Rowe On Monday – Slipper result adds to Rosemont celebrations, Coolmore’s HK Derby connection, Yulong considers shuttle move for UK Group 1 winner

In this week’s Rowe On Monday, Tim Rowe recaps a bumper weekend for Rosemont, reveals a surprising Snitzel statistic in relation to the super sire’s Hong Kong runners and updates Yulong’s latest stallion moves.

After Slipper win, Schwarz kicks Group 1 goal for Rosemont

As Marhoona crossed the line at Rosehill, narrowly denying Wodeton a Golden Slipper triumph, south of the border Team Rosemont let out a cheer at Moonee Valley.

Principal Anthony Mithen and his brother-in-law Nigel Austin own stakes winner Salateen, an I Am Invincible half-sister to Emirates Park’s untapped two-year-old Marhoona, and the mare’s already immense value went up considerably as a result of her sibling’s success in the Slipper.

On top of that Salateen, a $300,000 purchase by Rosemont in 2021 at the Magic Millions sale, is in foal to champion young sire Too Darn Hot.

Then, 20 minutes after the Slipper at Rosehill, Rosemont achieved the ultimate when million-dollar entire Schwarz won the William Reid, the Zoustar stallion’s first at Group 1 level.

It was a day of vindication for Rosemont and its Alliance syndicate, the colts partnership formed the same year Mithen snapped up Salateen at the broodmare sale. 

Mithen, his brother Ted, Austin and Rosemont bloodstock manager Ryan McEvoy always had belief that a Group 1 was coming – for the syndicate and Schwarz – but the four-year-old’s sustained speed around the Valley at the weekend came as an exhilarating relief. 

“Days like (Saturday), it was an unbelievable reward. It was a reward for patience and belief. It’s tested our patience and belief over the years. But he’s a bloody cool horse to do it with, too. He’s such a beautiful-looking Zoustar who has got the pedigree,” McEvoy says.

“And I believe no other colt or gelding by Zoustar has won more stakes races. That was Schwarz’s fifth black-type win, a dual Group 2 winner … and we think he’s the best looking and arguably the best bred (stallion by Zoustar).”

In its four years of operation – Mithen and co have taken a breather from the yearling sale colts market this year – the Alliance has bought 41 colts for a combined $22.585 million.

With the John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained Schwarz’s value skyrocketing after the William Reid and three-year-old Bosustow already twice Group 1-placed, it can be argued that Rosemont Stud and their backers are in front.

“In this game, there’s plenty of critics out there, but I’m reasonably satisfied, relative to the numbers we buy in the context of some of the other colt syndicates out there … we average maybe a dozen yearlings each year,” McEvoy says. 

“Obviously, in that first year, it started really well, with Brereton and Millane sort of early stakes-winning two-year-olds and Doull, a Group 2 winner, ends up on a stallion roster. In the second year, Schwarz is a Group 1 winner and stallion prospect and in the third year, Bosustow’s a (Magic Millions) Guineas winner and hopefully a stallion prospect down the line.

“Among them, there’s other good stakes winners and positive stories; trade horses to Hong Kong that have been profitable. Of course, there’s some slow ones there that you regret, but overall, it’s been a pretty satisfying sort of record.”

Schwarz’s William Reid helped Zoustar, also the sire of Saturday’s Typhoon Tracy winner Clean Energy and the recent Newmarket Handicap winner Joliestar, hit the lead in the Australian general sires’ premiership. 

Zoustar’s service fee for 2024 ($275,000) was an equal Australian-high and it will be interesting to see what Widden do with his fee later this year. 

South of the border, Team Rosemont will start contemplating what service fee Schwarz stands for in his maiden season at the Geelong stud.

For reference, last year’s Newmarket winner Cylinder stood for $44,000 (inc GST) at Darley’s Northwood Park in Victoria while Zoustar’s Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Ozzmosis retired to the Hunter Valley’s Newgate Farm last year for the same fee.

