Rowe On Monday – On parade – Highlights from the Hunter

The stallion parade weekend in Scone is about the here and now, with breeders getting the chance to cast their eyes over their chosen or potential matings a week or two out from the start of the September 1 covering season.

However, studmasters are always thinking ahead and that was the case for Godolphin Australia managing director Andy Makiv, who unveiled Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Tentyris at Darley’s Kelvinside on Saturday.

Alongside the first season sire Tentyris is Anamoe, Broadsiding and a revitalised Bivouac, among others, but in talking to The Straight, Makiv revealed that more US stallions could shuttle to Australia in the future to help diversify the bloodlines.

Godolphin’s Sovereignty, a four-time Grade 1 winner whose CV includes a Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, could earn a plane trip next year.

The four-year-old entire, trained by Bill Mott, won the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga on August 8 in what is likely to be his final year of racing.

“I think you’re seeing a lot of pedigrees and certainly a lot of high-priced colts and well-performed racehorses in Australia who are out of American mares,” Makiv said. “Not to mention, Street Cry was an amazing influence. More Than Ready was an amazing influence and if you think of horses that we’ve stood, like Hard Spun, Bernardini and Street Sense, they did great jobs here.

“They well and truly held up their end of the bargain. I think it’s an area that we’ve probably let slip a little bit and we’re very keen to reintroduce some American horses into our bloodlines.

“We’ve got a lot of sons and daughters of Exceed And Excel, the Dabawi line, the Street Cry line and the Lonhro line, so we do need a bit of diversity and we might be able to get that from America. 

“So, a horse like Sovereignty is very interesting.”

Makiv also divulged that if it wasn’t for an untimely illness, Nyquist, a son of Coolmore’s Uncle Mo who is the sire of 43 stakes winners, could have shuttled earlier in his stud career.

“We can access horses (because we are) the only Darley farm in the southern hemisphere,” Makiv said. 

“We can really provide quite a unique bloodline for everyone.”

Stallion parades deliver big cash injection to Hunter region

The Hunter Valley was abuzz with activity across the weekend.

Coolmore reported that RSVPs for its Sunday parades were up by 20 per cent, with interest not seen at Jerrys Plains since So You Think retired to stud in 2012.

The amount of traffic criss-crossing the Valley – from Widden and Coolmore to the south and Yarraman and Arrowfield to the north – demonstrated what an economic impact the stallion parade weekend has become for the region.

Yulong’s presence in the Hunter Valley, via its acquisition of the famed Segenhoe Stud and the addition of a four-strong NSW stallion roster, was suggested as one of the reasons for the increased interest in this year’s parades.

For many, including this writer, it was the first time setting foot on Segenhoe Stud, with owner Zhang Yuesheng ensuring visitors gained a picture of the property Yulong purchased from Kevin Maloney earlier this year via the long, meandering road through the farm.

Every farm does it differently, which in many ways is a reflection of the respective studmasters’ personalities. 

What started about three decades ago as a more informal way of studs such as Widden trying to drum up business for a new stallion, the parade weekend has morphed into a major event.

“It’s a massive weekend. I wonder if there’s any people at the races (at Randwick), because they’re all here in the Hunter Valley,” Makiv said.

“It’s a lovely part of the world this time of year. So great to see so many people. It’s great for the sport, great for breeding.

“It’s probably a mini National Thoroughbred Week in itself, so whether that ultimately becomes that, but it’s a real nod to the whole region. And, you know, there’s these roads all the way around here, they’re packed with cars. I’m sure all the restaurants are full and all the accommodation’s full.”

“It’s a good initiative for the local community, and we’re happy to play our part.”

From capital gains to Nirvana … all in a weekend

What’s interesting in canvassing opinions from breeders who are putting up their money to pay the service fees is the varied thoughts offered. You could find a “for and against” for almost every stallion paraded across four days the Hunter Valley studs were open.

There’s no right or wrong answer.

That said, you’d have to be a harsh judge to knock the champion sires such as I Am Invincible and Zoustar or even the emerging Home Affairs.

How the studs market their stallions, some serious, some with a degree of humour, differs, too.

James Bester, the long-time MC at Coolmore, couldn’t help but be political with his views on capital gains tax while the most unexpected turn of phrase of the weekend was Arrowfield’s Susan Archer in describing the first crop feat (and future) of The Autumn Sun.

“As the saying goes, you have a lifetime to write the first one and 12 months to create the second one,” she told the Arrowfield parades. 

“And those who defy the sophomore slump and record an even better second album become not merely successful or famous, but truly great. Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Amy Winehouse, Adele.”

Milestones achieved or on the horizon

There were some – or soon-to-be – significant milestones for stud farms and stallions.

Widden’s Zoustar is closing in on $200 million in progeny earnings while 2026 is also 30 years since Coolmore acquired the Jerrys Plains stud.

It was also noted that Spicy Martini’s Stradbroke Handicap win in June was the 70th Group 1 winner “raised and grazed” at Coolmore Australia.

As the sun was setting late on Sunday overlooking the river at Coolmore, there was one stallion who isn’t in the Hunter who came up for discussion – Better Than Ready’s Alpine Edge.

A dual stakes-winning sprinter in Brisbane for trainer Toby Edmonds, he now stands at Clear Mountain Fairview and Yarramalong Stud’s Richard and Joanie Foster made sure they had the ear of Inglis’ Sebastian Hutch singing the virtues of Alpine Edge’s first crop yearlings who will be sold next year.

The Fosters, who are also major shareholders in Better Than Ready, are bullish on Alpine Edge’s chances such is their impressions of his first foals. We think Joanie’s sales pitch (and life advice) was heard loud and clear by Hutch and those of us in earshot.

Lastly, while we’re not into cash for comment (we paid!). Bernie Kane of Middlebrook Valley Lodge deserves a shout out for ensuring The Straight had top-class accommodation at Redbank Estate, near Scone.