A lpacas! Was asked the question, what is the significance of the alpacas? For the uninitiated, I travel with my children and for whatever reason they came along with us last year and made for some interesting photos that made us laugh, so they're back!
B reed shaper! There's a word you hear bandied about on a stallion parade weekend and while everyone is looking for the next big thing it's still Danehill and his myriad sire sons, grand-sons and great grand-sons that are hitting the mark.
C lose encounter with a champion. Highlight of the trip for mine. Click here to read more.
D eclaration of War (USA) is one of two newbies for Coolmore and while the other is Epsom Derby hero Camelot (IRE), who looks every inch the classic horse his race record and pedigree suggest, Declaration of War is the epitome of a Danzig line sire.
A powerful bay with a white star, he has the muscle bulk and good bone, Australian breeders are accustomed to seeing. Click here to see more of them.
E qual opportunity, now there's something you never see at stallion parades. The care of expensive stallions is generally seen as a man's domain and in all my years of attending stallion parades I can't recall a woman showing a horse, but we saw it at Darley on Saturday.
US born Veronica Reed presented dual Group I winner Epaulette and then brought Exceed and Excel out to close the show.
F oxwedge is letting down nicely, his pretty boy looks are mellowing with age as he becomes more George Clooney and less Taylor Lautner (if you are an older person you'll need to google him! Bugger, I'm an older person now, I only know this because of my children, Twilight anyone?)
G old is this alpaca pic! Is why they come along.
H ospitality at all farms was absolutely outstanding, but can be a trap for young players!
I am Invincible has always been a stunning individual that many good judges would have rated as one of the best sorts in the Hunter. Success makes him look all the better and Australia's Champion First Season Sire was the centre of attention at Yarraman Park's parade on Saturday morning.
J ames McDonald will be missing his favourite horse this spring with $5.3 million earner Dundeel (pictured Bronwen Healy)
installed at Arrowfield. Thesix-time Group I winner, whose highlight wins included a memorable six length
victory in the ATC Australian Derby stands alongside Kentucky Derby winner
Animal Kingdom (USA), so the team at Arrowfield are certainly trying to mix it
up a bit with their stallion selection.K itchwin Hills, yes I know we didn't get there.
Am not super human after all it seems, but next year children and I and
possibly alpacas, will definitely visit with Duporth and Dane Shadow!
L ove is what this weekend is all about. The broodmare owners need to feel some love from the stallion owners. The stallion owners need to show their love for the broodmare owners. Then from September 1, the stallions will get an awful lot of love for the next few months.
M ining is a hot topic and with the spectre of the Drayton South mine hanging over Coolmore and Darley, it's never been more threatening to the industry we all love.
I drove from Coolmore to Emirates Park on Sunday which means Edderton Road and an up close look at the island of thoroughbred activity that is Edinglassie amongst an ocean of mines.
I hope I never see the day when Coolmore is surrounded in that manner. Why is sustainable agriculture seen as so inferior to the quick buck for coal that leaves carnage in its wake?
N ewgate is the fastest growing farm in the Hunter, from one stallion to four this year. Where does it end? No harm in dreaming big, not much is ever achieved through dreaming small.
O tis found some friends at Arrowfield, Vicky Leonard's new puppy proving a star attraction with my children Jack and Jasmine.
P atinack Farm Dispersal gave people something to talk about other than the stallions.
L ove is what this weekend is all about. The broodmare owners need to feel some love from the stallion owners. The stallion owners need to show their love for the broodmare owners. Then from September 1, the stallions will get an awful lot of love for the next few months.
M ining is a hot topic and with the spectre of the Drayton South mine hanging over Coolmore and Darley, it's never been more threatening to the industry we all love.
I drove from Coolmore to Emirates Park on Sunday which means Edderton Road and an up close look at the island of thoroughbred activity that is Edinglassie amongst an ocean of mines.
I hope I never see the day when Coolmore is surrounded in that manner. Why is sustainable agriculture seen as so inferior to the quick buck for coal that leaves carnage in its wake?
N ewgate is the fastest growing farm in the Hunter, from one stallion to four this year. Where does it end? No harm in dreaming big, not much is ever achieved through dreaming small.
O tis found some friends at Arrowfield, Vicky Leonard's new puppy proving a star attraction with my children Jack and Jasmine.
P atinack Farm Dispersal gave people something to talk about other than the stallions.
My how time flies… they come and think
they will conquer the world and then they go when they realise the money has
run out and it's a bit harder than they thought.
Paraded at Vinery Stud was one of Nathan Tinkler's mares in Allez Wonder that will be offered at the dispersal in September. She has a stunning bay colt by All Too Hard what was a show-stopper.
Q uestion – What's happening with Thoroughbreds? Was asked this a million times and the answer is that TVN decided to cancel it in favour of something new.
R ichard Haynes was happy to interview a couple of freeloaders at Newgate Farm as well as Duncan Ramage, James Harron and James Cummings.
Paraded at Vinery Stud was one of Nathan Tinkler's mares in Allez Wonder that will be offered at the dispersal in September. She has a stunning bay colt by All Too Hard what was a show-stopper.
Q uestion – What's happening with Thoroughbreds? Was asked this a million times and the answer is that TVN decided to cancel it in favour of something new.
R ichard Haynes was happy to interview a couple of freeloaders at Newgate Farm as well as Duncan Ramage, James Harron and James Cummings.
S tar Witness may have a career in the circus if all else fails. Few horses are as adept on their hind feet as this one! Picture taken by Jasmine Haynes.
T hey say inside every jockey is a little fat man waiting to get out and the same can be said of Arrowfield Stud's Not a Single
Doubt.A former brilliant athletic two year-old, his rotund appearance was the subject of much comment last year and his chubbiness was starting to impede upon his love life, so the team at Arrowfield have taken him in hand and set him back on the path to fitness.
A new diet featuring fresh air and grass, coupled with daily sessions on the Arrowfield training track have the 'little fat man' showing rib for the first time in years.
With Paul Messara now running the stud and scaling back on his training, the state of the art Arrowfield Training Centre may well become the Arrowfield Weight Loss Facility.
U ncle No!... Uncle Mo was a no-show at Coolmore due to a hold up in quarantine, but will be on the farm to start the breeding season on September 1.
V inery have the breakfast nailed for this weekend. The stallions aren't half bad either!
W idden – top class roster and top class hospitality make the Widden trek a great day out. Click here to read about our day in the Widden Valley.
X – Factor, had to be The Factor (pictured Lisa Grimm) didn't it! Henry Field of Newgate Farm is 'bringing sexy back' to the stallion ranks with this dapple grey speed ball by boom sire War Front. Grey stallions are few and far between and this one is a drop dead glamour for the grey lovers among us!
Y our Song is another seriously good looking son of Fastnet Rock that is looming as another winner for Widden Stud with his first foals born this spring. When you see Fastnet Rock himself, it's always an eye opener as his top class sons invariably have the refinement he lacks.
Z oustar – an aborted Royal Ascot campaign led to a virtual site seeing trip of the world which has left Zoustar looking as you or I might after we step off the plane. In 12 months time, he'll be the image of his ill-fated sire Northern Meteor.
Can't tell you how glad I am there is a Z replacement for Zabeel, not that I don't love him, but enough is enough. Long live Zoustar!
