The Victorian breeding industry is on the cusp of something seriously good with arguably the best broodmare band in the country located at Yulong and an exciting new cohort of first season sires poised to ignite – is it any wonder I headed south for my annual stallion parade trip this year.
I live at Daybreak Farm on the South Coast of NSW in the town of Milton which is three hours drive south of Sydney right on the coast and for that reason I decided to drive down rather than fly in which gave me the opportunity to hit a couple of farms on the way down in Newhaven Park Stud and Twin Hills Stud, so it’s not all just about the Victorians!
Warm hospitality was enjoyed everywhere we went with particular thanks to Twin Hills Stud, Gilgai Farm and Rosemont Stud for accommodating me and my gal pals, plus our mascot Freddie Bear… he made a lot of friends along the way.
Caroline Searcy’s Bred to Win has a new segment called Stud Dogs, Freddie is the dog who went to studs!
Adam Sangster met guests at the gate at the Swettenham Stud parade which was impressive and why wouldn’t you given this farm is home to Victoria’s most expensive sire this year in Toronado (IRE). Click to see more of the parade.
Big question will be whether he can secure Diego Velasquez (IRE) for a shuttle to Victoria next year after the super expensive Frankel stallion won the Group I Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville on Sunday in the colours of Sam Sangster.
Diego would be a hell of a drawcard as a fast Frankel colt… there aren’t many of them as the best tend to lean to the staying end of the spectrum.
Blue Gum Farm welcomed us for a visit, albeit we missed their parade which was the week before. That said, Sejardan made a good impression and it’s exciting times ahead for him with promising weanling sales this year.
There is a plan in place for Blue Gum / Trilogy Racing to race around 20 of his first crop horses that will be placed for maximum exposure, but you will read more about this later in the week.
Ciaron Maher was a high profile guest at the parades as you would expect given he has made a good number of these stallions – Southport Tycoon, Growing Empire, Gold Trip, Bruckner and Generation for a start.
Déjà vu – there were a lot of people feeling it at Widden Victoria’s parade when Southport Tycoon stepped out in front of a packed crowd. The dual Group I winner is by champion sire Written Tycoon, who was led out for the first time in this same parade yard back in 2007 when the farm was previously Eliza Park.
That was 2007 and here we are nearly 20 years later looking at Southport Tycoon, who is very similar in type and has the same brand having also been bred and sold by Daandine Stud, although a better race record, so his fee of $38,500 is a lot more than the $8250 you could have paid to go to Written Tycoon that year.
Extreme Choice has only one son at stud in Victoria and it’s Extreme Warrior at Rosemont.
He sadly has fertility issues like his famous sire. Small numbers has not stopped Extreme choice and with his first runners this season there is still hope.
Freezing was the weather on Friday as we headed south from Nagambie and now I understand what Sean Dingwall was talking about at Blue Gum the day before when he said you need to have your farm on this side of the ranges.
Gilgai Farm was our home for two nights on this trip thanks to Stud Manager Kelly Skillecorn extending the invitation when he was a guest on the Tara Talks Racing podcast.
Suffice to say it was magic, with a tour of Royal Gilgai on the back of a golf buggy a highlight as well as meeting the dams of Ole Kirk and Supido, two very special ladies that fall into the category of special needs people… they are loved.
Henry Longfellow (IRE) arrived safe and sound from Coolmore Ireland to Rosemont and paraded in great order as befits a Group I winning juvenile by Dubawi from European Horse of the Year Minding.
If you have any knowledge of European pedigrees you will know this guy is royalty and the only horse he can really be compared with is Too Darn Hot (GB), whose success in Australia has put him at a fee of $275,000 this spring.
Inglis or Magic Millions? This trip was about stallions, but at Newhaven Park we did see some yearlings that included the full brother to Group I winner Cool Archie and a colt that quite clearly is something a bit special.
He is by Dundeel from Newhaven’s Champion 2YO and 3YO Filly English, who is yet to produce a horse of her ability, but this colt has got something.
Japanese bloodlines have a growing place in Victoria with Yulong standing three sons of Lord Kanaloa in Panthalassa (Jpn), Diatonic (Jpn) and Tagaloa, while Lovatsville have Fierce Impact (Jpn).
King Colorado put on quite a show at Widden and with his first foals arriving this spring is the only son of Juddmonte’s champion sire Kingman standing in Australia.
A Group I winning 2YO tracing in tail female line to legendary blue hen Fall Aspen, he is yet another stallion down here produced by Ciaron Maher.
Luskin Star was my absolute favourite stallion when I was a kid so seeing the yard where he lived was a highlight at Newhaven although John Kelly was quick to talk about Zeditave, rating him the most intelligent horse he has ever met.
