Turf Monthly October 2020

monthly

TURF

October 2020

THIS MONTH

WINDBAG - ONE OF THE GREATS SUBZERO - ONE OF A KIND TWO GEORGES - MOORE AND RYDER NEW STALLIONS FOR 2020 SECRETARIAT’S BELMONT

Editor’s Letter

Coronavirus has been a devastating time. With all things though, we need to learn from our challenges, and as a society we have had few bigger than this pandemic. We know that there will be another one even if we don’t know when. We need to be prepared and have the right safety nets in place when the next one does happen. Our role here at Turf Monthly isn’t to be political so we are going to stay away from the big picture and look at some of the lessons that racing needs to learn from Coronavirus.

Keeping racing open was a great move. It proves a few things. Firstly, punters are the backbone of the industry. Gambling turnover is king, and we need to ensure that the product we offer is the best that we can. The industry has also shown that we can work together when we need to. Social distancing and the way that people in stables have helped each other again stands out. But we have always known that the industry will rally around in times of trouble. We need to make sure that this happens not just in the bad times. There are always going to be people in the industry that need a helping hand, even when things pick up. Staff wages and conditions, gambling and social problems, and plenty of other issues plague racing. Now is a time to address at least some of these.

We have suspected for a long time that crowds no longer matter to racing. For most meetings the crowd only consists of industry participants. As an industry, we have tried to ignore this, but Coronavirus has made it only too clear. “But the carnivals” is always the catch cry. Sydney had their carnival without crowds and the race clubs paid dearly. It is clear that racing itself is not what keeps race clubs alive. The ancillary events that go along with racing are the lifeblood of clubs. In fact, it is only the people attending the carnivals that keep the clubs alive. These are not “racing people” but people who like to attend events. They will go to the major sporting events, the big-name concerts; in fact, anywhere there is an event. If we want these people to become involved in the sport, we need to make their attendance more about the racing experience than the event. The horse must be central to the show. We no longer live in a society where the horse is part of our daily life, even in the bush. But it is the love of the horse on which our industry depends. Lose this, and we lose everything.

On a lighter note, a few words of thanks are in order. We could not put this magazine together without the help of lots of people and organisations. I would like to acknowledge the following who allow use of their wonderful products and images.

SHADOW PRODUCTIONS TESIOPOWER SKY RACING RACING.COM

Until next month

Ross Prowd Turf Monthly

ABN 64 892 144 940 Phone 0412 712 181 Email editor@turfmonthly.com.au Unit 4/125 West St Menzies Qld 4825

Turf monthly 2

Contents 4

4 REMEMBERING WINDBAG

18

31

GEORGE RYDER

22 GEORGE MOORE

26 THE THOROUGHBRED

31 TRIVALVE

18

34

34 SUBZERO

38 NEW STALLIONS 2020

50 GREAT RACES

38 50

22 Turf monthly 3

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION AND ICON REMEMBERED

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indbag is one of those rare horses whose names have become synonymous with the English language. Sure, he was named with a word that was in general usage.

In fact, Windbag originated in the 1500’s meaning “the bellows of an organ” which effectively were just bags full or air. By the 1800’s, the meaning of windbag came to define someone who talked too much. By the mid 1900’s, with gas replacing wind as a major source of energy, many especially American readers would have grown up hearing the word gasbag having taken over in common usage. With the re-emergence of renewable energy especially wind farms, we are now hearing windbag making a return to modern culture. For racing fans, there can only ever be one Windbag, and he was an absolute champion.

Turf monthly 4

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oaled in 1921, Windbag was the son of champion sire and galloper Magpie, himself a son of Dark Ronald also a champion sire. Magpie had proven himself one of the best gallopers in the UK, having run second, beaten only a head by Gay Crusader in the Two Thousand Guineas.

Gay Crusader was rightly claimed to be one of the best 3yo’s to race, and Magpie was described by many as the greatest mile and a quarter horse to ever be imported into Australia. In fact, it was only World War I that led to him being sent to Australian in the first place after he had already won the important Rous Memorial over a mile.

He won three stakes races in Australia in the SAJC Elder Stakes, the Caulfield Stakes, both at 9 furlongs, and the VRC Melbourne Stakes over 10 furlongs. The Elder Stakes in Adelaide has an interesting history. It was first held in

“the gamest horse that ever looked through a bridle�

1890 and had been won the two years prior to Magpie’s victory by the imported Irish bred stallion, Cyklon who won nine stakes races and was to produce the remarkable Trivalve who in 1927 won the AJC Derby, VRC Derby and Melbourne Cup. World War II was to intervene, and the race was not held for a period from 1930 when it was won by the immortal Phar Lap. The race was again run in 1945 when won by Rainbird, another Melbourne Cup winner with an important legacy. Rather sadly, the race again was discontinued, and it was not held until 1956 but it failed to return to its former glory, finally being discontinued after 1962. Magpie was to win the Champion Sire Award in 1929, some time after Windbag had retired due largely to another of his champion sons in Amounis who won 27 stakes races in a stellar career that included not only a Cox Plate, but three successive victories in the Linlithgow Stakes when it was run over a mile.

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indbag’s dam was the NZ bred Charleville by the imported Charlemagne II by St Simon who was to produce two more stakes winners by Magpie. Bicolor, a younger brother to Windbag, won the Hotham Handicap in 1927 before disappointing in running 14th to Trivalve

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in the Melbourne Cup. Bicolor was to stand at stud but had limited success siring only one stakes winner with Teringa in the 1938 QTC Exhibition Handicap. A younger sister to the pair was Loquacious who won the Adrian Knox Stakes and Metropolitan in Sydney in 1929. At stud she was to produce a daughter, Feminist by Pantheon, a son of Tracery, who also was to win the Metropolitan in 1939 as well as the Anniversary Handicap and Tatt’s NSW Club Cup in 1941.

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he great Windbag was born at Kia Ora Stud near Scone which was established in 1912. Long regarded as one of the most important studs in Australia, and especially the Hunter Valley, Windbag was instrumental in its success. He was the first Melbourne Cup winner bred at the stud which gave it a major boost at a time when thoroughbred breeding was certainly in need of a lift. Windbag started a remarkable association of Kia Ora, owned then by Percy Miller and managed by AW (Bert) Riddle, with the most famous race.

Three years later it produced Statesman to win the Cup and in fact all three placegetters had been by Kia Ora stallions.

Kia Ora claimed seven winners of the Melbourne Cup sired there in their golden years in Windbag (1925), Statesman (1928), Peter Pan (1932 and 1934), Delta (1951), Evening

Windbag and his sire Magpie side by side

Peal (1956) and Baystone (1958). While Pantheon, the sire of Peter Pan did stand at Kia Ora, he did not stand there when Peter Pan was born. The stallion was purchased by Percy Miller for 7250 guineas at the dispersal of JE and C H Brien’s neighbouring Kingsfield Stud in 1929, the year Peter Pan was foaled.

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t is well recorded though that Windbag was something of the ugly duckling as a yearling. He was offered for sale by Reg Inglis in Sydney and was knocked down to the commission agent for Ian Duncan of New Zealand.

Mr Duncan owned Elderslie Stud and had been on the look-out for some yearlings to join his fairly large team of horses. Arriving across the Tasman, Mr Duncan was disappointed in the youngster, and made this known very clearly to Reg Inglis who contacted Percy Miller of Kia Ora. Percy promptly called off the sale, and fortuitously the colt joined a consignment of yearlings that his brother Robert had booked to Australia. Bob, who had many racehorses,

accepted the inevitable request from his brother and raced Windbag in his colours. Like many of these ugly duckling stories, time was to prove the difference, and Windbag furnished into a handsome stallion during his days at Kia Ora.

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indbag won the first of his thireen stakes race in 1925. These varied in distance from 7 furlongs (1400m) to 2 miles (3200m). The Melbourne Cup was surprisingly the stallion’s only stakes win outside of his native NSW. Windbag made his first racetrack appearance on 29 December 1923, unplaced over five furlongs (1000m) at Randwick. He found the winner’s stall at his fourth start in a field of 18 runners, still over 5 furlongs, starting at 12/1 on 2nd February after two more unplaced runs. Another string of three unplaced starts saw him round off his 2yo season with a win over 8 furlongs (1600m) at Randwick on 26 April.

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fter a break, Windbag returned as a 3yo on 2 August 1924 winning a 6-furlong handicap against 22 others of the same age. He was off the scene until 21 February when unplaced at his next start but won again on 7 March over a mile. Windbag was again unplaced behind The Hawk in the Rawson Stakes, but he proved he was up to this class at his next start running second in the Chipping Norton when ridden for the first time by Jim Munro who was to steer the champion for the remainder of his career.

The two formed an amazing partnership, never missing a cheque until he retired in April 1927. Jim Munro was to be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, and interestingly rode in Germany for a time in 1930 winning the German Derby that year on a horse called Alba which he maintained was the best horse he ever rode. Munro was later to ride in India which meant giving up his booking on Peter Pan for the 1934 Melbourne Cup, a ride that was given

to his more famous brother Darby, who was also inducted into the Hall Of Fame.

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enowned scribe Frank O’Loghlen who wrote for Country Life newspaper under the pseudonym of “Eurythmic,” tells an interesting tale in his book “Champions Of The Turf ” published in 1945. He interviewed Jimmy Munro essentially to ask him whether Windbag may just have been the best horse he had ever ridden. It was then that Munro insisted that no Australian horse including Phar Lap would have gotten close to the German horse Alba. Windbag’s trainer was not of the same opinion, and George Price said that Windbag was “the gamest horse that ever looked through a bridle.” The stallion’s nameplate stood above his stall until Price retired from training.

Jim Munro Turf monthly 8

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week after running second in the Chipping Norton, Windbag was to beat Spearfelt in the St Leger over 14 furlongs before finishing second two days later to Lilypond in the Sydney Cup. Another two days later, on 15 April, he got revenge beating Lilypond in the 14-furlong Cumberland Stakes and backed that up on 18 April by winning the AJC Plate over 18 furlongs. Three wins and a second in just over a week over a total of 62 furlongs (12400m) or nearly 8 miles of racing is certainly an effort that stamps Windbag as something quite exceptional.

