Rowe On Monday, Sponsored by Arrowfield

In his weekly bloodstock column, Tim Rowe chats to Widden’s Antony Thompson about the stud future of Southport Tycoon, American owners Mt Brilliant Farm on trans-Pacific ambitions and discusses a new addition to a star family and Snitzel’s pursuit of Redoute’s Choice.

Southport Tycoon
The stud future of Southport Tycoon heads this week's Rowe On Monday. (Photo: Blended/Getty Images)

Widden in the box-seat to stand Southport Tycoon

When Southport Tycoon won the Australian Guineas in the autumn, Antony Thompson was one of the first to call syndicator Nathan Bennett to express Widden’s interest in acquiring the Group 1-winning colt for stud duties.

As trainer Ciaron Maher and Bennett plotted a rain-soaked Sydney autumn for Southport Tycoon, resulting in just one start in the All Aged Stakes, overtures and offers for a stud deal with various parties, including Widden, were put on the backburner without any deal reached.

Thompson, however, didn’t give up in his pursuit of Southport Tycoon, having made his belief in the rising four-year-old clear after inspecting him on multiple occasions.

So, when a small share in the son of Written Tycoon became available during the winter, the Widden principal jumped at the chance to buy in. So, too, did Australian Bloodstock’s Jamie Lovett and his partners.

On Friday night, second-up from a spell, Southport Tycoon produced a scintillating performance in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley, sending the value of the elite sprinter-miler skyrocketing.

While the equity secured by Thompson in Southport Tycoon didn’t automatically guarantee standing rights, that was the understanding and the intention from the outset with Widden set to buy out their fellow owners who don’t wish to breed with the stallion once he’s retired to stud, possibly next year.

“A lot of the smaller shareholders who are in him are in it for the love of racing and that’s what they’re looking to continue to do,” Thompson told The Straight. 

“How that plays out when he retires, we’ll work through what they want to do … and from our point of view, we’re ready to have that discussion whenever they want to, but at this stage it’s all about racing.” 

"We’re ready to have that discussion whenever they want to, but at this stage it’s all about racing." - Antony Thompson

An elated Thompson also had empathy for team from Yulong, the owner of Manikato runner-up Growing Empire, “a smashing sort of horse” by Widden’s Zoustar who appeared to have the Group 1 well and truly in his keeping when he shot clear at the top of the short Valley straight.

“You feel a bit for Yulong, thinking they had it won, but we had a similar feeling in the Winx Stakes only a few weeks ago with Zougotcha thinking we’d won a Group 1 and Yulong knocked us off (with Via Sistina),” the studmaster said of $700,000 Inglis Easter graduate Growing Empire.

“It’s obviously very important to tick that (Group 1) off with him, but he’ll get his chance, I’m sure he’ll get one. He’s a lovely horse for the Coolmore and possibly even The Everest.”

A rematch between Southport Tycoon and Growing Empire could even eventuate in The Everest, with Bennett courting Everest slot holders since his dual Group 1 winner’s Manikato success who is also likely to run in the $10 million Golden Eagle on November 2.

Whatever happens from here, though, is a bonus for the connections old and new of Southport Tycoon, a stallion who is out of a sister to US Listed winner and Grade 1-placed Grace And Power.

He’s from the same family as Group 1-winning sprinters Delectation and Artorius, the latter in his second season at stud at Newgate Farm this year.

“It’s a family that Greg Perry has nurtured and developed. He’s a stunning prospect,” Thompson said. 

“He’s by a champion sire, he’s got a lovely pedigree, he’s a big robust colt, a real sprinter-miler, he’s got everything that you want. 

“We’re very excited about him and one day, who knows whether he’s in the Hunter Valley or Widden Victoria, we can really launch him when the time comes.”

Exceptional strike rate for Mt Brilliant

Kentucky’s Hutton Goodman has plenty to be excited about in the next five to six weeks - on both sides of the equator.

The American thoroughbred breeder’s Australian filly Dominetta, a Zoustar half-sister to Godolphin’s four-time Group 1 winner Hartnell, scored her first win at Warwick Farm last week with plans already made to jump straight to stakes grade with her next start.

Then, closer to home, Goodman’s Mt Brilliant Farm could also have three stud-bred horses racing at the Breeders’ Cup meeting at Del Mar at the start of November: two-year-old colt Gaming, four-year-old Extra Anejo and the lightly raced colt Warlander.

It’s no small feat by Mt Brilliant.

“We only have 30 mares spread across three continents and we could possibly have 10 percent of the mares having Breeders’ Cup runners this year,” Goodman told The Straight.

