The Breednet Foal Gallery publishes foal images from all over Australia and when this one came in a few weeks ago with the promise of a great story my ears pricked up and this tale of a girl who fell in love with a horse at age 15 and now owns and breeds with his family is guaranteed to inspire.
As a horse obsessed teenager from a non-horsey family, 15 year-old Holly Graham-Jones went to work for Gai Waterhouse and in the tie up stalls she first met the horse who would change her life.
He was Red Trinket.
Conceived in the Northern Hemisphere and foaled and raised at Coolmore, Red Trinket was one of a small number of horses foaled in Australia by sub fertile Breeders Cup Mile winner Lure from well-bred Woodman mare Serengeti Park (USA), who came from an international Black Type family.
Raced by Gooree Stud, Red Trinket was a talented stayer that won the 2002 Group III AJC Colin Stephen Quality before injury curtailed his promising career.
“I remember the first day I met him, it was Sunday February 14, 2004,” Holly recalled.
“It was in the tie up stalls and to be honest I was a bit scared of him. He was big and chunky and very masculine… almost ominous, but then and there I fell in love with him.
“He got me by standing on the back of my shoes when I was walking, I would fall back and he would have his head waiting to catch me. He never let me fall.
“I have been hooked on him and horses in general ever since.”
When he was retired from racing, Holly contacted Andrew Baddock at Gooree Stud to see if they might let her have the horse.
“Andrew explained that Red may have ongoing soundness issues and might not have a long future as a riding horse, but I didn’t care, I just wanted to own him and eventually they agreed. He had a month of box rest and then Gooree dropped him off at Centennial Park for me,” said Holly.
“I would hand walk him in the park and finally after about six months I was riding him.”
In the ensuing years, Holly went to ag college and worked for various studs such as Coolmore, Segenhoe and Bhima, all the while taking Red with her wherever she went as she set about pursuing her dream to learn more about thoroughbreds.
She became a vet nurse along the way and is now studying for a degree in equine science and has been living in Victoria for the last three years with her husband and an ever-growing collection of horses that all stem from Red Trinket.
“He’s still going strong at age 24, just an amazing horse that has been my best mate and the anchor of my life,” Holly revealed.
“I met his mother Serengeti Park when I was working at Coolmore and loved her too. I made her a promise that I would look after her family.”
In recent years, Holly has been in a position to make good on that promise and has acquired three of her daughters.
12YO Cause Celebre (Keep the Faith) is the dam of the foal that she photographed and sent in to the Breednet Foal Gallery, a handsome colt from the first crop by Widden Stud’s brilliant Not a Single Doubt son Doubtland.
“I’m probably biased, but I’ve seen enough foals in my time when working at the big studs to think he’s going to be above average and for a first foal from an older mare he’s outstanding,” said Holly.
“I’ve been tracking all the progeny of Serengeti Park that are still alive and found Cause Celebre in a sale at Echuca.
“She was supposed to be dead according to studbook, but I had the feeling she wasn’t and then she cropped up in this sale with her mane hogged and people thought she was a stock horse.
“I missed that sale by a day and another woman bought her for $600, but that didn’t work out so I offered to buy her. We had to get her re-instated to stud book and then she missed when covered by Star Witness, but then got in foal to Doubtland.”
Cause Celebre has now been covered by Gold Standard so will hopefully have another foal next spring after being confirmed positive at 14 days.
Holly tracked down another daughter of Serengeti Park through the Breednet Black Book when she was alerted to Galileo mare Free to Roam racing up at Rockhampton.
Stakes-placed early in her career, 16YO Free to Roam had some serious health issues which resulted in her losing an ovary and was deemed barren, but Holly has worked hard to restore the mare to health and she was covered this spring by Overshare.
“Unfortunately she missed, but she is also a dressage horses so we hope to get out and compete this year before trying again next year,” Holly said.
A third daughter of Serengeti Park is also soon to join the rest of her family in Victoria with Holly purchasing 14YO Tribal Queen (Fastnet Rock) from Gold Front Thoroughbreds in Western Australia.
“We already have her son here Approach, he’s a seven year-old gelding that I took on to be my riding horse and then the opportunity came along to buy her and we jumped at it,” Holly explained.
“She’s just tested positive at 28 days to the Galileo stallion Spiritjim (Fr) and is definitely in foal so will soon come over from WA.
“The Galileo blood has worked well with this family in the past.”
Tribal Queen is by Fastnet Rock, who has an outstanding affinity with the Galileo sireline, so there are high hopes for this mating.
“I know this family so well and it’s incredible to now have them altogether,” said Holly, who has had good advice and support from Widden Stud’s Matt Comerford and Newgate Farm’s Nick Taylor and is living the dream with the help of husband Chris and a supportive family.
“The colts are bombproof and the fillies are a bit spicy. Of course I’d love to breed a really good horse one day, but the thing I’d really like is for people to see my brand and think I want to own one of those horses.
“I’ve read about Ian Smith (Edinburgh Park) and his branded for success with IKS horses and how they have a home for life with him whatever happens and I want to be like that.”
Holly Graham-Jones has named her Benalla based bloodstock venture 3 Queens Farm in honour of the three half-sisters to Red Trinket, the horse who was her first true love and remains the inspiration for her dream.
She hopes to welcome mares for outside clients to the farm in 2023.
“We got our stud brand approved this week so hopefully, the picket fence Brand Id of 11111 is lucky for us and our clients,” Holly concluded.