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indbag returned from a well-earned break by winning a 2 and 3yo handicap at Randwick over 6 furlongs carrying the steadier of 9.12 (62.5kg). This was the campaign that stamped Windbag as one of the greats of the Australian turf and saw him win eight races culminating in his Melbourne Cup victory. He beat another champion in

the brilliant Manfred who carried 10 kgs less and started the 7/4 favourite. Manfred led at the furlong post, but the determined and dogged Windbag hauled in his younger rival to win by a half-length in a new Australian record for the distance. Windbag lined up again on the Saturday after the Cup in the 12-furlong CB Fisher Plate running second to the underrated Pilliewinkie who had a long rivalry with the champion.

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ur champion was to win another five wfa events before his eventual retirement. Windbag’s last race was on 9 April 1927 when he ran third in the Chipping Norton over 10 furlongs in Sydney behind Amounis. As we mentioned earlier, Amounis was to become the flag bearer for their sire, Magpie. It was truly a fitting hand over of the mantle of champion.

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Windbag (1921)

Turf Monthly Hampton (1872) 10-a

Lord Clifden 2-h Lady Langden 10-a

Bay Ronald (1893) 3-o Black Duchess (1886) 3-o

Galliard 13 Black Corrie 3-o

Dark Ronald (1905) 9-b Thurio (1875) 2

Cremorne 2-n Verona 2

Darkie (1889) 9-b Insignia (1882) 9-b

Blair Athol 10-a Decoration 9-b

Magpie (1914) 1-n St Simon (1881) 11-c

Galopin 3-i St Angela 11-c

St Frusquin (1893) 22-b Isabel (1879) 22-b

Plebeian 11-e Parma 22-b

Popinjay (1905) 1-n Goldfinch (1889) 4-c

Ormonde 16-h Thistle 4-c

Chelandry (1894) 1-n Illuminata (1877) 1-l

Rosicrucian 5-i Paraffin 1-l

Windbag (1921) - M - 10-d Galopin (1872) 3-i

Vedette 19-b Flying Duchess 3-i

St Simon (1881) 11-c St Angela (1865) 11-c

King Tom 3-n Adeline 11-c

Charlemagne II (1904) 8-c Morion (1887) 5-i

Barcaldine 23 Chaplet 5-i

Perfect Dream (1893) 8-c Rosebud (1879) 8-c

Pero Gomez 27-a Lady Rosebery 8-c

Charleville (1911) 10-d Nordenfeldt (1882) 13-a

Musket 3-d Onyx 13-a

Stepniak (1889) 5-d Steppe (1868) 5-d Nithsevo (1903) 10-d Fitz Donovan (1892) 21-a

Saunterer 27-a Seclusion 5-d Donovan 7-a Alone 21-a

Shepherdess (1896) 10-d Iolanthe (1882) 10-d

Maribyrnong 3-m Rosedale 10-d

Newminster The Slave Kettledrum Haricot Galopin Mavis Sterling Wild Dayrell Mare Parmesan Rigolboche Orlando Iodine Stockwell Blink Bonny Knight Of The Toison D'Or Vedette Flying Duchess King Tom Adeline Joskin Queen Elizabeth Parmesan Archeress Bend Or Lily Agnes Scottish Chief The Flower Safety Beadsman Mme Eglantine Blair Athol Paradigm Voltigeur Mrs Ridgeway The Flying Merope Harkaway Pocahontas Ion Little Fairy Solon Ballyroe Beadsman Mme Eglantine Beadsman Salamanca Lord Clifden Violet Toxophilite West Australian Angler Chysolite Birdcatcher Ennui Tadmor Miss Sellon Galopin Mowerina Hermit Young Melbourne Fisherman Rose De Florence Tynedale Thrift

8-a 2-h 3-j 10-a 3-i 13 12-a 3-m 7-a 2-n 13-a 2 3-n 10-a 3-m 9-b 19-b 3-i 3-n 11-c 5 11-e 7-a 22-b 1-k 16-h 12 4-c 13-a 5-i 10-a 1-j 2-h 19-b 3-i 3-i 2 3-n 4-l 11-c 23 23 13-a 5-i 13-a 27-a 2-h 8-c 3-h 3-d 2-b 13-a 11-d 27-a 12-c 5-d 3-i 7-a 5-d 9-g 11 3-m 12 10-d

PEDIGREE NOTES: On first glance, it may seem that there is relatively little inbreeding in Windbag’s pedigree, but this is not accurate. Overall a total of 10.94% of the pedigree share ancestors according to the Hardiman Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI). St Simon (4mx3m) is duplicated through two sons and his sire, Galopin (6mx6m) also appears twice more in the pedigree. We also see the full siblings Rosicrucian and Chaplet appearing in the 5th generation. Their sire, Beadsman is also represented by another son in Pero Gomez.

Lord Clifden (5mx6f) appears twice in the pedigree through his son Hampton and a daughter Lady Rosebery. Windbag is from the Bruce Lowe number 10 family, and what is notable is that Hampton is perhaps one of the best runners in the history of this family, winning from 5 to 21 furlongs and being champion sire in 1887. We see another stallion, Blair Athol also from the number 10 family appear twice in the pedigree of Magpie.

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WINDBAG

AN ENDURING LEGACY

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ike most stallions, we find many of Windbag’s enduring influences through his daughters. We also must remember that his was a time very different to now.

Travel was much more difficult, and broodmares tended to be mated with stallions in the district. This was advantageous to Windbag who we saw was based at Kia Ora Stud in the Hunter Valley, NSW. With many of his daughters based in the centre of our thoroughbred industry, it comes as no surprise that they were often mated to among the best stallions of the time.

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t stud, the stallion was to produce a total of 18 stakes-winners including Beamish Boy. He raced in Adelaide winning the Port Adelaide Sires’ Produce and Guineas, and later the Adelaide Guineas and South Australian Derby. One of Windbag’s finest was Winooka who won the AJC Doncaster and All-Aged Stakes as well as the Futurity in Melbourne. He was the inaugural winner of the CW Cropper Plate in Sydney, a race that was only held for nine years but was won the second year by Chatham and later three times in succession by another champion in Ajax.

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indbag was to produce one great son, the immortal Chatham who no doubt we will look at more closely in a future edition. To give you a hint just how good Chatham was, he ran second to Phar Lap in the Cox Plate of 1931 at only his 4th race start and then followed that up with a 2nd in the VRC Derby a week later. Like his sire, he excelled as he got older and it was his four and five-year-old seasons that were his pinnacle. Chatham won three Craven Plates, two Epsoms and

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Chatham

two Cox Plates among his tally of 21 stakes wins. At stud, Chatham was to produce 16 stakes-winners, just shy of Windbag’s tally of 18. Incidentally, Chatham was out of a mare by The Welkin, another of Australia’s great stallions who won the Sires’ Title three times. The Welkin by Flying Fox had won five stakes races in Britain before coming to stud in Australia and he produced 46 stakes winners including Gloaming. Chatham had only a couple of sons at stud that were even moderately successful in Portfolio and Conservator.

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ortfolio out of the NZ bred daughter of Absurd in Nuit had won the Herbert Power. He produced only two stakes winners in Blazeway and Spearfolio who won the 1954 Adelaide Cup. Conservator won the South Australian Derby as well as the Adelaide Guineas, but produced only one stakes winner at stud in Conrex who twice won the Adelaide City Handicap. Another son of Chatham was High Rank who won the Doomben Newmarket (forerunner to the Doomben 10000)/ Stradbroke double in 1941 as well as the Toowoomba Cup that year.

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nother son of Windbag at stud was Pageant out of Gay Element by Comedy King who won the 1939 Australian Cup and left two stakes winners in Adelaide Cup winner, Royal Pageant and Tasmania Guineas and Derby winner, Top Bale. One of the most enduring lines of Pageant seems to be through a daughter called Silver Gown whose line produced the stakes winning half-siblings Taminor who won the 1983 SAJC Sires’ Produce and Cheltenham Stakes, and Fairfax Girl who won the 1980 WATC Crystal Slipper. This line has since given us Cash In The Bank who won the 1997 Belmont Sprint and Cyril Flower Quality in WA, and his half-brother the WATC Listed All Star Quality Stakes winner, Mystery To Me.

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indbag holds another special place in Australian racing folklore. This time as the sire of Bragger who was to become the first stakes winner for a young trainer by the name of Tommy ‘TJ’ Smith. He did have another very good son who went to stud in Liberal. Liberal won the Victoria Guineas and VRC Derby

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Carbon Copy at stud

and produced six stakes winners at stud. It was one of his daughters though that was to produce a mare whose line gave us Miss Petty, a mare recently inducted in the Queensland Racing Hall Of Fame. Trained by legendary Queensland country trainer, Charlie Prow, Miss Petty raced in the Queensland outback and held the Australian record for the most consecutive wins until Black Caviar came along. Her unbeaten run extended from 1985 to 1989. She began her winning sequence in a Goondiwindi maiden and posted her 22nd victory when she broke the track record in an 1100m race at Longreach. Not only is she in the Hall Of Fame, Miss Petty is one of the few mares that can boast her own statue which now proudly stands in her hometown of Blackall, Qld. While on the subject of Queensland, another son of Windbag who went to stud was Mr Speaker, perhaps very appropriately named, and his son Narringo won a Weetwood in Toowoomba.

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nother Windbag daughter, Havers, out of a Comedy King mare produced a colt called Carbon Copy from a mating with Helios. Many regarded Carbon Copy as one of the greatest 3yo’s in particular in Australian racing. At that age alone he raced 18 times and his wins included the AJC Derby and Cox Plate in consecutive starts in the Spring. He then ran third to another champion in Comic Court in the VRC Derby before finishing 8th to Rimfire in the Melbourne Cup. Comic Court was trained by Jim Cummings, the father of another legendary trainer in Bart Cummings. The Autumn in Sydney saw Carbon Copy hook up with jockey Scobie Breasley and the two had a remarkable end to the season. Under Breasley as a 3yo, Carbon Copy started seven times for five wins and two seconds. Both times he was beaten by Comic Court. His run included winning his last four starts at that

Turf monthly 14

High Rank winning the Stradbroke

Carbon Copy

age from 9 April to 23 April 1949 winning the Chipping Norton, St Leger, Sydney Cup and Randwick Plate. Carbon Copy went to stud where he produced six stakes winners with his best Grand Print who won a Sydney Cup, Australian Cup, Queen Elizabeth and Coongy Handicap. He is quite difficult to find in pedigrees, but he did have a descendant called Hauberk who won a Sandown Cup and Geelong Cup in 1979 before going to stud with little success.