Before the turf meets the surf meeting at Del Mar, the Listed Reginald Allen (1400m) at Randwick for three-year-old fillies on Everest day looms as Dominetta’s next start.

“From the day she was born, Jon Freyer and Matt (Hill) told us that she was a star. At the time, we had a couple of other daughters (from the family) in Kentucky, so we said, ‘let’s sell her’. They thought she was one of the nicest fillies of their crop that year,” Goodman said of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained filly.

“Arrowfield consigned her for us (at Magic Millions last year) but there was something superficial that was wrong with her … (and) everyone just walked away from her. 

“We weren’t willing to sell her for less than $500,000. She was beautiful, by Zoustar and a half-sister to some really good horses. 

“Jon Freyer called us and said, ‘hey, we talked about her with John Messara. We really like that horse and, at $500,000, would you let us buy half?’.”

Of course, Goodman agreed and the partners appear to have a highly talented filly on their hands.  

"Jon Freyer called us and said, ‘hey, we talked about her with John Messara. We really like that horse and, at $500,000, would you let us buy half?’" - Hutton Goodman

Dominetta’s two-year-old half-sister Britt, by Pierro, was passed in at the Inglis Easter sale this year with a $350,000 reserve. She is also being trained by Waterhouse and Bott alongside Social Graces, the $1 million Wootton Bassett half-sister to recently retired Hong Kong champion Golden Sixty.

The valuable filly, purchased by Goodman and bloodstock agent Marette Farrell at the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast in May, was sold by Element Hill’s Hutchins family as part of their dispersal sale.

“Again, Gai can be positive, but she really likes the (Wootton Bassett) filly. She seems pretty precocious,” Goodman said.

 “She spiked a temp a few weeks ago, so we just backed off on her and gave her a spell. 

“She has been very, very straight-forward and willing.”

Debonnaire has a yearling colt by Snitzel and, after missing to Justify last spring, the decision was made to send the mare to America in February. 

Mt Brilliant Farm has Al Jasrah, a half-sister to Debonnaire, at Arrowfield Stud.

HK hero Golden Sixty’s half-sister coming to a yearling sale near you
A half-sister to Hong Kong champion Golden Sixty will be among the most prized lots sold at an Australian yearling sale in 2024.
The StraightJessica Owers

New Jewel for Walsh

Sometimes misfortune can turn out to be a blessing in disguise and, for Western Australian breeder Peter Walsh, that just may be the case.

Earlier this year, Walsh strongly contemplated selling Bumbasina, the dam of his Group 1 winner Amelia’s Jewel, but the decision not to put her up for auction was effectively made for him.

Bumbasina, in foal to Amelia’s Jewel’s France-based sire Siyouni for a third time, didn’t travel back to Australia as well as they would have liked after two years in Europe, meaning she would foal down at Segenhoe Stud with Walsh as the owner-breeder.

Last Thursday, Bumbasina gave birth to a sister to Amelia’s Jewel and a half-brother to the JJ Atkins-placed Bosustow who is likely to run in the Caulfield Guineas.

With a Siyouni yearling colt also on the ground at Segenhoe, and now a filly to possibly retain if he wishes, Walsh has options to once again perhaps sell Bumbasina and/or Amelia’s Jewel when her racing career is over.

Five-year-old Amelia’s Jewel was runner-up in the Group 2 Golden Pendant on Saturday at Rosehill.

Snitzel closes in on 150

The winner of the Golden Pendant, Makarena, broke through at stakes level on Saturday and Team Hawkes (judging by their evening celebrations) couldn’t be happier. 

In the process, the now extremely valuable mare, a half-sister to Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Missile Mantra, became her sire Snitzel’s 148th individual stakes winner, putting him 34 behind his own breed-shaping sire Redoute’s Choice.

His four-year-old crop, that of Makarena’s, has produced eight individual stakes winners to date and his three-year-old crop has seven from a cohort of 122.

Snitzel’s five previous crops, now aged five to nine-year-olds, generated 50 individual stakes winners, his now five-year-olds winning a high of 12 during that period.

He has 136 two-year-olds and 113 yearlings on the ground, with 62 foals having already been registered in 2024 from 141 mares covered last year.

The question is, can Snitzel eclipse his champion father for number of stakes winners by the time his career comes to an end?

It’ll be difficult, and Redoute’s Choice would have to be favourite to maintain his title, but Snitzel still has plenty of ammunition left to fire.

At 22, Snitzel is in the twilight of his stud career and he is expected to cover fewer mares this year, around 100 or so, which would be the lowest figure he’s served since 2009, his fourth year at stud when he covered 88 mares at a fee of $22,000. 

What a bargain fee that proved to be. For the record, that crop produced seven stakes winners for Snitzel.

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