Mark Dodemaide and I go back a long way having worked at Inglis together back in the day albeit me in NSW and he in Victoria. ‘Dods’ is enjoying his role working for Eddie Hirsch and running Woodside Park, which is home to another of the exciting young gun Victorian sires in Celestial Legend.
I asked him about the decision to leave Inglis after 30 years and he grew wistful for a moment.
“I loved it there, but nothing lasts forever, Peter Heagney retired and then Simon Vivian and a new wave of people were coming… I just didn’t want to be the last dinosaur in the paddock,” he said as we all cracked up.
Newhaven Park is kind of like the Widden Stud of the south. Set on more than 6000 acres, this farm has been family owned and run since the last century by the Kelly family and John Kelly was happy to give us a history lesson along with our tour of the farm.
We stood on the highest point looking out over the rolling country around us and there was a definite Yellowstone vibe. It gave you goose bumps!
John Kelly has taken a sideways step from the Aussie speed mantra and is standing not one but two sons of champion New Zealand sire Savabeel in Cool Aza Beel and Mo’Unga. Cool Aza Beel has produced Group I winner Cool Archie in his first crop and Mo’Unga will have his first foals this spring, so it might be a calculated gamble that is set to pay off.
Olly Tait is a man wearing two hats as owner of Twin Hills Stud and also as a key advisor to Qatari based international bloodstock enterprise Wathnan Racing. His passion for his farm, the stallions and Australian racing is undeniable, but at the same time his international job is never far from his thoughts.
As we were driven around the farm we ran into a new short-term resident.
“There’s Olentia, we bought her last week for $2.6million (for Wathnan Racing), she’ll be on a flight to Europe in November,” he said, before switching tack to the farm’s young So You Think stallion Peltzer.
“He’s got a runner on Saturday in the Quezette (G3), Thanks Gorgeous. She’s a long shot in a hot race, but her form is good, so we can dream.”
Thanks Gorgeous ran a close third to become the second stakes horse for Peltzer, who is well and truly on his way.
Parrot, a superb one is a rare creature that you don’t find on the south coast of NSW where I come from, but Boorowa, which is the nearest town to Newhaven Park is apparently the home of the Superb Parrot .
The things you learn on tour! And if you are wondering, yes we did see some.
Question –why are there so many ginger cats on this tour, every farm has a ginger cat!
Road less travelled led us to Neville Murdoch at Larneuk Stud, which is a smaller farm geared more for the breed to race owners and sadly they are becoming a dying breed.
That said, Neville has a couple of stallions in Wandjina (Snitzel) and Impending (Lonhro) that produce winners week in and out and stand at a fee of $6,600, plus the Japanese bred G1 winner Lauda Sion (Jpn), who is heavily supported by his owner Luke Koumi.
Things could have gone very differently at Larneuk Stud, but for a decision made by Neville back in 2010 when two stallions were offered to him from the same female family.
He chose O’Lonhro, the other was I Am Invincible.
Sam White and his team at are having a red hot go at Lovatsville with a very good crowd attending to see a versatile roster that includes Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip (Fr) and exciting newcomer Move to Strike.
The first Group I winning 2YO colt by I Am Invincible, Move to Strike is one of six G1 winners retiring to stud in Victoria this spring and we saw all of them on this trip.
The Homestead – OMG, still can’t believe we had the chance to stay here after the Rosemont parade and it was every bit as good as you might imagine and the Argentinan staff BBQ at the stables that night was a big winner, especially for Freddie!
Unicorn aka Written Tycoon – very few stallions have had the sort of challenges and upheaval that this stallion has experienced on his way up with massive changes in location, ownership and service fee.
Against all odds, he has succeeded and thrived leaving a lasting legacy that is still unfolding with young sire sons Southport Tycoon, Private Life and First Settler poised to add to the success.
Victorian breeders awards a few weeks back featured the Thoroughbred Breeders Australia Rising Star Award which went to a young man named Marcus Heritage that works for Swettenham Stud.
He provided much of the commentary at their stallion parade and then I had the pleasure of sitting next to him at a dinner that night. Greatly impressed with his knowledge and enthusiasm for an industry that has done nothing but good for me.
Wifi password, as someone that often works while they are on the road, this is a piece of information you often need from a host and at one of our stops it was horseslivehere… gold!
X-factor – Paulele might not be the best stallion on the Darley roster, but he is the most photogenic by a mile! Click to see more of their parade.
Yulong have taken a leaf out of Hollywood and set up their very own ‘walk of fame’ … if things keep progressing as they are that walk will find it’s way up the Hume Highway. Click to see more of their parade.
Zoustar is the sire of two big banger first season sires in Victoria in Schwarz (Rosemont) and Growing Empire (Yulong). The first is a bona fide G1 winner and the second went awfully close which explains the fee differential, but who do you pick?
