Archive for category: Industry News

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.

Widden Stud’s Adam Henry reckons life couldn’t get much better than what it was on Saturday.

“When you have a dynamic roster like the one assembled at Widden, days like these are bound to happen and it’s pleasing when they do,” he said.

Seven of Widden’s stallions produced 12 winners on the Australian racing calendar on Saturday and then the following day Hong Kong based David Hayes produced what many believe is a champion in waiting when Nervous Witness cruised to an eye-catching win on debut.

Unraced in Australia as Bill’s Kick, the son of Star Witness exceeded all the pre-race hype that the four-year-old had generated since trialling at Sha Tin.

And the action was pretty good closer to home for Widden Stud’s Victorian stallion, the Melbourne Cup winning Fiorente which produced Don’t Doubt Dory to win at Moonee Valley over 1600m, while Melody Man made it back to back wins at Morphettville when the gelding won over1950m.

Nicconi, which will stand his first season at Widden in Victoria, had four winners on Saturday, including champion sprinter Nature Strip which returned with a slashing win in the Group 3 Concorde at Randwick to justify his favouritism for The Everest. Jerry also won at Randwick, while Aston scored at Morphettville.

And the late Sebring’s name continued to live on when Superstorm won the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley.

Henry said it was great to see Fiorente get the double.

Star Witness will join Nicconi on debut at Widden Victoria.

“The addition of the two proven Group 1 stallions to Victorian roster proves that we are fair dinkum about the Victorian industry,” Henry said.

New boys Russian Camelot and Doubtland are proving popular and both will serve more than 140 mares.

Henry said the bookings to the stud’s 12 stallions indicated that more than 1000 mares will be served before the end of the season.

He said the mix of stallions, some at the start of their careers and others as proven performers at different stages of their careers, allowed the stud to cater for all breeders who wanted juvenile runners, sprinters, milers and middle distance horses.

And Henry said a proven stallion like Magnus had 119 winners last season and had a huge result at Melbourne Premier where his yearlings averaged more than $160,000.

He said Don’t Doubt Dory’s trainer Julien Welsh and connections have black type aspirations for the five-year-old which has won six races from 13 starts.

“There are plenty of stakes races around the carnival for him,” Henry said.

“He has certainly got the ability to win a good race and he wouldn’t have been wound up for the first up assignment. There is definitely a good race in him.

“Jake Stephens in South Australia has always had an opinion of Melody Man which won by three lengths. He has definitely got stakes ability as well.”

Henry said Fiorente was coming off a good season when he had five stakes performers as three-year-olds from just 38 runners.

He said he had a strong book this season and is coming off his second biggest crop of 88 live foals off his highest service fee of $27,500 in 2019.

Widden also now offers pre-training and a breaking service under the guidance of respected horseman, Matt Upton.

“It’s a hive of activity with horses working and mares coming into be covered,” Henry said.

With the return of the breaking and pre-training, Henry said Widden had pretty much had everything covered from conception to the racetrack.

“It really is a one stop shop,” he laughed.

To view the Widden Victorian roster please click here.

As Laurie and John McCarthy gradually wind down operations at their Greta West Stud, they both took pleasure in witnessing a horse they bred give Darley stallion Holler his first win.

Obfuscation was bred by the brothers from a mare they bred – Hai Lil (Churchill Downs x Smooth as Silk) – which they bought back after being retired.

It didn’t surprise Laurie that the three-year-old provided Holler with his first winner at Bendigo last week

“He was always a nice horse,” McCarthy said.

“The form around him in that first start was pretty strong, I think.

“Even the way he did it after being wide and everything. He has gone to the line pretty well. It was nice.”

In what turned out to be a little bit in reverse, Greta West Stud sold Obfuscation through Bucklee Farm’s draft at the 2020 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale to Blake Ryan Racing for $90,000.

Later that year, Ryan Racing sold the two-year-old colt at the Inglis Ready to Race Sale for $50,000 to Caulfield trainer Mick Price who trains the now three-year-old gelding in partnership with Mick Kent Jnr.

After finishing third on debut at Bendigo last month, the gelding returned to the same track 26 days later, scoring a relatively easy but impressive victory over 1300m as the $2.10 favourite.

McCarthy said the victory was also significant as it gave his Group 1 winning sire Holler (Commands x Shouts) his first winner as a stallion.

