Victoria’s Asfoora proves you don’t need big money to go global
Asfoora’s recent retirement closes out a 35-start global career that turned a mare bred on a modest Victorian stud farm into one of the most recognisable Australian sprinters in the world.
That farm is Euroa’s Noor Elaine Farm, owned by brothers Akram and Daniel El-Fahkri, and their family. Housing their own broodmare band and agisting for clients, Noor Elaine also stands the stallions Ilovethiscity and Nepotism. They might not be a big-name breeding operation or a household name, but they did breed a horse that beat the world's best.
Out of the I Am Invincible mare Golden Child, Asfoora was first presented as Lot 487 at the 2020 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale. Her reserve of $30,000 wasn’t met, being passed in at $24,000. So she headed back to Noor Elaine, and, as they say, the rest is history.
Winning her first three starts, Asfoora would go on to win four black type races in Australia before conquering the Europeans on their own turf and claiming her first Group 1 victory in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. She added the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes and the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp in France to her victories, finishing her career with a total of 12 wins, five placings and over AUD$3.5 million in earnings.
Her training duties were conducted by Ballarat-based Henry Dwyer, who took the mare from provincial Victorian midweeks to the world - a journey that’s since seen Henry take out a UK training licence.
"It's been quite the ride," Akram said after Asfoora's Nunthorpe win last year.
"Put the money to the side - she means everything to our farm."
At her retirement announcement, Henry was reflective. "How lucky are we to have something so good that makes saying goodbye so hard,” he said.
“It's been a remarkable three years but sadly all good things must come to an end. I'd be lying if I said I could quantify how much fun this has been... us travelling around and going to all the festivals has probably opened a few eyes."
It would be remiss not to mention her sire, Flying Artie. While Asfoora was conceived in his very first season at stud when he stood at NSW’s Newgate Farm, Flying Artie's own story is thoroughly Victorian. Trained by Mick Price, his stakes wins all came at Caulfield and Flemington, and it was that Victorian racing pedigree, combined with the brilliance of his early stock - Asfoora and Artorius the highlights - that saw Blue Gum Farm bring him back to Euroa in 2023, standing him just down the road from the farm that bred his best runner.
As this year’s breeding season gets underway, Asfoora’s story reminds us that the next Group 1 winner bred in this state isn't necessarily going to come from the biggest operation, or the most expensive covering fee. Sometimes it comes from a family-run farm at Euroa, a Ballarat stable, and a bit of faith.
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