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f we look at a couple of the most important descendants of Windbag in recent times, we find that a daughter of Windbag left a line resulting in Mannerism.

Mannerism did not race as a 2yo and was ridden by Damien Oliver for trainer Lee Freedman when she won at her first start at Kyneton on 20 September 1990 in a 3yo maiden over 1200m. The highlight of her 3yo season was her win in the Australasian Oaks in Adelaide and she went on to run third in the AJC Oaks behind Triscay. Her 4yo Spring was cut short after only two runs with a third in the Memsie behind Redelva before beating that colt in the Futurity. Her peak probably came at the start of her 5yo season when she won three of her first four starts with her last in that sequence being the 1992 Caulfield Cup where she beat NZ champion Veandercross in a race that continues to be part of racing folklore. Mannerism was to become a successful broodmare producing Dandify and Manner Hill. The grand old mare only passed away at Milburn Stud in 2016 at the age of 28. This line also gave us the mare Staging who looks like she will ensure the most enduring line of Windbag at present. She was by Success Express and won eight stakes races including the Emancipation, Light Fingers and Surround Stakes’ in Sydney. She was to produce three stakes winners in stallions Duporth, Excites and Tickets. Duporth is

Karendi winning the Doncaster

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best known as the sire of triple Group 1 winning Hey Doc.

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daughter of Chatham was responsible for the line that gave us Nothin’ Leica Dane. That colt was one of the favourites of his trainer, Gai Waterhouse incidentally a daughter of the late TJ Smith. Another horse from the immediate family was one called Pharaoh who won seven stakes races for Waterhouse including two Doncasters and a Chipping Norton all at Group 1 level. Nothin’ Leica Dane was noted for being one of a standout crop of 3yo’s that included Octagonal, Filante and Saintly. Nothin’ Leica Dane won the VRC Derby and then ran second to Doriemus in the Melbourne Cup. It must be mentioned that Nothin’ Leica Dane won his first race start, a maiden at Warwick Farm on 20 August, a few weeks into his 3yo season. It is probably not a stretch to suggest that Windbag’s legacy was not that of early 2yo’s.

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othin’ Leica Dane also won the Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick at Group 1 level, and he was later to run second to Linesman in the 1997 Sydney Cup. He raced twice in France after that before retiring to stud where he had a long career. He died in 2018 also at 26yo and produced eight stakes winners including Group 1 winners Cinque Cento and Hot Danish. Nothin’ Leica Dane’s family has also been responsible for VRC Derby winner, Redding

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daughter of Chatham was responsible for a line that was to give us Karendi who was another star of the 1950’s. His biggest wins were the Doncaster and Stradbroke Handicaps in 1954.

He went to stud producing stakes winners Karpelli, Royal Display and Wentwel. Again, it was a daughter that was to ensure his legacy and Colleen left a son by Lots Of Man called Family Of Man who was to win 13 stakes races including the 1977 Cox Plate when ridden by Brent Thomson. He won 21 of 78 starts and was later purchased by Robert Holmes a Court in 1979 for stud duties.

Family Of Man returned to the track after one season at stud but was retired again shortly after. He produced seven stakes winners including Manikato Stakes winner, Sonic Express.

Turf monthly 16

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indbag is still having his effect on Australian breeding after all these years. That can only be a good thing.

George

RYDER a vision for racing

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he George Ryder Stakes is one of Sydney’s premier races. It was won this year by Dreamforce, a 7yo gelding who notched up his 12th win and first Group 1 victory in the 1500m event at Rosehill. The event was first run as the George Ryder in 1973 when won by All Shot over 1400m.

The distance was changed in 1985 to 1450m for Hula Drum’s victory, but the following year it found its mark at 1500m and under those conditions was first won by Heat Of The Moment. Campaign King won the race the following two years and the only two runners since who have won the race in consecutive years are Lonhro and Winx. Prior to the change of distance, multiple winners were Manikato and Emancipation making it a very elite group of racehorses. The race began as the Railway Stakes over 6 furlongs in 1903 when won by Cressy, a New Zealand horse that was only ever to win the one principal race. War impacted the race and it was not held in 1913 or 1942, and the race moved to 7 furlongs in 1915 when it was won by Eugeny, a mare who had won the AJC Breeders’ Plate as a 2yo.

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ith such a distinguished history, it was obviously a great honour to have this type of race named after an individual. So who was George Ryder for those that did not know him?

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eorge Edward Ryder was born at Tingha near Inverell in New South Wales in 1905. He was the fourth child of George Henry Ryder, a tin miner and his wife Inez Evelyn nee Arentz both of whom had been raised locally. Young George grew up in a slab

hut with pressed-earth floors near Nullamanna, a small town North East of Inverell and left the public school when he was 13. Around 1928 Ryder moved to Cessnock and found work driving a bus. After a year, he purchased his first bus on time payment. During the 1930s, Ryder was to buy out most of the Hunter Valley bus companies and his business grew into Rover Motors Pty Ltd, with forty-five buses in a modern fleet. George sold this business in 1946 and invested in hotels. A talented amateur sportsman, he was an excellent tennis player winning many local tournaments and even partnering the great Jack Crawford at White City. Ryder married Dorothy Abbott Scott on 7 September 1932 in Cessnock. Ryder was attracted to flying and expanded into aviation during the 1930’s having gained his pilot’s licence. He established the first aerial passenger service between Sydney and Newcastle in 1939 and later sold this business to Australian National Airways, the brainchild of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.

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eorge Ryder bought his first horse in 1937, a colt he named Jan after his daughter. Jan won at Newcastle and Ryder had the horse racing bug. He purchased more horses to race in his original pale blue, red diamond and sleeves, and yellow cap with Bayly Payten trained at Randwick. Later he was to transfer to the stable of TJ Smith. Another of Ryder’s good runners was Apple Bay who won the 1955 Doomben 10,000.

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Apple Bay winning the Doomben Ten Thousand

n 1946 with several partners Ryder bought

Turf monthly 19

Woodlands Stud Farm Pty Ltd at Denman. He was to develop a quality broodmare band and imported a mare which he called Jan who was a half-sister to Set Fair who won the Diadem Stakes and July Cup in GB in 1952. A full brother to Jan in Time And Again was sent to stud in New Zealand where he produced Il Tempo who won six Group races in that country including a Wellington Cup and two Auckland Cups. The imported mare Jan won the three wfa races during the Randwick Easter Carnival in 1953. Her win in the AJC Plate broke Phar Lap’s track record for the 2.5 mile trip by over a second winning in 3.48. She was trained by TJ Smith and ridden by George Moore and had earlier run second to champion Dalray in the Metropolitan. She went to stud at Woodlands and was covered by Newtown Wonder to produce New Jan who in turn produced Jan’s Image

by Rush who won the Maribyrnong Plate, Gimcrack Stakes, VRC Sires’ Produce and AJC Flight Stakes, and Peace Council by Pipe of Peace who won the AJC Breeders Plate, Silver Slipper and AJC Sires’ Produce.

he approached jockey Maurice McCarten for a recommendation of a suitable appointee. McCarten had no hesitation in putting forward George Ryder’s name. Ryder, in an interview with Warwick Hobson for the March 1990 edition of Turf Monthly, claimed to have never met McKell prior to his Board appointment and the first he had heard of it was when he was in Sydney for business. George had a chance meeting with Bob Smith, owner of the Wentworth Hotel in Cessnock, in Pitt Street on his way to Central Railway Station. Bob congratulated him on his appointment, but Ryder laughed it off thinking his friend was joking. Ryder said he read the announcement in the Sun newspaper on his way back on the train. George was to have a thirty-seven-year tenure at the Club. He served as treasurer (1943-47, 196372), vice-chairman (1972-77) and chairman (1977-80). The Sydney Turf Club hosted their first meeting in 1944 and acquired racecourses at Canterbury, Rosehill, Roseberry and Moorefield as their clubs were gradually phased out.

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eorge Ryder claimed that he had four aims when he joined the STC. The first and most important he said was to introduce special races for the fillies and mares.

This came from discussions with Alf Thompson from the famed Widden Stud who told Ryder, “Sometimes I wonder if I should just pick out the filly foals I would like to breed from and hit the others on the head. There aren’t any races for them.” Under Ryder’s direction, the STC extensively programmed races for fillies and mares, and introduced stakes-races including the Queen Of The Turf, Tea Rose n 1943 the new Sydney Turf Club was being formed and and Storm Queen (now the Vinery) and later the RoseNSW Premier Sir William McKell wanted a representa- mount Wines Classic (Coolmore). tive from the Hunter Valley on the Board. Legend has it that

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y the 1960s, under Ryder’s management, Woodlands Stud reputedly produced more individual winners than any stud in the world annually. One of Ryder’s first stallions was Newton Wonder by Fair Trial and he was followed by the imports Pipe of Peace, Sostenuto and King of Babylon, and the Australian-born Sky High. In 1970 Ryder sold Woodlands but almost immediately bought Kia Ora Stud Farm Pty Ltd at Scone.