Greta West Stud bred Obfuscation from their mare Hai Lil (Churchill Downs x Smooth As Silk) which they sold for $60,000 at the 2011 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale to Bendigo trainer Allen Browell who retired in 2019.

The McCarthy brothers bought the mare back after she was retired from the racetrack with six wins – four of those at city level.

“Obfuscation was a cheap horse,” Laurie said.

“Blake Ryan loved him and he wanted to ready to run him and he went through at Sydney and didn’t run down too badly either but he only made $50,000 and Mick Price bought him.

“If you were paying fifty for him and he is educated and ready to run he is a cheap horse for Mick Price but a dear horse for Blake at ninety”

After they bought Hai Lil back, her first foal to Fighting Sun was born dead and the mare was sent back to the stallion which produced Hai Sun. The now four-year-old mare, trained by Mitch Freedman, has had five starts for a win at Caulfield and a second and a third.

Hai Lil’s foal after Obfuscation was a colt by Toronado which Lindsay Park Racing paid $200,000 for at this year’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

“He is named (Le Ferrari) and the Hayes’ really like him,” McCarthy said.

“She didn’t have one as she was late but she is back in foal to Toronado. I bred two to Toronado in the first year and have bred to him every year so far.

“We got good money for a Toronado the year before and got $200,000 for a colt out of No Vanity.”

Hai Lil is booked to Darley’s Earthlight (Shamardal x Winters Moon) this breeding season.

“Earthlight was a terrific two-year-old and won five out of five,” McCarthy said.

“We tend to just stay in Victoria and I haven’t sent mares to the Hunter. I really wanted a proven horse but proven horses are just too dear for me now.

“I was looking to spend around $20,000 and Nicconi and Magnus are the proven horses but I ended settling on Earthlight who I think is a high quality horse. You would think he would have appeal.

“We are sending our other mare, No Vanity, to Hanseatic. He is 17 grand and it’s not all about price but there are not many horses under 20 grand to go to in Victoria and then you jump up to 30-plus.”

McCarthy revealed that they are winding back their operations and last year was the first time in more than 40 years they did not stand a stallion at Greta West Stud which is recognised as one of the oldest family owned studs in Victoria.

Laurie and John’s father, Les and his wife Maureen, established the stud in the 1960s.

McCarthy said that when he was at school his father was standing Prince of Baden, which had Scamanda a winner of his first eight starts as a two-year-old and his first defeat was in the Golden Slipper, and Staincross (GB).

“We had a stack of stallions and Toy Pindarri was a terrific old horse that we had for years,” he said.

“But that era of the smaller breeders, that’s all gone.

“If it’s not going to make to a yearling sale somewhere then no one wants to breed it. And those people who breed from themselves were our clients”.

“A lot of them are people who are in their seventies or eighties and hence they don’t have the farm and they don’t have the income and the horses to do it. Times change and a lot of them take a five or 10 per cent in a syndicated horse and that’s their exposure.”

Among Greta West Stud’s big roll call of stallions are two of their most recent sires – Master of Design and King of Prussia.

“Dad started standing stallions in the 1960s,” McCarthy said.

“I’ve been doing it for 40-odd years and it’s time for a break I reckon.

“We’ll keep one farm and we’ll probably sell one farm.

“We are getting into our sixties and there is no one to take it on, there are all different reasons and it’s a good time to make a change really. But we have had a really good couple of years.”

Greta West Stud comprises two farms, about a kilometre apart, and one is 280 acres and the other 300 acres.

He said the work doesn’t get any easier and they been foaling nothing under 50 mares “forever.”

“You are out there day and night and it’s year round and once a upon a time you’d stand the stallions and nothing would go to a yearling sale and the mares would come along and you’d get the agistment and the service fee and out the gate,” McCarthy said.

“You would have horses all year round but you wouldn’t do yearling sales and they are now a thing of their own and they never stop. You would get some down time to a degree and staff is harder to get and everything is that much more commercial.”

McCarthy, 60, said his brother John, 61, wanted to stay on the older 280 acre farm where they grew up and sell the slightly bigger one which they have had for more than 35 years.

He said his father’s parents originally had the property around 1880 and 1890 when the Kelly Gang bushrangers roamed the area.

McCarthy said he bought a block of land in the older part of Geelong more than two years ago and they built a new home and it was only last Friday that he took possession of the keys to the house.

“Eventually I’ll end up there,” he said.

“We’ll keep some of the mares.

