m glad he can go back now and relax.
“He’s typical of all the Spirit of Booms, really relaxed, no fuss. He took it all in his stride.
“It was a really good price.”
After He’s A Balter’s win on Saturday, Jones also believes the horse is capable of winning a stakes race.
“On that run, you would think there is a stakes race for him.”
He’s A Balter was bred by Daniel Flack. He has bred four foals from Moxie Doll (Mossman x Affaire En Or). The first a filly, Let’s Boom, is a full sister to He’s A Balter and is still racing in the Toowoomba area as a six year-old and is a maiden after 31 starts but has had seven seconds and eight thirds. The grand dam, Affaire En Or (Dieu D’Or x Relations), won six races and produced the Group 3 winner of the WATC Hyperion Stakes (1600m), King Cool Kat (King Kugat)
Moxie Doll also has unraced fillies to Starcraft and Overshare.
Winning jockey Linda Meech was full of praise for He’s A Balter’s win.

“I thought his win on Memsie Day was very good and that win then was just as good,” Meech said in her post-race interview.

“Didn’t he try hard; he was really tired after the races so it was a big effort from him.

“It wasn’t how we thought things would pan out. They went very slowly. He was loving leading and was really comfortable.

“I was worried about getting beaten, I was just hoping that I wouldn’t.”

While Meech said she was very confident throughout the entire race,
But the change of a horse’s racing pattern isn’t always ideal.

He’s A Balter generally comes from back in the field, but he led in Saturday’s race after again racing handier at his previous Caulfield win.