Schwarz claims his maiden Group 1 victory, charging to the lead from the gates & roaring away from his opposition in the William Reid Stakes @jamieleemott earns a deserving third taste at Group 1 success, standing high in his irons!@JohnOSheaRacing pic.twitter.com/JMLOaMISis

— Racing.com (@Racing) March 22, 2025

McEvoy insists Rosemont will be conservative with Schwarz’s fee.

“That is probably this week’s job, to canvass a few breeders. We like to do that before we announce a service fee. What we have agreed on is if we think he’s an X service fee, don’t be afraid to stand him at Y, a slightly lower number,” McEvoy says.

“We’re in a period now where we’ve got to encourage breeders to stay in the game and we’ve got to make service fees more attractive.

“We’ve been thrilled with the response to Henry Longfellow, the horse we announced a couple of weeks ago, and I think it’s fair to say the reaction to his service fee has been met with such positivity that he is almost full now.

“And I reckon the lesson learned from there is that you’ve got to leave a bit of meat on the bone for breeders. Whatever the fee is for Schwarz, we’d like to think breeders will think it is attractive value.”

Back-to-back Derbies for Coolmore

If it wasn’t a big enough weekend for four-time champion stallion Snitzel after siring his third Golden Slipper winner, the Arrowfield poster boy added the coveted Hong Kong Derby to his phenomenal record on Sunday.

And Cap Ferrat’s victory – as a maiden, no less – also provided an honour of sorts for Coolmore, which has sold the past two Hong Kong Derby winners.

After the former Aidan O’Brien-trained Massive Sovereign won the Derby for Dennis Yip last year, Snitzel four-year-old gelding Cap Ferrat won this year’s edition on the back of a rails-hugging ride from fly-in Australian jockey Craig Williams for trainer Francis Lui.

Although going into the race as a 16-start maiden, Cap Ferrat did have strong Australian form for trainer Chris Waller and the Coolmore colts partnership, finishing runner-up in the 2023 Group 1 Spring Champion, third in last year’s Rosehill Guineas, a race won by stablemate Riff Rocket.

A $1.4 million Inglis Easter yearling graduate, Cap Ferrat was sold privately by Coolmore to his Hong Kong owners after he ran sixth in the 2024 Australian Derby, again won by Riff Rocket with subsequent Group 1 winner Ceolwulf in second.

Snitzel, a rising 23-year-old, has been under-represented with offspring in Hong Kong – largely due to his appeal in his home country and the yearling prices his colts command. In fact, Cap Ferrat’s Derby win is Snitzel’s second stakes winner from 53 runners and 29 winners in Hong Kong across 16 seasons. 

Arrowfield will offer a brother to Cap Ferrat as Lot 312 at next month’s Inglis Easter sale.

Group 1 sprinter Shaquille could shuttle down under

Yulong will consider shuttling Group 1 Commonwealth Cup and July Cup winner Shaquille to its Victorian stud after acquiring the young son of Charm Spirit in a package deal from his British owner.

The winner of seven of his nine starts across 2022 and 2023 for trainer Julie Camacho, who is in his second northern hemisphere season at Dullingham Park at Newmarket, was bought alongside Soldier’s Call by Yulong’s principal Zhang Yuesheng from Steve Parkin.

“We’ll certainly have a look at it. He’s a very good-looking horse and reportedly getting very, very good-looking foals and that’s from a couple of independent sources,” Yulong general manager Vin Cox told this column.

“So, we’ll have a look at it and consider it and factor it into everything else we’ve got.”

France’s champion two-year-old in 2018, Showcasing’s son Soldier’s Call won three Group sprints in England and Ireland in 2018 prior to retiring to stud in 2020.

Showcasing shuttled for seven seasons up until 2017 at Haunui Farm in New Zealand while Shaquille’s sire Charm Spirit shuttled to Windsor Park, another well-known stud across the Tasman, for six years with his trips across the equator ending in 2020.

When asked about speculation that Zhang had also bought Dullingham Park, where the stallions remain, Cox did little to dispel the talk of his boss adding to his global thoroughbred property portfolio by offering a firm “no comment”.