“I have got three girls and they are leaving and going off to uni and things like that so it’s just a good time to make a change.”

McCarthy said that while he was sad about moving, he believes there will be plenty of positives with the move to Geelong with his wife Toni and their three daughters, Ella, Sophia and Ava.

“We have had a lot of winners later and that Free Of Debt which we bred won in Adelaide again the other day,” he said.

“We don’t have a large broodmare band and have only had half a dozen for quite a while and we have cut it all back.

“We have had a couple of good years from our yearlings. It’s hard to get a horse by the right stallions, get them to x-ray and scope well and all those sort of things.”

McCarthy said that if they stayed serious money would have to be spent on the farm if they were to remain on a commercial basis and they’d need to buy broodmares and already stopped with the stallions.

“As I said there are a lot of things that say it’s a good time to have a change,” he said

McCarthy said his brother wouldn’t do much with the farm as it would be difficult without him receiving back-up.

“He doesn’t really have to do much and you sort of think why put yourself through it and some of them go forever until they finish and then they drop off,” he said.

“We have worked pretty hard for a long time.

“He’ll run a few cattle and will probably have a few horses. Because we still have the farm there is no reason why we can’t breed a few more foals and see what happens and how it works.

“We’ll just see how it goes as we go along.”

Planning matings is a year-round process for the team at Two Bays and despite lockdowns putting a damper on physical parades, they are confident in having made the right decisions without seeing a large portion of stallions in the flesh.

“It makes things more difficult but the footage and video parades that the stallion farms are doing these days is incredible and you’re able to get quite a good gauge,” Carlile told TDN AusNZ.

“And with the internet, you’re also able to go all the way back to their yearling parades. So, there’s a lot more faith with the video system now and we’ve been able to use that with our stallion selections.

“However, we’ve also talked to the people who have been able to see them (stallions) and when they get ticked off by a few good judges you’re happy to follow them.”

The boutique Mornington Peninsula-based nursery stakes claim to a plethora of well-performed gallopers since its inception in 2012 and they will be hoping its third time lucky for the proven producer, Alcatraz (Fastnet Rock), after the dam of 2019 G1 JJ Atkins S. runner-up Kubrick (Shooting To Win) missed to top-end stallions Justify (USA) and Written Tycoon at her last two attempts respectively.

Alcatraz was covered by Newgate Farm’s burgeoning sire Deep Field on the opening day of this breeding season. The son of Northern Meteor is a full brother to Kubrick’s sire Shooting To Win.

“She’s (Alcatraz) starting to put a few ducks on the board but once they’re up there in the Hunter (Valley) and out of our hands we put all our trust in the people taking care of them,” Carlile said.

“We can cross our fingers and toes but at the end of the day they’re not robots and you can’t get them to do something they don’t want to do.

“Her 3-year-old filly (Bundle Of Fun (Written Tycoon)) was meant to have her first start the other week and was scratched due to a wide barrier but the Patrick Payne-stable are confident in her ability. Her 2-year-old by Written Tycoon is now in the (Chris) Waller system under the Coolmore care.

“So, hopefully, we’ve given her another good chance through Deep Field as the family clicks, there’s the line through Fairy King Prawn, Cosmic Endeavour also being by Northern Meteor and Shooting To Win being Deep Field’s full brother.”

Loading Zone (Street Sense {USA}), the dam of dual Group 3 winner Military Zone (Epaulette), will head to Widden Stud’s debut sire Anders after missing to Darley’s exciting shuttle sire Blue Point (Ire) last season.

A half-sister to Listed winners Hesitates (Commands) and Super Lacuna (Grand Lodge {USA}), Loading Zone had a colt by Russian Revolution knocked down for $150,000 at this year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

“She had an American Pharoah filly last year and sending her to Blue Point was a throw at the stumps right at the end of the season,” Carlile said.

“This year she will get a nice and early cover by Anders as she needs a good topped horse. We haven’t been able to see him ourselves, but he was an expensive yearling and a very fast horse himself and the sireline is kicking.

“He was also a physical match that suited her and with the speed, in her family, we thought we could recapture that through Anders, as she’s basically a carrier that throws pretty much whatever the stallion is.”

Shuttle season

Edge Away (Hinchinbrook), a half-sister to $1 million 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale purchase Jedastar (I Am Invincible) and dual Group 3 placegetter Rulership (I Am Invincible), will return to Spendthrift Farm’s Omaha Beach (USA) after foaling a quality filly by the dual Group 1 winner in recent weeks.