The home town victory of Wicklow Town in the Gold Nugget (1600m) at Ballarat on Sunday was a reminder for Steve and Ceri Jostlear of the stallion Super Jet which they imported from America to stand at their Ampulla Lodge stud at Bunyip.
Super Jet (Dayjur x Amelia Bearhart) sired Afterburn (out of Afters) which is the dam of Wicklow Town (Canford Cliffs), trained at Ballarat by Julie Scott.
While being known as excellent pinhookers, the Jostlears sold their property several months ago and have relocated to Swan Reach, where they enjoy the company of a couple of retired racehorses.
At one stage they also stood the Swettenham Stud bred Brackenbury (Danehill x Jullene) which they credit for funding their property.
Steve said that Super Jet had developed into a good sort of a broodmare sire.
“Super Jet was a character of a horse and he had some ability too. He was favourite for the Kentucky Derby at one stage and he won races in Kentucky by huge margins and then he did a tendon.
“He just broke down and they said put him to stud.”
Jostlear recalls that they went to America where they met up will well-known bloodstock agent Ed Price who specialised in selling stallions all around the world.
“Frank Stronach, the aficionado over there, owned racecourses, and we bought the horse from him. I think from memory we paid forty thousand US for him, but the Aussie dollar was around 49 cents so I was looking after the wallet all the time.
“It wasn’t too bad at the time because there were a lot dearer horses around, especially in Australia. We paid $120,000 for Brackenbury and he did quite well for himself and actually paid for the farm.”
Super Jet served 65 mares in his first season at Ampulla Lodge in 2001 and the following year had his biggest book, 91 mares which produced 65 live foals when his fertility rate was 93 per cent.
Jostlear said breeders tried Super Jet’s progeny as two-year-olds, but they weren’t early runners and could get a bit nasty.
“He was quite a dag of a horse,” he said.
“Most stallions would be waiting at the gate to serve a mare and you would go to get him and he’d take off and you’d have to chase him around the paddock – he just loved the farm.
“What we used to do was put him in his box when we were teasing or had the vet there so he couldn’t nick off.
“He was that fertile it was unreal.”
Jostlear owned 50 per cent of Super Jet with a friend and the 50 per cent was sold in shares to clients.
After the initial flurry of interest in the stallion, bookings began to taper off so they decided to sell Super Jet who made a modest $10,000 at auction and resumed his stud career in New South Wales where he served a single number of mares before his death in 2013, five months after Brackenbury died.
“I had him teed off to go to Queensland and was going to lease him to a man, and he got to the stage where he got right down to doing it,” Jostlear said.
“Unfortunately it was the time of the equine flu and we got locked down and he was ready to go the week later. He would have got 80 to 100 mares up there, and it was all lined up, and it was going to be a good financial move for all the owners.”
The Jostlears bred The Pentagon (Super Jet x Wicked Way), which won the 2010 Grand National Hurdle (4530m), and the 19-year-old is one of their retired horses they look after at Swan Reach.
“Another horse we have up here is Le Capitaine (Captain Sonador x Pyramisa’s Lass) which raced in Hong Kong as Seasons Bloom,” he said.
“We pinhooked him and he won his second start at Pakenham and we sold him to Hong Kong where he won a Group 1 and $5.2 million in prize money and was rated equal 11th or 12th in the word behind Winx.
“The fellow sent him back to us and asked if we could look after him so they paid him to come back and gave us a bit of money to look after him.”
He said they paid $26,000 for Le Capitaine at Magic Millions, but he was too small to get ready for a yearling sale, so they kept him to race themselves.
Jostlear admits they miss the pinhooking and said the pandemic played havoc with their business.
Super Jet’s best performed horse was the mare Skyerush which fell just short of $1 million in prize money after winning the Group 2 Emancipation Stakes (1600m) in successive years, the Group 2 Doncaster Prelude (1600m) and Liverpool City Cup (1300m) and the listed Belle of the Turf Stakes (1600m). The mare finished second, beaten a short neck, in the Group 1 Tatts Tiara in 2012.
And Julie Scott said she sent her mare Afterburn to Super Jet after being successful in a tender for a nicely priced service fee to the stallion.
“It was when the stallion tender scheme was going, and he was quite a smart horse overseas and she was pretty tough and I thought it might be a good cross,” she said.
“So that’s why we went there and we got a cheap tender.
“Afterburn was very tough and won in won four in a row in Melbourne, and although she won seven races, she had 11 seconds, so she was a good horse to me and finished with $253,000.”
She bred Afterburn, the dam of Canford Cliffs’ Wicklow Town, after buying Afters (Snippets x Translantic) when she was training at Bairnsdale, but the mare was retired after just two starts when it was apparent she wasn’t going to make it on the track.
Afters produced seven foals, but Afterburn was clearly the mare’s best.
Scott, who admits she is getting a bit older, said her son Michael Matthews and his wife Lisa, decided to breed from Afterburn after she bred the first two foals from the mare. Air Space (Hardspun) was unraced, while Strike Action (Street Boss) won four races.
Wicklow Town was the third foal Michael and Lisa bred from Afterburn.
“My son at the time worked at Blue Gum Farm, where Canford Cliffs stood, and my daughter in law was one of the foremen at Lindsay Park at Creightons Creek,” Scott said.
“So I said if you want to take Minty, which is Afterburn, than you can because I’m not going to do it anymore and they took her over and she went to Canford Cliffs twice.”
Canford Cliffs stood at Blue Gum Farm from 2012 and until 2016 but didn’t return from Ireland for another season because of lack of support.
“I have been trying to talk the kids into having a go at Cliff’s Edge because he is by Canford Cliffs, but they don’t want to do that, but that’s their business.
“The mare is 19 now so she might have one more go at it. She has two-year-old by Sepoy and a yearling by National Defense and she is in foal to Harry Angel.
“And she might be going to Hanseatic this year.”
Afterburn also has a three-year-old unraced filly – Brittas Bay – by Ready For Victory which returns to Scott’s stables this week for another preparation.
Scott trained Afterburn at the same time she had the talented sprinter Tesbury Jack (Armidale x Clear Money), a Group 2 and three-time listed winner.
And she is hoping that Wicklow Town will also win a big race.
“All going well we are going to try to run him in the Seymour Cup which is going to be held here at Ballarat because Seymour is undergoing a renovation,” Scott said.
“It’s going to be another step up because it’s a listed, $200,000 race but he is going well and he tries hard and he is tough.”
Scott said Wicklow Town would probably have one more run after the Seymour Cup and then go out for a spell to avoid the hard summer tracks.

