Life goes on for Brunton

By Bren O'Brien

The thoroughbred game is so often a battle of the heart and head, and so it is with a sense of timing, but a slightly heavy heart that Scott Brunton offers his dual stakes-winning mare Life On the Wire (Pluck) through this week's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast.

The one-time $10,000 yearling has been a terrific performer for her large group of owners, winning eight of her 19 starts, including wins in Tasmania's two premier mares' races, the G3 Vamos S. and G3 Bow Mistress S. for nearly $380,000 in prizemoney.

She is catalogued at Lot 886 at this week's sale on the Gold Coast and will sell along with her stablemate Step The Pedal (Elvstroem) (Lot 965), a winner of 10 races and over $280,000.

"Life on The Wire is being sold as a racing prospect still and as a broodmare. I just think it’s the right time to sell. She's 5 years old and we just thought it was the right time on behalf of the connections to get something back for her," Brunton told TDN AusNZ.

"There's a big group of us that own her and we are keen to tip in on another one, so we thought it the right time."

"We only paid $10,000 for her and she's earned $380,000. They are always hard to let go. She is more than capable of winning a good race."

While Brunton genuinely thinks she is capable of further racetrack success before heading to the breeding barn, given the shutdown of Hobart racecourse for renovations for 12 months, her opportunities in her home state will be few and far between.

"It's there on paper for everyone to see. She's a lovely type of mare, she's been in work until Monday when she left. If someone is willing to buy her at the right price, they will be able to turn their money around quickly," he said.

"I would hope she is popular. People throw around telephone numbers, in terms of what she is worth, but it depends on the sale. We have already been getting calls off people waiting to look at her already, which is a good thing."

Step The Pedal was second behind Life On The Wire in the 2018 Vamos S. one of her two placings at stakes level, while from a pedigree perspective, her third dam is a half-sister to the blue hen Eight Carat (GB) (Pieces of Eight {GB})

"The other old girl, she's been a warhorse and we are hoping more than anything that we can get her into a nice home," Brunton said.

The next few days represent a new chapter for Brunton, who has never sold mares through the Broodmare Sale before.

"This is the first time for me. I'm a bit of a greenhorn with that but I'm looking forward to learning a few things," he said.

'A disappointing outcome'

Brunton appears to have plenty on his plate beyond his duties as a vendor on the Gold Coast, running a two-state operation, including six horses at Richard Laming's stables at Cranbourne and 65 at his own property at Seven Mile Beach on Hobart's outskirts.

Complicating things even further has been the fact that the Elwick track in Hobart is out of action, meaning the closest track for trialling and racing is Launceston, some 200km away.

But the Launceston track has now gone into winter recess, meaning that Devonport's synthetic Tapeta track is the only one in action in the Apple Isle for the next few months.

Brunton, the state's biggest trainer, is scathing of the lack of planning from racing authorities.

"There has been very little compensation really. We are getting $100 a horse per trip, which is nothing when you have to travel horses three and half hours to even trial," he said.

"It’s not been ideal and now grass track racing is shut down for the next five months, and we are stuck racing on the synthetic of Devonport."

"In my opinion, synthetic racing there is no future in it, it’s a necessary evil. You shouldn't be forced to have five months of it."

"They say every year they have to shut down Launceston. Well this year is different, with no track in Hobart. They didn't really put any thought into it. That's a disappointing outcome."

Brunton said with so much of his business and his ownership base in Tasmania, he has little option but to suffer through the next 12 months.

Inevitable plans

His energy will instead go into the top end of the stable, most of whom are now based at Cranbourne. The stable's new star, the Group 3 CS Hayes S. winner The Inevitable (Dundeel {NZ}), will join them in the next few weeks.

Brunton will resume The Inevitable down the straight at Flemington in the next couple of months and look to plot a path towards the $7.5m Golden Eagle at Rosehill in November.

"It's a bit tricky, because his rating is 87, which makes him hard to place from a weights point of view, but we will pick a path through, maybe to Sydney. The horse is very laid back and he is only little but does everything right on the ground," Brunton said.

"He spelled very well and looks terrific. We didn't see the best of him in the Australian Guineas, he struggled a bit in the heat and nearly collapsed a couple of times on his way back."

"He's come back a better individual. He's lightly raced and he has got a big future and that stallion seems to be able to produce anything."

Brunton confirmed the stable's other star, the 10-time stakeswinner and $1m earner Hellova Street (Helike {USA}) would resume in a heat of the Winter Championship at Flemington on June 8 before targeting the Listed final of the series at the same track on July 6.