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is second aim was to grant racehorse owners access to members’ facilities. It seems hard to believe now but Ryder claimed that the first time he went to Randwick to see his colt Covert race, he could only see the caps of the jockeys as he could not get any closer to the horses.

vince the board to adopt the new race. During that time, he faced heavy criticism and was accused of wanting the race to establish his stud and in particular his stallion, Newtown Wonder who was noted as a sire of early speed horses. Ryder was always quick to point out that Newtown Wonder never sired a winner of the Golden Slipper, but he did sire five hirdly, George wanted to develop the Autumn carnival runners in the first field including the runner up, Flying in Sydney. He was happy to leave the Spring to Mel- Kurana who finished a long way behind Todman. In fact, bourne and the Cup, but he was devoted to developing a the Golden Slipper was successful in establishing a rival racing festival at Rosehill to lead into Easter at Randwick. stallion, the legendary Star Kingdom who sired the first five It took many years to come to fruition and included mov- winners of the race. ing the AJC Derby and Canterbury and Rosehill Guineas to the Autumn, but he believed he achieved the best carhe STC introduced numerous innovations to Austranival in Australian racing. It is interesting that we see the lian racing while Ryder was involved. In 1946 they inmoves afoot to reclaim the Spring from Melbourne through troduced transportable barrier stalls. This was followed by a number of high-profile races by NSW authorities. the photo-finish camera and saddlecloth numbers on jockey’s armlets. The STC recommenced, after twelve years, eorge was reported as saying, “Finally the Sydney Turf metropolitan midweek racing in 1954 and trialled bookClub needed a special race of their own. That’s when maker-free race meetings. In 1970 Ryder established the I came up with the idea of the Golden Slipper Stakes with successful Australian Racing and Breeding Stables Ltd, a the richest prize for two-year-olds in Australia.” The Gold- not-for-profit syndication company that opened up raceen Slipper was first run in 1957 and Ryder told an anec- horse ownership to many who would ordinarily not been dote about how the name originated. He had been strug- able to afford it. In 1983 it became a public company and gling to come up with a name and while driving back to George resigned as chairman the following year. In 1987, the stud from Sydney one day asked his wife, Dorothy what the company changed its name to become the Arrowfield she thought would be a special gift for a newborn baby. “A Group Limited. slipper,” she replied. “What sort of slipper?” asked George.

“A golden slipper” was the reply and the perfect name was yder died on 18 May 1989 at Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, but born. The Golden Slipper was not readily accepted either his racing legacy remains as strong as ever. in concept or on the track. It took Ryder five years to con-

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cotton fingers

George

MOORE

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eorge Moore is undisputedly one of the world’s great jockeys. He was one of the original inductees into the Racing Hall of Fame and not one person would dispute his selection. “Cotton Fingers” was simply without peer on the Australian racetracks of the 1950’s and 60’s, and right up there with the best in the world.

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hile Australian racing rightfully reveres Moore the jockey, it is interesting to see how Moore is remembered internationally. He is Moore winning the St Leger on Sea Sovereign often referred to as Australia’s Lester Piggott, and is ranked alongside Scobie Breasley as the greatest jockey in the history of racing in Australia by our European counterparts. fter a couple of brief stints in France,1959 saw Moore Many Australians know relatively little of the overseas sucaccept a full-time position for trainer Alec Head who cess of many of our top jockeys, and the fact that Breasley prepared the horses of the Aga Khan III, and later his son and Moore are held in such high regard internationally at- Prince Aly Khan. He formed a great partnership with chamtests to their great ability. pion Saint Crespin who won the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown and dead-heated in the Arc De Triomphe. He also rode orn George Thomas Donald Moore in Mackay, Qld on 5 Taboun to win the 2000 Guineas, Fiorentina to win the Irish July 1923, his skill saw him quickly head to Brisbane in 1000 Guineas, and Ginetta in the French 1000 Guineas in 1939 as a 16yo to become one of the top apprentice jockeys. his first season.

By 1943 he had won the Senior Jockeys' Premiership and it was time to head to Sydney, starting a hugely successful or the 1966 season, champion English rider Lester Pigassociation with Tommy Smith in 1949. He was champion gott chose to ride freelance, and Moore was offered the jockey in Sydney on 10 occasions between 1957 and 1969, opportunity to ride as the stable jockey for Noel Murless. winning the AJC Derby six times. Rather strangely Moore The following season they won the first three English Claswas never to ride the winner of either the Caulfield Cup or sics in the 2000 Guineas, Derby and 1000 Guineas with Melbourne Cup but we must remember that he spent time Fleet. Another top liner in the stable was Busted who went in Europe when these were being run. through the UK season undefeated but sadly broke down just before the Arc De Triomphe. Moore lasted only the one full season in England with his wife and daughter receiving death threats if Moore did not win or lose races. His flat was broken into and his clothes cut to pieces, and Moore returned to Australia for the rest of his riding career. Moore retired from riding in 1971 at the age of 48 after winning both the AJC and VRC Derby’s on NZ bred Classic Mission by Persian Garden. He rode an Australian record of 119 Group 1 winners.

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oore then turned his talents to training, firstly in France for millionaire US owner, Mr Nelson Bunker.

Moore made his name as a trainer though in Hong Kong where he was based for thirteen seasons between 1973 and 1985, winning their training premiership eleven times.

George Moore retired after the 1985 racing season and relocated to the Gold Coast. He died in Sydney on 8 January 2008.

Moore and Alec Head after winning the 1960 Prix-du-Jockey-Club on Charlottesville

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MOORE Flying East

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or those of you who have read our story on George Moore closely, it might seem a little odd that the early 1950’s, a time when Moore should have been at his peak, is one that is not reported. In fact, it is rarely spoken about in Australia. Upon Moore’s death, Northern Hemisphere obituaries such as that written by Tony Smurthwaite in The Independent noted briefly “In 1954 he was banned for two and a half years for betting on a horse called Flying East before it won a race at Hawkesbury. Moore was the horse’s registered owner but happened to be riding another horse in the same race. It was on his return from purdah that he gained his first Sydney championship, at the age of 33.”

the committee during the hearing, said that the committee had been told that a trotting bookmaker John Roden had invested £1400 on Flying East, returning £5,000 when she won. Rogan said that £500 was his own money, and the rest had been for other people. He said Butterworth had invested £50 on the mare. Mr Shand QC said Moore claimed that his wife had put £25 on Flying East. Moore later admitted to the inquiry that he had bet £100 in Flying East.

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oore and Hook were also questioned about ownership of other horses. During questions about a mare called Collegiate, George Moore refused to disclose terms of an agreement with Woodlands Stud for payment of stud e do not intend to detract from Moore’s memory, nor fees. Moore said the arrangement was a private treaty with his wonderful legacy, but this time represents an in- Mr George Ryder, a director of the stud. Hook also refused teresting little addendum to racing to tell the committee details of the arrangement. Moore said Mr Ryder history and one that is important to was in hospital, and he would have recall, at least briefly. Perhaps there to get his sanction before disclosare few still around who have all ing the arrangement. He added the the details, as they weren’t all that agreement had nothing to do with easy to find, even at the time. the case before the committee. I y the early 1950’s Moore had can find no further reference to the bought a 24,000 acre horse and matter in newspaper reports of the cattle property near Hughenden time. in Queensland called Expressman Downs. The property was manltimately the AJC originally aged by his father in law, William suspended the jockey “at the Hook. Hook said that he bought committee’s leisure.” Upon a review Flying East from a man called Rose of the sentence requested by Moore, in 1951. On the way back to Hughthe AJC set an end date of 12 Febenden, the horse was offloaded in ruary 1957 after Moore argued on Brisbane where owner/trainer Colappeal that it was effectively a life in Butterworth took an interest in sentence especially given that he her and Hook offered him a lease would likely never get his weight on the horse. Flying East won the under control after an excessive pefirst division of the maiden, the H G Pullin Handicap at riod.

Hawkesbury on 21 October 1953. In fact, Flying East ran second but was awarded the race on protest. Connections he AJC further reduced the sentence on appeal and of runner up Fragrant Air appealed against the upholding Moore resumed riding on 4 August 1956. For the reof the protest. Fragrant Air (5/2) had been first past the post cord, he had six rides that day at Randwick, riding two in the First Maiden Handicap. She had won by a short half- winners, three thirds and one unplaced runner. His winhead from Flying East, which had firmed from 25/1 to 2/1 ners were Amboise the 7/4 favourite, and Crimson Pirate at favoritism. The stewards upheld a protest by Flying East’s 9/2. As a footnote, that Spring Moore road Caranna to third rider, T. Hill, alleging interference between the two and two in the Melbourne Cup, his best placing in the race, behind and a half furlongs. The appeal was dismissed by the AJC Evening Peal and Redcraze. He was charged with careless who had by then launched an investigation into the own- riding after shifting in sharply near the furlong post and ership of Flying East. George Moore rode Majestic in the Moore was given a further 2 months suspension. When he race which was unplaced. He told the inquiry that he had returned, the Moore legend grew and arguably he was a betasked the owner to be taken off that horse because his fa- ter jockey for his troubles winning his first Sydney Jockey’s ther in law owned Flying East. Mr JW Shand QC, assisting Premiership that season.

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Turf monthly 25

ORIGINS OF THE

an introduction to the breed

“A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character.�

- Federico Tesio -

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THOROUGHBRED I

n this our first edition, it is fitting that we have a look at some of the history of the thoroughbred. It is a unique animal, and one that we need to know the origins of if we want to understand it better. The thoroughbred is unique in that the breed was established fundamentally for one purpose, and that was to race. Almost any individual horse can be traced back to its original foundations of a handful of ancestors that were specifically brought to Britain in order to introduce characteristics that were considered important to racing ability.

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he first edition of the General Stud Book which is the means by which all thoroughbreds are registered, was established in England in 1793. In 1791 Mr James Weatherby did publish a book titled Introduction to a General Stud Book which was the forerunner to the Stud Book. In the United Kingdom, the General Stud Book remains the property of Weatherby’s, a company retaining the name of its original founder. Separate Stud Books have been established in other countries, with the most prominent in the USA and Australia remaining in the ownership of sections of the racing industry. All now fall under the control of an International Stud Book Committee represented by members of the various individual bodies.

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he purpose of a Stud Book is to record the parentage of all eligible thoroughbreds. Horses had a long history in the UK before the introduction of the Stud Book. They were imported largely from areas of Europe but also Africa and Asia, all the time looking for characteristics which helped the horse perform in its desired role. Whether this was to perform in battle, or to work pulling wagons, there were obvious physical characteristics, and many more unseen characteristics, that made each subsequent generation of horses more suited to their task than the one before.

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he sole purpose of the thoroughbred was to race. These characteristics that made the breed most suitable for this task led to the continuing development of the thoroughbred. Changing factors of the horse racing industry see the breed continue to develop today. The US reliance upon dirt track racing leads to some characteristics being more highly valued in that country than in others as an example.

