Tragedy Strikes Stefi Magnetica Family

Breednet - Wednesday September 25

Every breeding season brings tales of joy and sometimes sadness and the team at Cressfield have ridden the emotional highs and lows over the past month with Operations Manager Liesl Wickson sharing her story of two remarkable mares and a prized colt.

Bred and sold by Cressfield, Stefi Magnetica won the G1 Stradbroke and has now secured a slot for The Everest - image Grant Courtney

Not long after Stefi Magnetica triumphed in the Group I Stradbroke in June 2024, comparisons began to surface between her and her dam, Mid Summer Music, who had also secured a Stradbroke victory in 2012.

Both mother and daughter, though modest in stature and unremarkable in appearance, defied expectations to become stars on the racetrack and Mid Summer Music later earned a reputation as one of Cressfield’s most esteemed broodmares.

Sadly, life’s parallels would strike again for this family.

Mid Summer Music was raised as an orphan after her dam, Samsara Lady, died during foaling. Tragically, history would repeat itself.

On September 1, 2024, just 18 hours after the birth of her final colt by All Too Hard—a full sibling to Stefi Magnetica—Mid Summer Music passed away, leaving her newborn an orphan as well.

The All Too Hard colt from Mid Summer Music was a foal in search of a mother.

Given the sudden loss, the response to care for the colt had to be swift. The team at Cressfield quickly arranged for emergency milk from Scone Equine Hospital to ensure the foal was fed through the night, transitioning to hourly bottle feeding. However, bottle-rearing is labour-intensive and doesn’t allow foals to learn crucial social cues from their mothers, making long-term bottle feeding impractical.

“After Mid Summer Music passed, I knew we needed a nurse mare for the colt,” said Liesl Wickson, Cressfield’s Operations Manager.

“When I called Ezy Care Nannies and learned there were no nanny mares available, we had to devise a Plan B.

“Last season we were able to induce lactation in a lovely kind Clydesdale mare and foster a foal onto her, so taking that experience we had with her I looked at our own paddock of dry mares for a potential candidate to do similar.”

Advertisement

Platelet takes on mothering the orphaned brother to Stefi Magnetica.

With the criteria for a calm, quiet mare that has had foals previously in mind, Liesl quickly landed on dual Group I winner Platelet as the mare most likely to fit the bill.

“We initiated the lactation induction protocol with Platelet the next day, which can take up to a week to produce enough milk for a foal. But getting a mare to accept a foal when she hasn’t recently given birth is another challenge altogether,” Liesl explained.

After diligently following the induction regimen and successfully generating a healthy milk supply, Cressfield staff felt both eager and apprehensive about introducing the Mid Summer Music foal to Platelet.

“There was no need for nerves,” Liesl recalled. “As we approached with the foal, Platelet looked intently at him and nickered, showing us positive signs she would accept him.”

After observing Platelet’s positive behaviour toward the foal for 24 hours in a stable next door, the decision was made to bring them together.

Platelet showed no signs of rejecting the colt, despite not having raised a foal since 2021. She patiently waited for his nursing instinct to kick in again. It was as if he had always belonged to her.

There will be plenty of people following the fortunes of this special colt as his career unfolds.

While Platelet was a dual Group I winner of the Goodwood and the Robert Sangster Stakes and had yearlings sell up to $1.8m, there is no doubt in Liesl’s mind this has been Platelet’s most notable achievement.

“Every day, I feel a deep gratitude towards her. There’s a beautiful symmetry in it all—the son of a Group I winner and sibling to another, being raised by a Group I winner. It’s a story that truly writes itself,” Liesl concluded.

News from Cressfield

Advertisment
More Reading...
Inglis Ready2Race Sale Now Online
The strongest collection of sire power ever assembled for an Australian 2YO Sale will be offered at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale, for which the catalogue is now available online.
Wootton Bassett Juvenile G2 Double
Wootton Bassett (GB) featured in Ireland overnight at The Curragh with two stakes-winning juveniles, Constitution River taking out the the Group II Futurity (7f), while the Group II Debutante (7f) went to the filly Composing, who comes from the family of Amelia’s Jewel.
Bates gets creative at The Valley
Six-year-old gelding The Creator led throughout to claim the Ladbrokes Top 2/3/4 Betting Handicap (1600m) at The Valley on Saturday under a perfect Logan Bates ride.
All Too Hard Star Mare Stefi Magnetica a $4mil G1 Doncaster Heroine
She was already a Group One winner and been a regular in the top level sprints but All Too Hard’s Stefi Magnetica surely crowned her career when victorious in the $4million Group I Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Saturday.
Idyllic Prince Stakes - Phanta Leads a Sweet Trifecta for Gingerbread Man
Yarradale Stud's senior stallion Gingerbread Man achieved a rare career high for any sire when the son of Shamardal provided the trifecta in Saturday's Listed Idyllic Prince Stakes over 1300m at Belmont Park.
Hard To Cross swoops to Valley win
Six-year-old gelding Hard To Cross was aided by the three-kilo claim of Rose Hammond as the Kiwi bred landed his first victory of the preparation when landing the Ascend Sales Trophies Handicap (1523m).
Sires With Winners - Sunday August 24
Here is the full list of 67 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Like Mother Like Daughter - Stefi Magnetica Triumphs in Group 1 Stradbroke
Twelve years after Mid Summer Music scaled the heights in the Group 1 Stradbroke Hcp, her 3-year-old daughter Stefi Magnetica equalled the feat in the $3,000,000 feature at Eagle Farm.
Via Sistina Joins Two Group One Legends
Via Sistina is certainly in rare air and if you want another stat to put her in perspective – yesterday’s Winx Stakes win saw her become one of only three horses in the last 40 years to win eight Group One races in a 12-month period.
First Stakes Success For Cafe Millenium
While having just turned 5, former Sydneysider Cafe Millenium (Not A Single Doubt), who now calls Lindsay Park home, broke through for his first black type victory on Saturday, winning the Listed SAJC Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) at Morphettville in impressive fashion.