Australia’s latest pin-up racehorse extended his remarkable winning streak to seven with a supreme front-running performance in the 1600-metre Flemington feature, defeating a red-hot field of 10 individual Group 1 winners in his very first start at the elite level.

Tregea was delighted to share the big result with Moody and a new group of co-owners, including Ozzie Kheir and Brae Sokolski, who secured a 50 per cent share during the gelding’s all-conquering Queensland winter campaign that included victories by 9.5l in the Provincial Stayers’ Final and 12l in the G3 Tattersall’s Cup.

“That was an absolute dream result,” Tregea told TDN AusNZ. “We’ve won Group races before, but a Group 1 race in Melbourne – that’s just a different league.

“Even if he never wins another race from here, it’s worked out so well and it’s a special result for us and for the new owners as well. It’s great to share this with them. I don’t have any trouble sharing a win with other people, and if you’re losing, at least you’re sharing the expenses.

“But the way this horse is going at the moment hopefully, this won’t be the last time we’re celebrating a win.

“It’s a bit of a different experience to have the horse being trained by someone else now, but I don’t mind that either. Normally we don’t have anybody else to blame if things go wrong, and I guess we do now! But there won’t be any need to worry about that, he knows what he’s doing and he’s obviously doing a fantastic job with the horse.

“Now we just need to try to keep the horse at this level as we head through the rest of the spring and towards the Cups. He’s not a very difficult horse to train, and it’ll just be about keeping him ticking over. It’s very exciting for everyone involved.”

A ruling favourite for both the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup, Incentivise is now the winner of seven of his 10 starts, a far cry from just five months ago, when a sixth placing at Eagle Farm was his best result from three career appearances.

“He was a horse that’s just gradually kept improving throughout this year, and I guess it’s kind of snuck up on us how good he’s turned out to be,” Tregea said. “He was always going to be a stayer, so it wasn’t until he got up to those longer distances that he started to perform. Once he got that first win (over 1600 metres at the Sunshine Coast on April 11) and did it pretty easily, we realised we might have something, and he’s never looked back from there.”

Carrying on with the superstar’s siblings

Tregea breeds from a small broodmare band of around 10 at his Windermere Stud operation, which unfortunately no longer features Incentivise’s deceased dam Miss Argyle (Iglesia).

Herself a black-type placegetter in the Listed Gimcrack S., Miss Argyle has produced eight winners from eight foals to race. Incentivise is the headline act among four stakes winners, while his Redoute’s Choice half-brother Ardrossan was a high-class performer in New Zealand who won the G3 Concorde H., placed in the G1 Waikato Sprint and now stands at Waikato Stud.

Bergerac (Drumbeats) won the Listed Bernborough H. and Ipswich Cup among 10 victories for Tregea, and Cheyenne Warrior (Not A Single Doubt) rounds out the black-type quartet with a victory in the Listed Gold Sovereign S.

Miss Argyle sadly died last spring after hitting her head on a rock in her paddock, and the foal she was carrying by Pride Of Dubai was also unable to be saved. But Tregea still has other members of the family to carry on with.

“We’ve got a 4-year-old half-brother to Incentivise called Argyle Lane, who hasn’t raced yet,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with him. And we’re breeding from a half-sister, Flaunt, who’s due to foal within the next couple of weeks to Spirit Of Boom.

“There’s another half-sister, Ra Ra Epic, who’s in foal to Yes Yes Yes and was sold for $200,000 at the Inglis Great Southern Broodmare Sale a couple of months ago.

“So there’s still a few parts of the family around, we’ve got a bit to carry on with ourselves, and hopefully we might have a bit more luck along the way. But anyway, it’s great to be a part of what’s happening with Incentivise.”