“We were very, very impressed by the Omaha Beach filly she (Edge Away) left us this year, she’s two weeks old and we couldn’t be happier,” Carlile said. “Omaha Beach was a good racehorse who just suits her (Edge Away) physically, as he’s got that bit more leg and she’s not a very big mare.

“He’s got the leg and she’s got the strength. So, hopefully putting the two together gives us a nice product.”

New Zealand Group 3-placed juvenile Platinum Mam’selle (Fighting Sun), will head to Swettenham Stud’s rising shuttle sire Toronado (Ire) for her third individual cover after her weanling filly by Tavistock (NZ) sold for $80,000 at this year’s Inglis Great Southern Sale.

She is currently carrying a foal by young Coolmore sire Yes Yes Yes.

“This year we have a lot more mares staying at home in Victoria than we have in the past,” Carlile said. “We’re only sending five mares up to NSW as the Victorian stallion farms have really stepped their game up and we like to support the likes of Swettenham, and Toronado who is doing a great job.

“She (Platinum Mam’selle) was a very tough 2-year-old who ran a lot early and with a mating like Toronado we know that if the foal doesn’t come up early, it’ll come on as a 3-year-old.”

The right direction

Two Bays will send three mares to Blue Point at Darley this season, Excelsior Island (Exceed And Excel), Spin Me A Kiss (USA) (Hard Spun {USA}) and Clear For Take Off (GB) (Solider Hollow {GB}).

“We’ve gone pretty hard on Blue Point, we sent four mares from the farm to him last year, as he’s just a horse you can’t go past, he’s a beautiful-looking horse and I don’t think too many people could fault him,” Carlile said.

“Blue Point was a superb racehorse himself, the only horse to win three Group 1 sprints at Royal Ascot and that Shamardal sireline just gets better with age too, he (Shamardal) had three Group 1-winning colts last year in the UK alone, it’s a pretty mean feat.

“By all reports from the UK, his (Blue Point’s) stock on the ground are impressing a lot of people and from what I’ve heard over here they are saying their best foals are by Blue Point. So, it’s a pretty exciting time for anyone in Australia who has tapped into that sireline through either Blue Point or Earthlight.”

Excelsior Island, a half-sister to G1 ARC Diamond S. winner Warhorse (NZ) (General Nediym), has a yearling filly on the ground by Justify and is only a matter of weeks away from foaling to Blue Point.

“We’re really happy with the Justify filly, she’s a good first foal for her (Excelsior Island), she has lots of strength and is a bit sharper than the Justify’s I have seen at previous weanling sales,” Carlile said.

“So, hopefully, the first Blue Point foal that she produces in the next couple of weeks is a good one and we look like geniuses this second time around.”

Spin Me A Kiss, a US$40,000 (AU$53,821) 2020 Keenland January Horses Of All Ages Sale purchase by Pinkhook Bloodstock, recently foaled a filly by Brazen Beau in her first attempt at stud.

“Dave Mee (Pinhook Bloodstock), who we’ve done some business with in the past, suggested her and we were happy to take this dual stakes-placed mare on his recommendation, as she was a good physical,” Carlile said. “Her Brazen Beau filly is really nice and a quality first foal for the mare, and Blue Point should suit her really well.”

Fellow international import Clear For Take Off has been given every chance to get into foal after missing to Justify last season in her first attempt at stud.

A German Group 3 placegetter who won three races between 1400 and 2200 metres, Clear For Take Off was purchased by Matthew Becker’s Group 1 Bloodstock for €130,000 (AU$208,546) at the 2019 Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale.

She is out of dual Listed winner Chantra (Ger) (Lando {Ger}). She is also a half-sister to German Group 3 winner and three-time Italian Group 1 placegetter Calyxa (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

“I don’t think she acclimatised in time last year after coming out and she really looks the picture now,” Carlile said. “She was covered by Blue Point on September 1 and fingers crossed everything goes well and she gets a nice first foal in a year’s time.”

“Blue Point should suit her well as if you look back to Shamardal he was a (G1) French 2000 Guineas winner and she just needs a good-sized, strong horse over her as she’s a lightly framed British-bred mare.”

