A quis Farm was the starting point for my stallion
tour this year with a visit to the Gold Coast for their inaugural parade
proving a well worthwhile trip.Justin Fung outlined plans for Aquis to become not only a major player in Queensland, but also on the national stage and while they have four stallions on the roster this year – Holy Roman Emperor (IRE), Domesday, Benfica and Spill the Beans – one senses this is the tip of the iceberg.
B usting out of his britches was Coolmore favourite Choisir, who at age 17 was a showstopper at their annual parade when this one-eyed warrior came out with all guns blazing.
He danced, he pranced, he wowed the crowd and then politely stepped aside for his champion son Starspangledbanner, who is back in business this year as a commercial sire having gotten 90 mares in foal earlier this year in Ireland.
Nobody can accurately say exactly why Starspangledbanner has suddenly started getting mares in foal consistently, but as James Bester said 'it's a miracle' and it's a miracle breeders should swoop on given his 9% stakes-winners to runners.
C riterion (image Joan Faras) opened the show at Newgate Farm, the $7
million earner set to receive outstanding support from his owner/breeder Sir
Owen Glenn, who plans to send him 10 sprinting mares and 10 staying mares with
the aim of breeding a Golden Slipper winner and a Melbourne Cup winner. That's the beauty of this horse, he was so amazingly precocious, yet also tough, tenacious and versatile. Criterion did everything he was asked to do on the track to the very best of his ability and if his progeny do the same, he's a champion sire in the making.
D arley changed the format of their parade this year in having lunch and drinks first and then the parade, rather than the other way around. The TBA National Breeding Awards were held immediately after and if you didn't stick around for that then click here for the winners.
E mirates Park was a bridge too far for me this year, but our Breednet writer Mark Smith called in there and also at Arrowfield for their Open House.
Proven Group I sire Artie Schiller (USA) is in the Hunter for the first time this year after shuttling previously to Victoria and looks in fine fettle.
F amily fun was a feature at the stallion parades
with 'selfies with Sebring' proving popular at Widden!G rey stallions are sadly lacking in the Hunter Valley which is why I'm cheering on Newgate Farm's handsome shuttler The Factor (USA), whose first US runners have come out firing with winners at Saratoga and Del Mar.
H andsome – for me it's Lonhro, So You Think and I Am Invincible – beautiful thoroughbreds.
I mproved was how I saw Darley's Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting to Win, who has let down considerably since last year. His full brother Deep Field over at Newgate Farm was the busiest sire in Australia last year covering a whopping 257 mares, while Shooting to Win covered 156.
Numerically, Deep Field will have the advantage over his brother when their runners hit the track, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will be the better stallion.
J ack and Jasmine were absent this year, a very Sad story, check out S .
K itchwin Hills proved a popular destination on Saturday evening with their 'stallions under the stars' offering a great chance for socialising as well as seeing farm stalwart Dane Shadow and exciting young gun Time for War. They do it differently and they do it well!
L ive streaming was a new innovation this year with Darley and Vinery both live-streaming their stallion parades through the internet. If you weren't there and would like to catch up , click here.
M uswellbrook was where I chose to stay this year
at the Remington Motor Inn. Very comfortable with a good restaurant and handy
room service for those of us that have to work in the evenings, it was a
pleasant surprise.N ot every foaling story has a happy ending and last year at Vinery, Group I winner Snitzerland had a tragic start to her stud career when her first foal was born dead. A year on and it's a much happier story with the former star sprinter paraded on Saturday morning with her beautiful filly by All Too Hard.
O utreach is the new horse at Widden this year and this royally bred son of Exceed and Excel was an interesting surprise packet. A brother to Golden Slipper winner Overreach and three-quarter brother-in-blood to Blue Diamond winner and sire Reward for Effort, Outreach raced once for a second to Vancouver in the Group III ATC Canonbury Stakes before going amiss.
He is true to type and is priced to be a great gamble.
P ierro looked absolutely fabulous this year at Coolmore with a newfound strength and bulk to him that is coming with maturity. Likewise his arch rival All Too Hard at Vinery.
Both champions will have their first runners this season, so the next 12 months for these two stallions is going to be interesting to say the least – fireworks or fizzer?
Q uestion – why are Racing Australia seeking to
control breeders? Nobody was buying welfare and integrity as the real reason.R acing Australia are making no friends in the breeding industry with their controversial changes to bring breeders under the rules of racing becoming a hot topic at every gathering.
S ad story! Have travelled to the Hunter this year without Jack and Jasmine as we are off to the UK on September 5 for three weeks with a side trip to Rome for the Global Champions Tour to see the world's best showjumpers... there is only so much time you can take off school before the Department of Education start to ask questions.
T esta Rossa was another senior citizen very much looking forward to spring. He was in high spirits at Vinery with Adam White declaring, "He might be 20, but he's acting like he's two!"
U ndecided is how some broodmare owners go to these parades, which is why hospitality and approachable friendly staff are so important.
V ancouver (Golden Slipper) (image Katrina Partidge ) and Pride of Dubai
(Blue Diamond) have brought a big injection of precocious two year-old speed to
the roster at Coolmore and next year we will see the 2016 Golden Slipper and
Blue Diamond winners – Capitalist and Extreme Choice – on the roster at
Newgate.W idden Stud is always a favourite destination on any Hunter tour with spectacular scenery, stunning horses and warm hospitality. A passionate speech delivered by Antony Thompson regarding Racing Australia's bid to bring breeders under the control of the rules of racing set the tone of the weekend.
The sentiments he expressed were widely mirrored at farms all over the Hunter Valley and most notably on this high profile sign at Aberdeen.
X osphere… OK, I know that's not how you spell it, but gees X can be tough! He's the latest Group I winning son of Lonhro to go to stud. John O'Shea often remarked he was a horse "You wouldn't want to stand on your foot"… and seeing him now I can see why.
Y arraman Park hosted a late afternoon gathering on the Friday and with both stallions Hinchinbrook and I Am Invincible booked out months ago, this was more of a celebration and a thank you to broodmare owners for their support rather than a hard sell.
The overwhelming success of these two stallions, neither of them Group I winners, is what inspires stallion owners to roll the dice…. you don't need tens of millions, you just need the right horse!
Z oustar – wow what a difference two years makes! The last time we saw Zoustar here ( he was at Woodside in Victoria last year) he had just come back from an aborted Royal Ascot trip and had a touch of the 'hunted dog' look about him.
Fast forward and he's looking sensational. Zoustar has grown and matured. His much commented on 'pixie ears' are set forward in happy mode showing he's a man on a mission this spring!