Yulong Investments has announced the appointment of Harry King to the role of Sales and Nominations, joining the team led by Manager Troy Stephens.

The appointment was brought on by the significant growth of Yulong’s breeding division in recent months, following the acquisition of the now six-strong stallion roster and the increase to the broodmare band.

Hailing from New Zealand, Harry has a lifetime of experience in the thoroughbred racing and breeding industry as a son of Nick and Anne-Marie King of Waikato’s Brighthill Farm. 

Involved in the day-to-day operations of his parent’s stud from an early age, Harry then spent several years dividing his time between Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Working for reputable studs and preparers such as Vinery Stud, Ascot Farm and Yarraman Park during the sales seasons, he has also completed preparations with Round Hill Stud (Limerick), and a stint with Baroda and Colbinstown in County Kildare, Ireland. 

Harry spent three years with New Zealand Bloodstock as their Hospitality Manager, gaining huge insights in the sales and marketing of thoroughbred breeding. When the pandemic hit, Harry took up the opportunity to work for the NZB online arm in Gavelhouse.com, further enhancing his skills and knowledge of the bloodstock auction world.

“Harry comes to Yulong with fantastic credentials and global networks,” said Yulong Nominations & Sales Manager, Troy Stephens. 

“His enthusiasm and drive match the ethos we strive for here at Yulong and we’re looking forward to generating more success with Harry as part of the team.”

“I was very fortunate to meet Mr Zhang a few years ago in New Zealand,” said King.

“His love for horses and his industry knowledge is admirable and I’m incredibly excited for this opportunity to work under the Yulong banner.”

With operations based in the thoroughbred heartland of north-eastern Victoria, Yulong’s stallion roster boasts the current Australian Champion General Sire Written Tycoon, as well as third-season sire Grunt, second-season sire Alabama Express, and newcomers Lucky Vega, Tagaloa, and Yulong Prince.

Ryan McEvoy, one of the figures behind powerful Victorian Alliance colts fund headed by his employer Rosemont Stud, liked what he saw from the new partnership’s first two juveniles to officially barrier trial at Cranbourne yesterday, but he has been around long enough not to get ahead of himself.

Nevertheless, Rosemont Stud’s general manager of bloodstock declared it an exciting start to the Alliance’s first big-stakes foray into the yearling market and, at Cranbourne yesterday, it was Millane (Zoustar) who trialled nicely in heat nine behind stablemate Rampant Lion (Frankel) over 800 metres.

Rampant Lion, who was bred and is co-owned by Rosemont Stud’s Anthony Mithen and Nigel Austin, won the heat by three-quarters of a length in a time of 46.96 seconds with Brian Higgins in the saddle.

The Phillip Stokes-trained Runaway Belle (Pariah) was another half a length away in third.

In the other two-year-old heat, also over 800 metres, the Alliance’s Moody-trained Brereton (Zoustar) was not asked for an effort late in the heat but he still worked home stylishly to finish a neck behind the Shawn Mathrick-trained The Wizard King (Flying Artie).

The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Cannonball (Capitalist) was a further five lengths away in third.

“It is early days, but it is really pleasing that there are a couple of horses who have put their hand up to potentially be a candidate for an early two-year-old race,” McEvoy said. “It is exciting, but I am also guarded that they are two-year-olds. They can very easily find themselves in the paddock in the next week as well.

“Certainly, PG (Moody) has got those two colts, in addition to Rampant Lion who we are obviously connected to as well, coming along nicely.

“There hasn’t been one update regarding their shins or that they’re getting tired, they’re working and come back to their box eating up and sticking their head out of the box the next morning saying, ‘where’s the saddle?’. It is a pleasing start.”

Rampant Lion, who was passed in at the Magic Millions sale in January before Mithen and Austin struck a deal with syndicator Wylie Dalziel to sell down part of the talented colt, and Millane were broken in and pre-trained by Brad Pearson. Marty Lacey handled the early education of Brereton and McEvoy also credited Moody for his handling of the three colts associated with Rosemont.

