Harron holds strongest hand as juvenile colt options dry up for studs

While we are still a couple of weeks away from the Group 1 two-year-old race of the Australian racing season, the number of promising juvenile colts genuinely in the hunt for stud deals is surprisingly low.

With Coolmore having all but wrapped up a deal to secure the stud future of Magic Millions 2YO Classic and ruling Golden Slipper favourite Storm Boy, it leaves relatively slim pickings for any other stud hoping to ‘get in’ on a two-year-old before they get that Group 1 stamp.

Assuming the Storm Boy deal is done, the top four colts in the Golden Slipper market already have major studs in their ownership.

Coolmore already has its hands on Switzerland, the Snitzel colt from the Chris Waller stable who cost $1.5 million and is second pick for the Slipper, while impressive recent Caulfield winner High Octane, a son of Deep Field, carries the China Horse Club colours, and accordingly, a significant interest from Newgate.

Shangri La Express, the Golden Gift winner, was bred by Yulong and Yuesheng Zhang’s ambitious outfit also features in the ownership of the horse. Given he is by Yulong’s own stallion Alabama Express, and they are very much in the stallion game, it is hard to see him ending up anywhere else as a stallion.

Straight Charge, an impressive winner at Randwick in December, is another promising two-year-old colt with Yulong connections, owned outright by Zhang’s daughter April.   

Further down the list of Golden Slipper hopes is the unraced but highly rated Manos, a son of Snitzel, who is another member of the Newgate-led colts partnership.

Last week’s Canonbury Stakes winner Prost carries the colours of Kia Ora, who are back in the stallion game, while TFI, which is connected, through the Fung family, to Aquis, are also in the ownership.

Coleman, such an impressive winner of the Chairman Stakes for Matt Laurie at Caulfield last week and a clear favourite for the Blue Diamond Stakes, is probably gettable for a stud, but, notably, Trilogy does feature in his ownership. Trilogy operates Blue Gum Farm in Victoria and stands Sejardan and Flying Artie.

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The StraightBren O’Brien

The trio of colts higher up in Slipper calculations that would be ‘on the market’ should the right offer materialise all carry the same colours, that of James Harron Bloodstock.

Harron’s colt partnership has previously syndicated Group 1-winning two-year-olds Capitalist and King’s Legacy, while Pariah and Defcon are other future stallions to have carried the dark green and gold colours. All four of those horses went to different studs at the end of their racing careers.

Harron’s top rating two-year-old as things stand is probably Espionage. A winner of the Breeders’ Plate early in the season, a race that has produced subsequent Golden Slipper winners and star stallions such as Capitalist, Pierro and Sebring , Espionage is on the fifth line of betting for this year’s Slipper.

A son of Zoustar who was a $1 million yearling, he looks every bit the future stud prospect. The Waterhouse-Bott-trained colt was bred by Gerry Harvey, who remains in the ownership. As well as owning Baramul Stud, Harvey is also a shareholder in Vinery, but that would be unlikely to inhibit any deals with any other stud.

Bodyguard, by champion sire I Am Invincible, is another pre-Christmas stakes winner, in his case the Maribyrnong Plate. Trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, he cost Harron $1.6 million and is a grandson of Slipper winner Mossfun.

Again, his breeder stayed in the ownership. In his case that is Emirates Park, which no longer stands stallions. It does stand Tassort in partnership with Newgate, but that should not be a barrier to an open market should Bodyguard live up to his early potential.

The third Harron colt on the Slipper radar is Highness, a winner of the Wyong Magic Millions race and runner-up to Storm Boy on the Gold Coast. He is a son of Snitzel out of a half-sister to Australian Horse Of The Year, Dissident, so has a pedigree which would attract any potential suitor. He was a $900,000 yearling and is with Michael Freedman.

Not for the first time, it appears Harron holds the whip hand when it comes to doing a deal on the best stallion prospects.