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n Australia, since the introduction of the Golden Slipper in 1957 which has now become the richest 2yo race in the world, we have paid great heed to the need for speed and precocity within our breed. Much of our industry is now based on early 2yo racing, and while we can argue the benefits or disadvantages of this strategy, it brings with it unique characteristics of the breed that have been adapted to largely commercial pressures. We should not fear this, but we do need to identify commercial reality. In fact, the thoroughbred has always been the subject of commerce, with the only measure of success being the amount of money that could be earned either through the racing or breeding of an individual. Concerns about the commercial nature of the breed only become apparent when we change the goal posts and measure success by different methods. As an example, yearling sale prices should relate to racetrack success, not to any other factor.

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here were largely a few major importations of horses into England, each with their own strengths and subsequent weakness. Recorded history shows us that figures like James I, Oliver Cromwell, and Charles I all imported specific stallions and mares into the country most often for cavalry purposes. Earlier history though showed that the Romans and then later the Normans all introduced unique influences of horses into what is now Britain.

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he Arabian is perhaps the best known, remaining to exist as an important breed in itself. While renowned for both its temperament, and its clean-windedness, the Arabian was noted largely for what many consider a weakness in the thoroughbred; and that being its size. The early Arabian stood around 15 hands tall, and this even led to a royal decree in the UK prohibiting anyone from turning out a horse onto the Common that was under 15 hands in height. We can nevertheless rest assured that just about any modern thoroughbred standing at 15 hands owes this heritage to the original Arabian influences of the breed.

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istorically we hear of horses called the Godolphin or Darley Arabian, the Byerley Turk or even the Barb. The Arabian originated in North Africa, as did the Barb named after the Barbary States area which now would include countries including Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia.

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he French political influence in the geographic region saw horses often enter Britain through France. The types of horses were often prefaced by the stud or region that stood or imported the particular horse.

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he Godolphin, for example, was named after Francis Godolphin, the second Earl of Godolphin. The Byerley Turk was believed to be a stallion captured in battle by Captain Robert Byerley in the Battle of Buda in 1686 and from then on used as his combat horse. The horse retired to stud upon his owner’s retirement from the military to his family home in Ireland. At each step of a thoroughbred journey we are confronted by a rich tapestry of

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history, and today’s champions all share these remarkable human stories. Because thoroughbred origins are so well recorded, pedigrees offer us a unique study into a breed that is probably the most written about of all for this very reason.

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eneticists study the thoroughbred to this day looking for the genetic factors that make the perfect racehorse. We have a myriad of breeding theories that all stem from different studies.

There are theories of inbreeding and line-breeding, X-factors, nicks and crosses and just about any other that you can imagine.

Perhaps the greatest of all breeders, Federico Tesio was responsible for a too often repeated quote of “putting the best to the best and hoping for the best.” It seems that even this off-hand line is used as the foundation when a preferred breeding theory can’t explain something.

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any modern theories though are based on the principle that racing ability is an inheritable genetic trait, very much like colour. If that was the case then we could breed in such a way that in a few short generations, there would only be one colour for example, and the genetic advantage would cease to exist. As with all research, we need to ensure that we are measuring what we actually think we are. Racing ability can be linked to genetics without being a genetically inherited trait. If we can accept this proposition, then we can move forward into other ways of looking at the thoroughbred. The sum, after all, can be greater than the parts.

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Trivalve and the Spring of 1927

AJC Derby

VRC Derby

Melbourne Cup

King’s Plate beating Pilliwinkie

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his month we feature some of the new sires to Australia in 2020. Whenever we look at new sires we cannot help to note their racing performances, and it is often the 2 and 3yo seasons that are critical. We are reminded of one of the greatest 3yo seasons that we may ever see on the Australian turf. Phar Lap, Tulloch, Red Anchor all were remarkable at that age, but before them was a horse called Trivalve.

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y Cyklon, an imported son of Spearmint, Trivalve was out of a mare by The Welkin. Trivalve first appeared at the races on 2 October 1926 in the Maribyrnong Trial, the first of the 2yo races in Melbourne. He was unplaced but won his fourth start in November, a little over a month after his first start. He ended his 2yo season with placings in the Sires’ Produce in Melbourne, the Champagne Stakes in Sydney and his second win in the Gibson Carmichael. All up, Trivalve started 10 times as a 2yo for 2 wins, 1 second and 3 thirds.

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AJC Derby start

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ut we are here to talk about his 3yo season. He kicked off on 1 October, almost exactly a year since his first start.

The race was the AJC Derby at Randwick over 12 furlongs.

Trivalve started at 6/1 in a field of 17 beating Winalot by a half length. A week later Trivalve was back in Melbourne racing over the 8 furlongs of the Caulfield Guineas where he finished second to Avant Courier, beaten 2.5 lengths.

Three weeks later Trivalve lined up in the VRC Derby as an odds-on favourite winning comfortably from Statesman.

The following Tuesday he took on Australia’s best stayers in the Melbourne Cup and again prevailed in the field of 26 beating the favourite Silvius by over a length. He carried only 7 stone 5 pounds or roughly 46.5kgs in his Cup win.

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rivalve was sent to the paddock and returned in the Autumn for a first up tilt at the 14 furlong St Leger at Flemington on 3 March 1925. He started the 7/1 on favourite and beat Charlot. Five days later he was back against a field of only 3 in the Governor’s Plate over 12 furlongs where he was successful at 10/1 on beating the very good galloper Pilliwinkie. Two days later he beat the same galloper over 16 furlongs in the King’s Plate this time at 12/1 on. The colt was to go for another well earned spell and returned to racing on 7 April 1926 over the 14 furlongs of the NSW St Leger at Randwick. Despite starting at 2/1 on, Trivalve was beaten into third behind Winalot and Jocelyn. He finished officially 100 yards behind the others on the heavy track. Four days later Trivalve was sent out the 2/1 on favourite over the 16 furlongs of the Cumberland Stakes running second to Valamita with Pilliewinkie third.

Trivalve was to start only once more in the St Leger at Morphetville. The colt broke down in the run putting to an end one of the most amazing 3yo seasons that we will ever see.

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s a footnote to the Trivalve story, many claim that the Melbourne Cup was the race that took its toll on the champion. Renowned jockey Bobby Lewis who rode Trivalve throughout his career would regularly have the horse spelling at his property. He claimed that the horse never felt right after the Cup. In fact, before his final Autumn, Lewis said “When he went to Sydney for the St. Leger, he didn't work one morning right, and I'd have been pleased to see him scratched from all his remaining autumn engagements.”

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one of a kind

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Turf monthly 34

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ubzero captured our imagination and our hearts like few other horses ever have. He did not quite have the talent of some of our more famous racehorses, but there was always something special about the wonderful grey.

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e was a good racehorse and most know how he won the 1992 Melbourne Cup, but it was what he did after he raced that endeared him to a nation. Let’s go back to the beginning though and find out what made Subzero what he was.

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t was New Year’s Day 1991 when a grey 2yo gelding by Kala Dancer out of the US bred daughter of To Market, Wiley Trade first stepped out in a race for his young trainer Lee Freedman. Ridden by Wayne Treloar the grey finished 8th behind Maritima in the 1100m event at Flemington. The filly Maritima by El Qahira later won the Listed Talindert Handicap over the same distance. Subzero was to round out his 2yo season with wins over 1600m and 2000m both on heavy tracks which was something of a portent to his future results.

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reedman took the grey to Sydney for the start of the Spring and here he put in good runs behind Kinjite and Enjoy Dancing before breaking through

for his first black type victory in the Group 2 Dulcify Stakes over 2000m this time on a good track. After a 4th to Kinjite in the Spring Champion Stakes, Subzero returned to Melbourne but an ordinary 4th in the Derby Trial saw him sent out for a spell. After starting out over shorter trips in the Autumn, he again went to Sydney but returned to Melbourne after running into horses like Veandercross. He had ran a good second in the St Leger over 2800m when beaten under half-a-length by Dark Ksar. A trip to Adelaide where he found some wet tracks saw him finish off his 3yo season with a win in the SA Derby and Adelaide Cup over 3200m.

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he promising stayer returned for his 4yo Spring in a Cups campaign. He raced well in most of the traditional lead ups and was beaten just over 2 lengths by Mannerism in the Caulfield Cup and the same margin in the MacKinnon by Veandercross on the Saturday before the Cup. His good form and some inclement weather saw Subzero firm to start at 4/1 on the first Tuesday in November 1992 finally beating champion galloper Veandercross into second place in the race that saw the big grey enter Australian folklore.

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one of a kind again. He was to run third in a Sydney Cup but when he returned to Flemington for the Cup in 1993, he was to finish a well beaten 15th behind Vintage Crop trailing by over 16 lengths. A spell saw him travel to the Winter Carnival in Queensland, but after a good 4th in the Dalgety, Subzero ran a poor last in the 3200m Queensland Cup to finish his career on a sad note on the fast track.

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breeding barn, the most successful half-sister to Subzero was Ease And Comfort by Vain who produced three stakes winners in Centro, Dr Zackary and Proven Valour. Centro

by Century won the 1990 Caulfield Guineas and had some success at stud producing five stakes winners mainly in New Zealand. Proven Valour by Without Fear had won the Merson Cooper in Melbourne and the Skyline in Sydney and was also to go to stud with limited success. He can be found in the female line of stakes winners Tereschenko and Darcenell.

ubzero as we mentioned was by the stallion Kala Dancer, a grey son of Nininski, a staying son of the great Nijinksy.

In turn he was out of a mare by the grey Kalamoun by Zeddaan, a son of Grey Sovereign. Despite being by Grey Soverhe dam of Subzero was highly sought after in Austraeign, Zeddaan was a bay and in fact it was Kalamoun’s dam, lia because she was a half-sister to Accroche Couer by Khairunissa whose grand-damsire was the grey stallion Beau Max who came to Australia in the 1960’s. That mare Palenstine who himself saw the grey stallion The Tetrarch was to produce a line that have gone on to stamp the family as his grandsire and hence the source of Subzero’s colouring. in Australian racing history in their own right. Accroche Couer’s daughter Heart Of Market by To Market produced is dam was the US bred Wiley Trade by To Market. a son called Marscay by Biscay who won a Golden Slipper She was imported to Australia and Subzero was her and has become one of the most important local influences eleventh named foal born here. She had already produced in the past 50 years. Not only did Marscay produce over 60 stakes winners Bensynd by Gunsynd who won the Frank stakes winners but his daughters went on to become some Underwood Stakes and two Service Memorial Cups at list- of most influential broodmares of a generation including ed level in Sydney, and Confederate Lady by Rancher who the likes of Circles Of Gold, the dam of Elvstroem and Hawon a Blue Diamond Prelude for the fillies in 1989. In the radasun, and Fitting the dam of Catbird and Danbird.