Millane and Brereton are two of a dozen two-year-olds purchased by the Victorian Alliance, which includes Noorilim Park’s Peter and Glen Carrick, Glentree Thoroughbreds’ Bruce Wilson and Musk Creek Farm’s David Kobritz, at the 2021 yearling sales.

Another Victorian Alliance-owned colt Quinlan (I Am Invincible – Precious Lorraine by Encosta De Lago) is on track to have his first public hit-out at Monday’s official two-year-old barrier trial session on the Kensington track in Sydney.

Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Quinlan was a $600,000 purchase from the Magic Millions sale by the Alliance in conjunction with agents Suman Hedge and UK-based David Redvers.

“It is not often you get those two-year-olds who just never have any sign of showing tiredness or the fact that they are over the top. At some stage, they will need a spell, but if we can get them through to a race, that would be a wonderful result for all our partners in those horses,” he said.

“We think we’ve got a couple of nice ones in the paddock as well who at this early stage have shown us above average ability as well, so it’s not just these colts we’ve got up and going now.

“We’re reasonably bullish about some of our colts who have had a bit of a look at the stables and are back out. There is a bit to look forward to but, again, I am really mindful that the two-year-old trial form at this time of year can be neither here nor there.”

As for Rampant Lion, McEvoy is comfortable at this stage by the farm’s decision to retain the Frankel (Galileo) colt who is out of Furnival (Street Cry), a three-quarter sister to Telperion, a half-sister to Varda (Lonhro) and Yavanna (Redoute’s Choice), herself the dam of Group 1 winner Kementari (Lonhro).

“He was a really unique sort of horse to present to sale and we thought all along that he was a pretty special sort of colt, hence we were prepared to defend him at a fairly serious level and that’s okay,” McEvoy said.

“There were a couple of offers that came across us after he left the ring. In fact, we probably could have sold the horse, but Wylie Dalziel came to us with an offer and, look, we’ve got a pretty good connection with Wylie through Mr Quickie and a number of horses and we enjoy that relationship.

“Wylie was a big believer in the horse, as was Peter Moody, and ultimately we sat down with Wylie and reached a deal. 

“You could dare to dream on a horse like him. He was offered at sale and I suppose Frankel has gone to another level, if that was possible, since that sale. I don’t know how many Group 1 winners he’s had since January, but it’s a handful (six) and he’s probably taken up the mantle as the world’s best stallion post the sad demise of his sire (Galileo).”

Brooklyn Hustle set for Moir

Meanwhile, the Rosemont Stud-owned Brooklyn Hustle (Starspangledbanner) tuned up for her first-up A J Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) tilt at Moonee Valley on Friday week with a slashing barrier trial at Cranbourne yesterday.

The Jason Warren and Dean Krongold-trained Brooklyn Hustle, who won Group races in Adelaide and Brisbane last campaign, charged home under Brett Prebble to win heat eight over 800 metres by a length.

“She is obviously a very good mare fresh, albeit she finished her campaign last time in with a couple of Group races (wins),” McEvoy said.

“She is a very effective mare who loves the Valley. It’s no secret we think she’s a Group 1 horse and her runs at Group 1 level to date have been really, really competitive, particularly in a race like the Oakleigh Plate (when fourth).

“She’s trialled up super and she is going to run a really big race. Now that she’s a bit older, you wonder if they will retain their dash but judging by that trial this morning it looks like she has.”

Article courtesy of ANZ News

Two wins in two days from a filly and a mare out of a broodmare bought for $75,000 is giving Miranda Park’s Gary O’Meara plenty of hope for a colt from the same mare that will be offered at next year’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

The broodmare – She’s Sirius (Galileo x Canicula) – produced Sirileo Miss (Pride of Dubai) at Sandown last week for a first-up win over 1300m, while Notions (Press Statement) won over 1600m at Hawkesbury the following day.

Sirileo Miss, already Group 3 placed, is trained at Warrnambool by Symon Wilde, while Notions is in the care of Richard and Michael Freeman at Rosehill.