The farm’s Antique

It wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Antique (Metal Storm {Fr}), the grandam of multiple Group 1 winner Arcadia Queen (Pierro), G1 Railway S. winner Regal Power (Pierro) and G2 Western Australian Derby winners Arcadia Dream (Pierro) and Action (Pierro).

The matriarch of Bob Peters’ famed family was purchased by Two Bays and Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA) for $45,000 at the 2015 Inglis Sydney Weanling and Broodmare Sale.

The 22-year-old has produced Arcadia Power (Pride Of Dubai), Big Apple (Manhattan Rain) and a colt by Toronado since joining the Two Bays broodmare band.

She is expected to foal for the 13th time in the coming weeks and is carrying the progeny of Manhattan Rain.

“It will be a day-by-day proposition with her and if she tells us that she can handle another one we will think about it but if she doesn’t, we will pull up stumps and she can be a nanny for the rest of her life,” Carlile said.

“If we do go around with her again, we will have a throw at the stumps with Impending as we hold a breeding right in him and while he was a sprinter, he is by a miler to 2000-metre horse (Lonhro) out of a miler herself (Mnemosyne).”

Table of some of Two Bay Farm’s matings for 2021

Article Courtesy of TDN.

Spendthrift Australia recently welcomed back a pair of their Kentucky-based team -G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic hero Vino Rosso (USA) and multiple Grade 1 winner and G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Omaha Beach (USA)- to its Victoria nursery, about 60 kilometres from Central Melbourne.

They retired as two of the hottest stud prospects in North America in 2020 and were supported with according quality. Each is to be represented by their first young produce to go under the hammer during breeding stock sales in the upcoming American autumn.

Vino Rosso the talk of the town

By the influential Curlin (USA) and out of a mare by the late Street Cry (Ire), Vino Rosso was bred at Kentucky’s Glennwood Farm by John D. Gunther and cost owner Mike Repole’s Repole Stable and Vinnie Viola’s St. Elias Stable US$410,000 (AU$564,688) as a yearling at the 2016 Keeneland September Sale.

Though bred to excel over a route of ground, the Todd Pletcher-trained chestnut was a debut winner over seven furlongs (1400 metres) and stamped his ticket to the US Classics with a victory in the G2 Wood Memorial S. in April of his 3-year-old season.

He showed further improvement as an older horse, winning the G1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita and the Breeders’ Cup.

Though he was a later-maturing sort, breeders are reporting that his first-crop foals are shaping as anything but that.

“I have a really nice mare that I bred back to Vino Rosso in May, because every single Vino Rosso we have is stunning,” said Carrie Brogden, who breeds under the banner of Machmer Hall with her Australian-born husband Craig.

“Vino himself was a lovely horse, but I have been stunned with what I’ve seen and I think a lot of people feel the same way.”

She added: “They have bone, they have size, they have substance and they have a big, old kachunga–a big old butt. They look a lot faster than I would have expected for a horse that was a Classic-type distance horse. They look very correct and he’s really stamping them.

“I can’t think of any of them that we have that aren’t chestnut and really good-looking. Every single foal we have by him is a better physical than the mare they’re out of. He’s throwing sprinter-type bodies with stretch, and a lot of times, that gets you the miler-type that can get a distance as well.”

Martha Jane Mulholland breeds out of Mulholland Springs in Kentucky and has also been taken by Vino Rosso’s first batch of horses.

“These foals look very early and I think you have to look individually at a horse,” she said. “They look quick and they look early. (Vino Rosso) ran a Classic distance, but it looks to me like he’s getting foals that will be able to sprint and go a distance when they get older.

“I am seeing a lot of size and scope and body and in a weanling, those are important,” Mulholland commented.

“They’ve got a lot of leg, a lot of air under them and they’re good-sized. They have the appropriate amount of length – they’re not too short-coupled and they’re not too long. Significant muscling, particularly in the hind quarters, which should make them quick and I like the way the neck sets into the shoulder and they’re very correct, solid horses.

“I also think they are very attractive-headed, which, commercially, a pretty foal always sells well. They are very nice foals, nice big eyes, good shoulder, good, scopey horses and very well-balanced.

“In a baby, if they’re correct and have good size and scope and a nice head, that bodes very well for a successful sales year. And the balance and muscling bodes well for success on the racetrack.”