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The Gene Pool O

ver the next couple of editions, we will be looking at some of the first season sires for the 2020 season. We are starting with the most expensive and working our way through. We will try to cover as many as we can. Our apologies for those that don’t get a run but if there are some that you think we really should include, please get in touch.

One quick observation about first season stallions though.

We seem to be seeing more and more each year which is probably not a great thing for the breed. Quite a few will serve huge numbers in their first few years before largely dropping out of sight. Breeders should realise that they are responsible for the health of the breed, and we think the US decision to limit mare numbers in the future is a wonderful idea.

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his magazine is not intended as a glossy promotion tool. We have a couple of simple philosophies when it comes to stallions. Just about every stallion going to stud has a chance of success. Success can be defined differently though. For the market a lot of success is about selling expensive yearlings.

Others will claim it is producing early 2yo’s. We think the ability to produce a quality runner is about the best measure of success there is. Opportunity can never be ignored when it comes to a stallion’s career. In fact, an increase in opportunity through getting better mares can sometimes be detrimental to their career. Often stallions that have been successful with one type of mare can be moved where they cover an entirely different broodmare band which does not suit. It is always the stallion’s fault in the eyes of the breeder. There was a time when stallions were carefully selected by studs because of a perceived compatibility with the local broodmare population. For hundreds of years we saw stallions from one stud continue to be successful with broodmares by past stallions from the same stud or area. With

the expanded movement of horses, the concept of a local broodmare band is diminishing as a stallion anywhere in Australia has access to mares from similar ever narrowing bloodlines. Our assessment of a stallion’s potential is against what types of mares we suspect may suit them best, and whether we think that they will attract many of these mares.

It is our opinion only and a generalisation. What is always most critical when considering any mating is the individual mare and her genetic makeup. All daughters of Danehill for example were not born equal, so it would be unrealistic to expect that they all would suit the same stallion.

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ne further point that should be made is what we consider a commercial success is for a stallion. If breeders are looking at making money off their progeny, there are some factors that need to be considered. Everyone’s circumstances are different, and some owners will have larger agistment bills, and hefty vet bills, while others will be spared those expenses even in the midst of drought. Then you have to consider what it costs to get a yearling ready for sales, as well as the costs of the sales process itself. If you use a figure of $25,000, and add that to the service fee, then that is basically your break-even point for a yearling. Imagine a fee of $40,000, excluding GST, the most expensive this year and by adding our $25,000 that means a yearling would have to make $65,000 to break even. On an anticipated return on investment of 10% per annum, we could add even 20% to this figure to get a reasonable commercial return. This is what we are thinking of when we talk about the commercial nature of a stallion, and if we suggest that any stallions may find it hard commercially, it means that we suspect that the median price of their first few crops of yearlings is likely to be lower than we consider profitable.

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STALLIONS BLUE POINT Darley Victoria Fee $44,000

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lue Point is the first of our new stallions from Darley and a remarkably high priced one for their Victoria base. Normally we would find the more expensive heading to NSW which has much higher broodmare numbers. The stallion is one of the world’s best sprinters winning both the Diamond Jubilee and the King’s Stand Stakes in 2019 at his last two starts before retirement. He won his last five starts, with three of these in Dubai, before heading back to the UK. This string of wins included the Grade 1 Al Quoz Sprint. He had won the King’s Stand Stakes in 2018 and it appears that the stallion improved as he aged. This is not all that surprising given he is a son of Shamardal who is not noted in Australia as a sire of our precocious 2yo types.

Blue Point raced as a 2yo, having six starts at that age which included three wins and placings in both the Group 2 Qatar Richmond Stakes at Goodwood and the Group 1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes. Blue Point completed his first season at stud in the UK this year, at a fee of 44,000 Euros, a marked increase on his Australian fee.

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e is out of a mare by Royal Applause called Scarlett Rose who has also produced the Group 2 winning 2yo Formosina by Footstepsinthesand. Scarlett Rose was a half-sister to Tumbleweed Ridge who won 10 races including the Group 3 Leopardstown Ballycorus Stakes three times. This is not a family that we are all that familiar with in Australia but if we dig more deeply, we see that his fifth dam the stakes placed Hill Slipper, by Hill Gail, was a half-sister to another stakes-winner in Lovely Kate by Le Levanstell. Lovely Kate had a daughter by the Swedish stallion, Sterling Bay called Dress Rehearsal who was born in Ireland in 1976. She came to Australia and performed quite moderately at stud which may or may not be of any importance, but it is always an interesting aside to overseas families to see if branches have had success under local conditions. Delving further into the family, we do see that other lines have had significant success here with the great Rubiton and Euclase being just two family members from more distant lines that have performed at the highest level here.

tion. What makes this more significant may be that these two lines appear in the direct mail lines of both his sire and dam through Northern Dancer sons Storm Bird and Try My Best. Storm Bird, we must note, appears as the grand-damsire of one of our leading stallions in Snitzel so there is little doubt that we are likely to see mares with Snitzel and his sons in their pedigree as potential mates for the stallion. In fact, the early speed we see through both Snippets and Redoute’s Choice in Snitzel’s pedigree look well suited to the stallion. With a line of Mr Prospector in the pedigree of Blue Point, I suggest that we need to be a little careful when introducing this stallion to Blue Point.

Mares by More Than Ready, or his sons, may well be compatible with the stallion. In the pedigree of Blue Point, we see a stallion called Roan Rocket who we saw play an important role in the pedigree of Rory’s Jester. Again, it will be interesting to see if mares carrying lines of that stallion will find success with Blue Point. He also looks compatible with mares by sons of Danehill although I would again urge some caution. It is the speedy sons of Danehill like Flying Spur, Exceed And Excel and Redoute’s Choice that I think will have more success with the stallion.

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verall, I think the stallion will produce his share of top runners internationally. The real question is whether his progeny are going to be the early type that attract the local buyers. Given his performance on the track, he is well priced to attract breeders, but I am not sure that commercially his progeny will look like the early 2yo that tend to be the sales toppers. Given that the lines that I think may have greatest success with Blue Point in Australia are found more readily in the Hunter Valley, it might be that the stallion would be best suited standing at the NSW base of Darley rather than in Victoria.

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he pedigree of Blue Point shows relatively little inbreeding with the closest duplication of ancestors being two lines of Northern Dancer in the fifth genera-

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TOO DARN HOT Darley Kelvinside NSW Fee $44,000

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oo Darn Hot is another Group 1 winning sprinter heading the list for Darley in NSW. Importantly, he was a champion 2yo winning his four race starts at that age including the Group 1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes. The Dewhurst is run over 7 furlongs (1400m) and the four 2yo runs make for interesting reading. His first came in August when he won over 8 furlongs (1600m). Too Darn Hot was then taken back to the 7 furlongs where he won his next three 2yo starts culminating in his Dewhurst win in October. The colt returned to racing in May 2019 where he was beaten over the equivalent of 1900m behind Telecaster at Group 2 level. Too Darn Hot was taken back to a shorter trip of a mile for his next two starts and failed to win. Back to the 7 furlongs in France, Too Darn Hot won the G1 Qatar Prix Jean Prat at Deauville and then the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood over 1 mile at his final race start in July.

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e is by champion sire Dubawi who we saw stand in Australia for a couple of seasons. It is fair to say that his local performance did not quite match his overall success in the Northern Hemisphere. He has produced quality horses in Australia including Group 1 winners Srikandi, Shamal Wind, and Secret Admirer. From what I

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can find, he did not produce a group winning 2yo in Australia which no doubt influenced decisions to not shuttle the stallion after his first few seasons that were, to be fair, interrupted by equine influenza. His most successful son at stud locally is Akeed Mofeed who now stands at Swettenham Stud in Victoria. He had his second stakes winner this season in Jyoti who also was to become his first 2yo stakes winner. Jyoti won the Listed Gold Sovereign Stakes in Tasmania.

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oo Darn Hot is out of Dar Re Mi, a mare by Singspiel who was the 2009 Champion Older Female in the UK winning from 11 furlongs to 14 furlongs. The family is a quality one, but usually one of more stout types. In fact, he has two stakes winning full siblings neither of which has won under a mile. Dar Re Mi is a half-sister to Darazari by Sadler’s Wells who came to Australia to race in 1998 in a campaign that saw him run 11th to Jezabeel in the Melbourne Cup of that year. He went to Kong Kong where he finished second in the HK Cup before returning to Australia for another campaign that saw him win the Group 1 Ranvet in Sydney. His form tapered off and he was retired early in September following some below par performanc-

es. The stallion was sent to stud and has become a reliable source of jumpers in the UK. It is also the family of Darshaan, a wonderful stallion and the sire of Dalakhani who in turn is the sire of the stakes winning Dalasan.

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he pedigree of Too Darn Hot has three lines of Northern Dancer but the closest is in the fifth generation.

These are through the sons, Sadler’s Wells, Lyphard and Shareef Dancer, a stallion we see in Australia primarily in the pedigree of General Nediym. The stallion’s pedigree also features duplications of Shirley Heights and the mare Sunbittern who is the fourth dam of Dubawi. Largely though, despite the presence of Mr Prospector and Northern Dancer, the stallion is going to present little close inbreeding although caution should of course be taken when multiple lines of the above stallions appear. A little oddly Dubawi has not done all that well with Danehill mares compared with some other lines. He did however produce Catkins out of a Catbird mare, and I think that could be the key here. Again, it will be daughters of Danehill’s speedier sons and grandsons that will make or break the stallion. The stallion needs to produce early 2yo types and that is likely to be the type of mare that will be best

suited to him. We are looking for mares that were either strong 2yo’s or have produced good 2yo’s. Given that these are prevalent in the Hunter Valley, the stallion will have every chance to produce these types. My feel though is that like his sire, the fundamental strength of his pedigree is a more slowly maturing type, and many of his progeny will be much better 3yo’s and older horses. He will also give a breeder who has a desire to try and breed a quality staying type some opportunity if wisely mated in my view.