“She has done a good job, and we are very happy with her,” O’Meara said of She’s Sirius.

“The Pride of Dubai is the first one we’ve had out of her, which is Sirileo Miss, and the next one was by Press Statement, which is Notions.

“She then had a Divine Prophet, which is now a two-year-old called She is Divine, and she is with Symon Wilde, and we have a yearling colt by Merchant Navy which is going to go to the Premier Sale.

“He is very similar to the mare and is a chestnut with a baldy face. Her first foal was like that too, a horse called Coys (Dylan Thomas), and he won six in Sydney and was quite a good horse.”

The first seven out of the mare – the first two were colts, and the next five were fillies – have all won, which puts a bit of pressure on the Merchant Navy colt.

“Those all got to the track, and all won multiple races,” O’Meara said.

“We gave her a year off after the Merchant Navy colt was born as it was getting quite late and is being covered by King’s Legacy probably next week.’’

He said the Galileo factor was a big appeal when they decided to buy. She’s Sirius as she is out of a Rory’s Jester mare, which provides a good blend of speed and stamina.

“She herself was a useful racehorse and just a nice type of mare,” O’Meara said.

The credit for buying She’s Sirius, who was in foal to Pride of Dubai, goes to O’Meara’s son Tom who worked as a diesel mechanic.

“Actually, it was my son Tom who bought the mare,” O’Meara said

“Tom is a diesel mechanic, and a bit over five years ago, he came back and has been working with us at Miranda Park and is now a partner in the business with us.

“This had been the very first sale that Tom had been to by himself and bought the mare and paid $75,000 for her, and it was a bit of a spend for his first crack at it.

“But I think we should be sending him to the sales more often.”

O’Meara said his son had a good eye for a horse and put a lot of time in studying the catalogue, and when the mare measured up physically after he inspected her, they were happy to spend that sort of money to purchase her.

Being in foal obviously cushioned the cost of the mare, but O’Meara admits they were a little bit disappointed at the time that the Pride of Dubai filly only made $60,000.

“She was a lovely type of weanling, but she is just growing and growing into quite a tall yearling, and I think that put some people off, O’Meara said.

“But when Symon Wilde bought her, we sort of thought our best way of capitalising on a nice filly we bred was to stay in her.

“We took a share, and my brother Shane took a share in her, and we are very pleased that we did.”

O’Meara said the filly needs to settle a bit more pre-race, and while her behaviour away from the track is fine, she gets a bit hot and stirred up in the mounting yard.

“Once she overcomes that, I think it will help her achieve her maximum potential in the races, and it probably cost her a bit in the Australasian Oaks when she was only beaten 1.2 lengths (she finished five of 16),” he said.

“She got very hot in the mounting yard and going out onto the track and had burnt up a lot of energy by the time she got into the race but was still good enough to finish very close to them.”

While it was a very strong field at Sandown last week, the odds of $5.50 seemed generous given that the filly had previously won both of her first-up races.

“With her first-up record being impeccable, it gave us a bit of confidence,” he said.

“Craig Williams, a good barrier and it all panned out beautifully. Craig gave her a perfect ride, and when the gap opened and when she made run at the top of the straight, Mick Price and Michael Kent’s horse Cambourne went past her to take the lead, and I thought we might have been in a bit of strife then.

“But she really dug in and was very determined and strong to the line.”

O’Meara said if everything goes to plan, Sirileo Miss might finish up in the Matriarch Stakes (2000m), but Williams believes the filly would be better kept to around the 1400m distances.

“But I’m sure Symon will work that out and send her to where she has the best chance, but I think the run the other day and the ability she has shown, I think it’s pretty likely that she’ll measure up to a black-type race.

“I can’t see why she can’t get up to 2000m again.”

Already with three wins and three minor placings, from seven starts, O’Meara said the filly would be a handy breeding proposition once she finished racing, and if possible, it would be good to get hold of her for his broodmare band.