Vino Rosso is one of 14 top-level winners for Hill ‘N’ Dale’s Curlin (USA), a number that also includes this Shadwell Stables’ G1 Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat (USA), who recently added the prestigious G1 Alabama S. to her growing resume. According to Jody Huckabay, who operates Elm Tree Farm alongside his wife Michelle, Vino Rosso has every opportunity to follow in his sire’s considerable hoofprints.

“To me, he is throwing a lot of Curlin into them,” Huckabay said. “They’re very correct and very good movers and I’ve just been probably as impressed with him as any freshman sire that I’ve seen here this year, at our farm in particular. I am very high on them. We are putting two in the November sale, a colt and filly.

“In my opinion, they look like they could be early. Short backs, good hips on them. I think the commercial people are going to snap them up. I think the 2-year-old (resellers) that fuel our market here are really going to like him.

“I’m just very keen on him, at least based upon the ones we have. They look like they’re going to be early enough, but that’s not all they’re going to be. I think they are also going to get better with time. But he’s going to have some early runners, if they look anything like ours.”

Brogden believes Vino Rosso will be a ‘buzz’ horse once mixed sales season kicks off in a few months’ time.

“You have this chatter across the farms in Kentucky -‘who do you like? who do you like?’ and invariably, I keep hearing that ‘I love my Vino.’ Obviously, Curlin is becoming such an influential stallion in the United States and I think (Vino Rosso) would do so well with the speedier, shorter-coupled mares in Australia.

“Curlin’s reputation continues to move forward, his flag is flying higher. He’s doing things he really shouldn’t be doing, and from what I see with the Vinos, it won’t shock me if that’s what you see there, too. And he has a beautiful female family. I am very excited for his foals.”

Omaha Beach, the Danzig connection

Danzig-line stallions need little introduction to the Australian market, but in the form of Omaha Beach, breeders also have access to a female family with abundant class and racetrack success.

A son of US$3.2 million (AU$4.4 million) Keeneland September yearling Charming (USA) (Seeking The Gold {USA}), Omaha Beach is a half-brother to Champion US 2-Year-Old filly Take Charge Brandi (USA) (Giant’s Causeway {USA}) and was himself bought in for US$625,000 (AU$860,804) at Keeneland in 2017. Treble Grade 1-winning second dam Take Charge Lady (USA), a daughter of successful dual-hemisphere stallion Dehere (USA), produced Champion 3-Year-Old colt Will Take Charge (USA) (Unbridled’s Song {USA}), Grade 1-winning sire Take Charge Indy (USA) (A.P. Indy {USA}) and multiple stakes winner As Time Goes By (USA) (American Pharoah {USA}).

Trained by Richard Mandella for the late Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farms, Omaha Beach placed in three tries on the turf, but became a different animal once switched to the dirt, with victories in the G2 Rebel S. and G1 Arkansas Derby establishing him as the Kentucky Derby favourite. Forced to miss that engagement, he later returned to win a pair of Grade 1s over sprint trips either side of his runner-up effort in the Dirt Mile.

Omaha Beach’s first foals have impressed this group of breeders.

“I feel certain he will pass on his ability to his progeny,” said Mulholland. “This horse is producing the best foals that these good mares have ever had.

“With the size of his fee, he was sent some very nice mares, but these are nonetheless the nicest foals that these mares have ever had. Lots of quality, lots of class, good balance and size.

“The only other horse I felt this way about is (US Horse of the Year and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner) Gun Runner. I just don’t say that about a lot of stallions and I am going to go to (Omaha Beach) in his third year. I feel very strongly about that horse.”

Added Huckabay: “I only have one Omaha Beach-unfortunately. I did breed a couple more mares to him, but they didn’t get pregnant. The one we have belongs to my son, very nice filly. She’s also going in November. (Spendthrift’s) Mark Toothaker came out and he thought she was a very good representation of what the sire can throw.”

Huckabay reports that the filly, produced by the stakes-winning Star Super (USA) (Super Saver {USA}), has a date in the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

“We were original shareholders in War Front as well, and this filly to me looks like a lot of the good War Fronts,” he commented. “She’s got good leg, plenty of muscle. She’s a good mover and she ties together extremely well. She’s out of a pretty nice mare, we’re really pleased with her.

“She looks like a rocketship, no joke. She looks like just pure speed. Mark really thought she was one of the better ones he’d seen.”

The highly positive feedback from a handful of prominent breeders suggest that not only do prospective buyers on this side of the world have something very much to look forward to, but so, too, does the Australian industry when the first foals are offered to the market.