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PIERATA

Aquis Farm Hunter Valley NSW Fee $44,000

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ierata was a wonderful galloper and is important as one of the first sons of Pierro to stand at stud. Pierro needs little introduction as a Champion galloper and now top line stallion in his own right, carrying on the legacy of his sire, Lonhro. Interestingly, as we saw in the case of Blue Point, the stallion raced on retiring during his 5yo season.

He had 26 starts in total for 9 wins. Pierata started four times as a 2yo winning two races and placing in the Group 2 Sires’ Produce in Brisbane. He was to win the Group 1 All Aged Stakes in Sydney as a 4yo, and he was to later finish second in this race as a 5yo.

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ierata is out of the mare, November Flight by Flying Spur who counted the Group 3 Millie Fox in Sydney in her seven wins. She also has produced Skyline Stakes winner, Ashokan by More Than Ready. Pierata’s fourth dam is Century Miss by Century who won the 1979 Golden Slipper. Her daughter, Miraho by Bletchingly produced a colt who raced in Hong Kong as Natural Blitz and won the Group 1 HK Sprint. What appears quite remarkable is the sales history of the mare. She has had six yearlings sold at an average of $356,200. The highest priced was a Rubick colt who went through the 2019 Inglis sale for $900,000.

Pierata was her fifth to sell and he made $160,000 which was a good return, but a way short of the next least expensive yearlings from the mare with two making $300,000.

It might pay to keep this in mind when considering what Pierata’s yearlings may bring at sale.

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ierata’s pedigree is quite heavily inbred with a close 4mx3f cross of Zabeel dominant. We also see multiple lines of Mr Prospector, Northern Dancer and Sir Ivor, as well as duplications of the mares Special and Natalma.

Considering this, one would suspect that he will be a little hard to mate especially given that his grand-damsire is Danehill who is present in so many mares. Encosta De Lago who was often a good foil for Danehill, as was Zabeel, is not as enticing a prospect as breeders may suspect given

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that he is so closely related to Flying Spur.

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suspect though that Danehill will be the key to the stallion’s success, and that finding the right mares carrying the right sons of that stallion are likely to produce Pierata’s best runners. Mares by Exceed And Excel, Redoute’s Choice, and Fastnet Rock are the types of stallions that look likely. Similarly, daughters of their sons like Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt could work. Of course, many of these will have other pedigree influences that will detract from the cross with the stallion.

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e also see Sadler’s Wells present in the pediree of the stallion, and I suspect caution is needed when he appears in a mare’s pedigree. Daughters of a stallion like So You Think who are starting to go to stud may nevertheless represent interesting prospects. Many of these though will lack that precocity that yearling buyers are looking for, and many of Pierata’s progeny are likely to need some time.

It might be hard for breeders at this level to consistently make a profit with his yearlings, although he is a good chance of getting some decent runners but possibly more as 3yo’s.

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t is easy to see quite a boom around this stallion in the sales ring. His sire line of Pierro/Lonhro/Octagonal represent some of the most popular locally bred horses of a generation and the Australasian nature of the sire line will itself prove an effective marketing ploy. Despite the presence of Danehill in the pedigree, no doubt many will consider the pedigree something of an outcross as it does not feature the Danehill sire line. While there will probably be plenty of good-looking youngsters, the fact that some may not be that forward will affect sales prices in my view which I think have the potential to be a little up and down. There is a profit to be made with the right yearling, but caution will be needed when selecting mares for the stallion.

EXCEEDANCE Vinery Stud NSW Fee $38,500

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xceedance enters stud as the winner of the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington. He retired after just nine race starts with only two of these as a 2yo. His win at that age came at his first start in May in a Wyong maiden. Exceedance returned as a 3yo to win the San Domenico on a heavy track before running third to Bivouac and Yes Yes Yes in both the Run To The Roses and the Golden Rose. A quick break saw him victorious at his next start in the Coolmore on VRC Derby Day before going to the paddock. He returned in the Autumn to have only three more runs, all at Group 1 level against the older horses but he was unable to fill a placing.

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son of renowned Danehilll stallion, Exceed And Excel, Exceedance has a pedigree that centres on speed. His dam is the stakes winning Thorn Park mare, Bonnie Mac who won five races to 1400m. Her dam in turn was Gold Class, a stakes-placed daughter of Gold Brose, another noted speed influence. What is interesting is that we saw Gold Class also produce stakes winners Upham by Mastercraftsman who won up to 2000m, and Intimate Moment by Dubawi who won up to 1900m. In both cases the stamina would seem to come from the stallion, so perhaps we could suggest that it will be the Exceed And Excel influence coming through a little more in the sire than his female line.

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xceedance is one of seven stallions standing this season at Vinery and by far the most expensive of them. He stands alongside Headwater who is also by Exceed And Excel, as well as Casino Prince by Flying Spur, and his son All Too Hard. They also stand a grandson of Fastnet Rock in Press Statement by Hinchinbrook. Exceed And Excel has been a remarkable stallion producing over 100 stakes winners. Exceedance is the third son of Exceed And Excel to go to stud this season so far, joining Microphone and McLaren and they join 14 other sons of the stallion at stud locally. The big question is where do breeders go with finding mares? Interestingly the best son of Exceed And Excel at present would seem to be Helmet who was out of a British mare from a German family.

the sixth generation of his pedigree. I would be cautious not only about sending mares by sons of Danehill to the stallion, but also by many of his sons. Perhaps daughters of Snitzel may be suitable and we see that they introduce the early speed that is often so important. In the Hunter Valley there is significant competition for this type of mare for stallions and Exceedance will have a job in competing against some of these others. Mares by sires like High Chaparral could also be successful with the stallion, and it is this European influence that appeals to me as a potentially effective strategy. Other more likely options would be mares that carry few lines of Northern Dancer and these are going to be quite difficult to find.

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xceedance’s family is a relative newcomer to Australia with his dam hailing from NZ. It was not there for very long with his fourth dam, Brushly arriving from the US in the late 1980’s. Through this female line we see the presence of Bletchingly who I suggest is a presence who should be highly sought after in mares going to Exceedance. We also see Shirley Heights and Sir Gaylord appearing through his tail female line, and this is what helps me suggest that these traditional European lines may blend well with the stallion.

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am sure that Exceedance will produce good quality yearlings and his share of early 2yo’s The real question will come from the depth of his books of mares given that he is in such a competitive niche and does not really look to offer a great point of difference.

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he pedigree of Exceedance shows relatively little inbreeding dominated by four lines of Northern Dancer and his dam, Natalma, in the first six generations. The question in Australian breeding, in particular, is “How much Northern Dancer is too much?” Many seem to argue that it can never be enough, but I am not convinced that this strategy is beneficial to the overall health of the breed. In the case of Exceedance we see that the four sons in the first five generations all have something different to offer, and we even see a fifth son, Nijinsky appearing in Turf monthly 43

MICROPHONE Darley Kelvinside NSW Fee $38,500

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icrophone is another son of Exceed And Excel going to stud this season at Darley in NSW. He is perhaps the best performed 2yo to go to stud this year. He was Australia’s Champion 2yo of his season winning the Talindert Stakes, Skyline Stakes, NSW Sires’ Produce and running second in the Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond Preview. He won the Autumn Stakes as a 3yo and ran second to Shadow Hero in the Randwick Guineas and was third in both the Roman Consul and Hobartville. All up he had five wins from 11 starts earning almost $2 million in prizemoney. icrophone is out of the Listed winner, Sung by Anabaa, a full sister to Yell, Australia’s Champion Sprinter in 2002/03. This is also the family of Holler by Commands winner of the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes and Anthems by Palace Music who won the Group 1 QTC Sires’ Produce.

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hat we first notice about the pedigree of Microphone is that the sire lines of all four grandparents trace to Northern Dancer, with two of these through Danzig. It makes for a heavily inbred pedigree and a real test as to what mares may suit the stallion. Obviously, a lot of mares with multiple lines of Northern Dancer are high risk matings. Similarly, many Danehill line mares also fall into this category given the inbred nature of Microphone’s pedigree. That is not to say that success will not be found, and particularly a stallion like Commands may have daughters that can produce quality runners from the stallion.

nother very interesting part of the stallion’s pedigree comes when we look at his female line. We saw that his damsire is Anabaa, and his second dam is by Bluebird, a son of Storm Bird in turn by Northern Dancer. It is Microphone’s third dam, Loyal Lyric that really piques our interest. She is by Sovereign Red, a wonderful racehorse who won six Group 1 races including the Caulfield

Guineas and VRC Derby. He was by Sir Tristram and a full sibling to Melbourne Cup winner, Gurner’s Lane and Trichelle who won the Marlboro Cup now the Sir Rupert Clarke. Her dam in turn was Miss Entertainer by Vain who herself was a daughter of the Better Boy mare, Viveza. Miss Entertainer is the second dam of the very good stallion Written Tycoon. Tracing the female line further we see it is the line of the imported Manto who was largely one of the original foundations of the Australian Stud Book in the early 1800’s. Her granddaughter was Flora McIvor who produced three stakes-winners alone. Microphone offers breeders a real insight into the origins of the Australian thoroughbred and this could well be important when we look at his long term success.

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here do we head with the stallion? The key will be what has been successful with Danehill most likely.

More Than Ready and his sons like Sebring and even now his grandson Criterion may give us suitable daughters.

Similarly, Sir Tristram lines through Lonhro and his sons

Denman and Pierro are other options. Encosta De Lago and his sons also may suit but with all of these, it is likely that many of their daughters have been bred to Danehill lines already making Microphone a rather tricky stallion to match. If we can find these stallions though with very strong “colonial’ lines they could be important and of course breeding to daughters of Written Tycoon may prove successful.

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mported stallions will probably be the key and Medaglia D’Oro is one stallion who may well have suitable daughters for the stallion. I would also be tempted to look for the presence of Sadler’s Wells and his son, High Chaparral is a good example of this. Introducing some stamina lines into the pedigree might well be a sound move. The problem with this strategy is the competition that the stallion faces for this type of mare. However, Microphone is a good chance of producing plenty of early 2yo’s which is always a good thing at local yearling sales.