But he said it would probably be a double-edged sword because the way she was heading, she’d likely become a valuable breeding proposition down the track.

“But we still own the two-year-old half-sister, She’s Divine, which is also with Symon Wilde, so at least we have her from the mare going forward,” he said.

“Even if the group racing her were interested in having her back here, we’d be interested in being part of her breeding future.

“But we’ll just see what happens.”

The ownership group was put together by Wilde, and they have all become good friends with O’Meara.

O’Meara said Notions was always a beautiful filly.

“She was standout as a big, strong athletic filly as a young horse and a very impressive yearling.

“I guess Press Statement at the time wasn’t the flavour of the month but having said that, she was a very attractive filly and had her share of admirers. She was very good in terms of x-rays and scopes but there again, similar to Sirileo Miss, and we were expecting her to make more than what she did.

“She made $70,000 and was certainly a good type all the way through.”

O’Meara said that with Sirileo Miss and Notions performing well on the track, along with the She’s Sirius’ other five progeny, he was hoping that the Merchant Navy colt could have some value-added to him.

But he said a bit would depend on whether Merchant Navy can come up with some winners before next year’s sale.

“You would be expecting that he would be quite popular at the sales,” O’Meara said.

Notions holds nominations for next month’s three-year-old fillies races, the Flight Stakes (1600m) at Randwick and the Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield.

With She’s Sirius already producing the stakes-placed Sophia’s Choice (second in the listed Springtime Stakes at Flemington) and Sirileo Miss (third in the Group 3 Auraria Stakes), O’Meara said if Notions could get black type and Sirileo Miss could step up and win a stakes race, then it would also give the Merchant Navy colt a huge boost.

O’Meara said they are breeding from 12 of their own broodmares who are foaling to an assortment of stallions, including Toronado, Impending, Street Boss, and Turffontein, which Miranda Park has a share in.

The Impending mating with Impinge (Generous x Imco Resource) has produced a recently born colt, while Corcovado (Churchill Downs x Lominata) had a Turffontein colt which is a three quarter to filly Atomic Lokade which has won 10 races.

The most commercial broodmare at Miranda Park is the recently purchased Supriym Story (General Nediym x Grand Story) which O’Meara paid $70,000 for at the red hot Gold Coast National Broodmare sale earlier this year.

Supriym Story is the dam of 2015 Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) winner Lasqueti Spirit (Beneteau).

“We have just been trying to upgrade the mares all the way through and have them going to these better stallions to get a decent draft into Melbourne Premier,” O’Meara said.

“Supriym Story was in foal to Headwater when we bought her. I wouldn’t call her a bargain, but she stood out as a fair price considering what they were going for.”

O’Meara is also buoyed with Coolmore paying $850,000 for Lasqueti Spirit’s first foal, a colt by Pierro, at this year’s Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

Now a two-year-old, the colt is unnamed, and the mare has since been to Dundeel (NZ) and Deep Field.

“So it’s a chance for the family to kick on,” he said.

O’Meara said they would accommodate 60 outside mares this breeding season.

“They come here to foal down and then be walked on studs around Victoria and New South Wales,” he said. “It keeps us busy.”

O’Meara said they breed and prepare their own yearlings with the focus on Melbourne Premier.

 

 

After failing to make a significant impact on the racetrack, Crystalised looks like making up for it in the breeding barn with her three-year-old filly by Not A Single Doubt, generating plenty of noise in her three starts.
Crystal Bound demanded plenty of attention on debut at Moonee Valley in March when she blitzed her rivals by six lengths over 1000m
Starting at $11, there was little hype before the race but plenty after it.
At just her second start, the filly – trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace – was beaten less than a length in the Group 3 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m).
Back last Saturday, after a 21-week spell, Crystal Bound again raced handy to take out the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes (1100m) at Flemington.
After parting with $1.3 million for Crystalised (Zabeel x Gin Player) as a yearling, Noorilim Park Thoroughbreds at Arcadia offered Crystal Bound at the 2020 Gold Coast yearling sold and was snapped up for $400,000 by Cameron Stott and Caulfield trainer Ciaron Maher who didn’t have to look far to fill the ownership page.
Noorilim Park’s Peter and Glen Carrick retained a share, as did Scott Williams, who bred Crystalised.
“She was impressive but a little bit underdone coming into the race,” Glen Carrick said.
“But she got the job done for us.”
He said it was definitely good to still have Crystalised (Zabeel x Gin Player), which has now produced three foals for three winners.
“We have had Crystalised since we bought her as a yearling for big money ($1.3 million), and now it’s good to see her progeny doing it on the track,” he said.
“We bought her off Scott Williams in New Zealand, and he took her to the Sydney sales, and he stayed in her for a 25 per cent share, and he is still continuing to breed with us.
“And we both stayed in Crystal Bound. “We retained a leg in her.
“She was one of the better yearlings we bred, but we had to sell, but we wanted to stay in as well, and I think we made the right choice.”
Carrick said Crystal bound would head to either the Danehill Stakes or the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Caulfield against the fillies.
Crystalised has a filly by Impending, which will be either offered at next year’s Magic Million Gold Coast Yearling Sale or Melbourne Premier.
“She is clearly the best foal on the farm,” Carrick said.
“She is going to visit Farnan this week. It will be a close relation to Crystal Bound with the Not A Single Doubt line, so I think that works in the family.”
Crystalised slipped to the Autumn Sun after being served last October.
Carrick said they were mindful that they had to make the right stallion selection for Crystalised because of her size.
“You never know, that could have come out too big,” Carrick said of The Autumn Sun mating. She is a pretty big mare.”
With Crystalised being so big – she is pushing 17 hands; Carrick said it was important to match her with the right sized stallions.
“I think a few people thought she was going to throw a boat, but they didn’t say she was going to throw a fast boat, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s a speed boat.”
Carrick said it was crucial with a big mare to make sure the stallion was the right size.
“You just hope it comes out perfect, and it did that time,” he said.
Carrick said that while it was tempting to retain Crystal Bound, it was also important to bring in funds to pay for all the costs.
Carrick said they had about 15 of their own broodmares and would foal down 90 for the season.
“It’s the busiest time of the year but the best time of the year,” he said.
He said they try to sell all of the foals they bred, which means they send their mares to what Carrick describes as the better stallions.
As well as Crystal Bound’s win, Crystal Dynasty (Tavistock), which is also out of Crystalised, won on Sunday at Donald.
The four-year-old mare is also trained by Maher/Eustace, while Stott and Noorilim Park Thoroughbreds are also in the big ownership group. Crystalised’s first foal, Queen of Ascot, is by Redoute’s Choice and is a Bairnsdale maiden winner that now races in South Australia.
“We also had a winner, Easy Single (Not A Single Doubt x Special Lover) at Swan Hill last Friday,” Carrick said.
The four-year-old was bred by Noorilim Park and purchased by Maher for $240,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Yearling Sale in 2019.
“We bred all three of those, and they are trained by Ciaron Maher, and he has done well for us,” Carrick said
Carrick said everything they breed is for sale – at the right price.
“We put a price on them, and if they sell, they sell,” he said.
“We usually put a fair price on them and don’t overprice them.”
Maher described Crystal Bound in his post-race interview as a very high-quality filly.
She’s got that beautiful big action,” he said.
“We took her to The Valley off one trial, and she obviously was very impressive the first time out.
“So we took a similar path this time around. She’s still a bit wintry in the coat, and that will really bring her on. That’s probably why she probably doesn’t look as refined as when they’ve been in work a bit longer.”
Maher said the “Sky’s the limit for her.”
Crystalised is a half-sister to Group 1 SAJC South Australian Derby and Group 1 Schweppes Oaks winner Zarita (Pentire), Group 2 winner Run Like The Wind (Pins) and Hong Kong sprinter/miler Joy And Fun (Cullen) which won 12 races.