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YES YES YES Coolmore Australia NSW Fee $38,500

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es Yes Yes is first winner of the Everest to go to stud making him perhaps one of the most interesting Freshman stallions this year. He had three starts in Melbourne for Darren Weir before Christmas in his 2yo season before transferring to Chris Waller in Sydney. He won the Group 2 Todman at his first NSW start gaining him a run in the Golden Slipper where he finished 7th. A spell saw him return to run second to Bivouac in both the Run To The Rose and the Golden Rose before his Everest victory at his eighth and final start in October 2019. He suffered a tendon injury when returning in the Autumn and was immediately retired.

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es Yes Yes is by Rubick, a son of Encosta De Lago who went to stud in 2015 and the two will stand alongside each other at Coolmore. Rubick has been very popular with breeders and has produced another very good runner in Rubisaki. Notably Rubick is closely related to Champion Sire and racehorse, Redoute’s Choice. Yes Yes Yes is a son of the Fantastic Light mare, Sin Sin Sin who won 3 races including the famed Wellington Boot. Fantastic Light was not fully appreciated in Australia but was a top line racehorse who won five Group 1 races across the world. He shuttled to Australia for only five seasons producing horses like Brilliant Light and Mission Critical. His best runner though was Scintillo who raced across Europe winning a Group 1 in Italy. Sin Sin Sin was a half-sister to the good gallopers Hot As Hell and Flaming Hot by County, and the HK galloper, Craig’s Dragon by Catbird. It is also a family that includes G1 winners, In Her Time and Under The Louvre.

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he temptation for many breeders will be to find daughters of Redoute’s Choice line stallions, but I suggest that this will have more success if we look at grandsons of this stallion and beyond with Snitzel being the standout damsire here. The direct female line of Yes Yes Yes includes many older colonial influences and this could be a key. Although he was born in the US, Salieri was an important influence and the grand-damsire of the stallion. We see him regularly in the pedigree of Magic Albert for example. Unfortunately, this type of mare will probably find the stallion too expensive but if we can find mares that have Salieri in their pedigrees, they may well be suited. We also saw Blazing Saddles by Todman in the pedigree of Yes Yes Yes, and we know the family has had success with County, a son of Vain so I suspect that these traditional colonial speed lines are likely to suit the stallion, even if they are becoming more difficult to find. Bel Esprit represents an interesting match because of the important influence of Vain, but also because he is a son of Royal Academy by Nijinsky. Nijinsky appears twice in the stallion’s pedigree, both times through daughters and introducing a line of this legendary stallion through a male may also be successful.

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es Yes Yes is certainly an interesting prospect and I have no doubt will have a lot of attraction to Australian breeders. He does however represent a little bit of a challenge in my view and I urge breeders to tread wearily when selecting mares for him.

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is pedigree carries five lines of Northern Dancer but three of these are in the fifth generation making it questionable as to what influence they will be asserting on his progeny.

He does carry two lines of the Northern Dancer son, Nijinsky. His pedigree is particularly interesting when we note that his sire, Rubick carries the wonderful local speed influence Canny Lad through his female line. While not remarkable in itself, we also see that his dam, Sin Sin Sin carries another local speed influence in Blazing Saddles by Todman. He is a stallion we don’t see all that often in modern pedigrees, but he was a speed machine, and one of the most precocious 2yo’s we have seen.

He won five black type races at that age including the Debutant Stakes, Maribyrnong Plate, Blue Diamond and Black Opal. He was one of the last stakes-winners for his remarkable sire, Todman.

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CASTELVECCHIO Arrowfield Stud NSW Fee $33,000

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astelvecchio is the first son of Dundeel to go to stud and will undoubtedly attract significant interest at Arrowfield. He was also a very popular racehorse, winning his first start as a 2yo. At his second run, he won the Inglis race, the Millennium before running third in the Skyline.

He missed a start in the Slipper but ran third in the Sires Produce and won the Champagne Stakes to cap off a wonderful 2yo season. As a son of Dundeel, a lot was expected from his 3yo season, and he started off with an eye-catching 4th in the Listed Dulcify Stakes over 1500m. His performance in the 1400m Golden Rose was moderate but he was stepped back up in distance to finish a very good second to Shadow Hero in the Group 1 Spring Champion over 2000m. An ambitious trip to Melbourne for the Cox Plate saw him run second to outstanding champion Japanese horse, Lys Gracieux. He returned for the Autumn which saw him win the Rosehill Guineas. He was retired after running 9th to Quick Thinker in the Derby.

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he stallion is by Dundeel who in turn is by High Chaparral out of a Zabeel mare. He is out of the stakes winning Dehere mare, St Therese who has also produced stakes winning fillies Maid Of Heaven by Smart Missile and Mirrasalo by Redoute’s Choice. One thing that is quite remarkable about the pedigree of Castelvecchio is that his dam was 19yo when she produced the colt. Her dam, Moon Scent by Aloe was 20yo when she produced St Therese. St Therese who was foaled in 1997 is a half-sister to five-time Group 1 winner, Planet Ruler by Kaoru Star.

It is also the family of stakes winning full brothers Roman Artist and Roman General.

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undeel who raced in Australia as It’s A Dundeel has been a remarkable stallion and is one of our most popular. He had won five Group 1 races including the Spring Champion as well as the Rosehill and Randwick Guineas and the Australian Derby in the Autumn.

Dundeel also came back as a 4yo to win the Underwood in the Spring, and later the Queen Elizabeth. At stud he now commands a fee of $66,000 after starting his career

at $27,500 and has served over 900 mares since his first season in 2014.

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he pedigree of Castelvecchio might be something of a quandary in terms of his long-term success. It is largely an outcross but still carries three lines of Northern Dancer within six generations. We see that there are significant stamina lines through both his sire and dam in stallions like Sadler’s Wells, Zabeel and Alycidon, while there are also speed lines through Luskin Star and Dehere.

The question as to the consistency of type that Castelvecchio produces is one that I am sure will be asked by many breeders looking at using the stallion. This can be both a positive and negative as I am sure that he will throw his share of two-year-olds from the right mares, but there may well be a variability in type that could detract from his appeal to breeders. I would suggest though that the astute breeder will use these influences for their benefit and look at breeding a variety of types from this interesting pedigree.

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here are two major advantages that the stallion has for breeders. Firstly, his pedigree is Danehill free meaning that there are few lines that might not find something to suit. Perhaps more importantly, he offers stamina lines that are often missing in a lot of current Australian mares.

After years of breeding to speed lines, the reintroduction of stamina lines can be the panacea for many families.

Arrowfield has a history of producing champion stallions, and I think Castelvecchio has the potential to make a name for himself among the best stallions around. Providing he can get the numbers he is certainly one stallion who I expect to see near the top of the First Season Sire’s Table.

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The Greatest Races A

ustralian racing is often criticised for being insular, and we don’t want to have this charge laid against us. There are incredible moments in history, most of which are coloured by personal preference.

It is hard to argue with most of America who would tell you that the 1973 Belmont Stakes was the greatest race ever run. It certainly wasn’t because it was a close race, but it did have an important place in history. The race was the final leg of the US 3yo Triple Crown and won by one of the greatest horses to grace the track in Secretariat. The official margin was 31 lengths, and yes that is not a misprint.

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ecretariat had won the first two legs of the Triple Crown. He won the Kentucky Derby on May 5 before a crowd of 134.476 which was then the largest crowd in North American racing. Secretariat started as equal favourite with Angle Light at 3-2, or 6/4 in local terms. Third favourite was Sham at 5/2. Sham reacted in the stall to the colt Twice A Prince that reared. He managed to loosen two teeth and jumped poorly. Secretariat, as was his pattern at the time, was taken straight back to last.

Shecky Greene set the pace, but Sham worked his way to the lead around the far turn. Secretariat by then was well into stride, and he overpowered Sham in the run to the post, beating him by

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2.5 lengths with Our Native in third. A remarkable thing about the Kentucky Derby win was that Secretariat became the first horse ever to win the race in under two minutes. He ran 1.59.4 and his sectionals recorded that he increased speed with every quarter mile.

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wo weeks later in the Preakness, Secretariat drifted back towards the rear of the field after the jump. Jockey Ron Turcotte thought he was in danger of being posted wide as the field slowed, so in a lightning move took the colt around the field on the first turn to the lead. It is a photo of this move that was used as the basis for the famed statue of Secretariat that graces the Belmont Park grounds. Secretariat was untroubled to win by 2.5 lengths again chased home by the unlucky Sham.

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he finale of the Triple Crown came in the Belmont Stakes on 9 June and Secretariat started at 1/10 in the five-horse field.

The race was televised live in the US where it recorded an audience of 15 million viewers. He jumped a little slowly again but was pushed forward to reach the lead going out of the straight for the first time. On his outside was Sham who wanted the lead. The two had a fearsome battle into the back stretch

Secretariat’s Belmont before Secretariat started to pull ahead. The two were some 10 lengths or more in front of the third horse. Secretariat continued his relentless gallop as Sham’s effort told on that horse. The champion colt continued to increase his lead and turned into the straight about 15 lengths in front of Twice A Prince and My Gallant. Secretariat went further in front as the two placegetters waged an epic battle to the line. A tired Sham was to finish last. The winning time was an amazing 2 minutes 24 seconds flat for the mile and a half trip. It beat the previous record for the race by over 2 seconds which had been set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat became the ninth Triple Crown winner, and the first since Citation in 1948.

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pon retirement to Claiborne Stud, Secretariat had some fertility issues, with only 28 foals born in his first

crop. This crop did produce Canadian Bound who was the first million-dollar yearling ever sold, bringing $1.5 million.

On the track, Canadian Bound was to prove a flop. Much is said about Secretariat’s relative failure at stud. In reality, he was a top line stallion, producing 663 named foals for 341 winners including 54 stakes-winners. It is hard to assess him though against the opportunity he was given, but he was also to compete at stud against the immortal Northern Dancer who is the litmus test for any modern stallion.

Among his best runners was the Champion filly Lady’s Secret who was US Horse of the Year in 1986, and our own Kingston Rule who won the 1990 Melbourne Cup in record time. Secretariat left a remarkable legacy as a broodmare sire with his daughters producing horses like Storm Cat, AP Indy, Gone West, Chief ’s Crown, Dehere, and NZ based Volksraad.

TO WATCH VIDEO TOGGLE TO TEXT VIEW Turf monthly 51