Jonathan Munz has been a long-time investor in the industry through both his racing and breeding operations, and while his famous white with red stripes have been featuring heavily in the winner's circle of late across Australia, his high-profile broodmare band has been doing the job as well.
The two key men for Munz are Rod Douglas, who is the racing manager for Pinecliff and as such the point man for the dozen or so trainers the operation utilises, and agent Dean Hawthorne, who manages the breeding interests of GSA Bloodstock.
The success of one naturally flows through to the other and the racing aspect, Pinecliff, celebrated a couple of significant results on the weekend, with Zoutori (Zoustar) successful in the G2 Bobbie Lewis Quality at Flemington and $2.3 million colt Groundswell (Fastnet Rock) breaking his maiden in style at Geelong.
Zoutori as a yearling
"We've had a bit of a run lately, there are some nice horses there and they are coming right at the right time, so it’s onwards and upward at the moment," Douglas told TDN AusNZ.
Zoutori is one of only a couple of horses Pinecliff race with trainers Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra. The trainers outbid Pinecliff for the colt at the 2017 Inglis Easter Sale, paying $160,000 but were happy to sell a share back.
A winner of five of his 14 starts, Zoutori surprised even his trainers and connections with the impressive way he won on Saturday, bolting clear down the Flemington straight to score by 2l in a time of 1:08.37.
"They were thinking that he'd sprint well fresh, but the way in which he won the race and the time he won in and the margin surprised everyone a little bit. Maybe that was flattered a bit by the barrier as he was in the right part of the track," Douglas said.
"The way in which he won the race and the time he won in and the margin surprised everyone a little bit." - Rod Douglas
"We are probably going to change our thinking a bit and go to the (G2) Gilgai S. rather than stepping him out to the 1400 metres."
"Some horses are good straight horses. He had no weight on Saturday but sometimes you find a little niche and away they go. Three weeks back there seems the way to go."
Success there would open up a possible shot at a race like the G1 VRC Sprint Classic over the Melbourne Cup Carnival for the 4-year-old, who has now won nearly $350,000 in prizemoney.
Groundswell builds
Zoutori's success on Saturday was followed up by the win of Groundswell on Sunday. The high-profile colt, a full brother to the GSA Bloodstock bred and Pinecliff raced triple Group 1 winner Shoals, was having start number two and prevailed over the 1218m by 1l.
He was the sale-topper at the 2018 Inglis Australian Easter Sale, purchased by trainer Anthony Freedman, with his breeders, as part of a partnership between Arrowfield and Pinecliff/GSA, staying involved along with the likes of Ozzie Kheir, John O'Neill and Musk Creek Farm.
Groundswell as a yearling
"He's always shown loads of ability. He's just taken a bit of time. He was always an above average 2-year-old, right up there with their (Freedman's) best. He's just taken that bit of patience," Douglas said.
"Yesterday he was very impressive and it might prove a fairly decent race, there was a good wrap on the second one and they ran good time comparable to the second race."
"Whether he goes to Flemington Wednesday week in a BM64 over 1400 metres or the Guineas Prelude, we will leave up to Anthony."
A new chapter for Shoals
Off the track, his sister Shoals has already begun the next stage of her career, visiting Yarraman Park's I Am Invincible last week.
Hawthorne said she wasn't an easy pedigree match given her dam, The Broken Shore (Hussonet {USA}) is a half-sister to Redoute's Choice and she herself is by Fastnet Rock, ruling out several of Australia's leading stallions.
"Shoals was always going to be a difficult filly to mate from off the track because of the way she is bred. I Am Invincible was the obvious one to get her going," he said.
Her dam, The Broken Shore, who kicked off the Arrowfield/GSA partnership when she was purchased for $1.9 million back at the 2014 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, will also visit I Am Invincible having missed to him after she foaled a Fastnet Rock filly late last year.
Shoals has begun the next stage of her career, visiting Yarraman Park's I Am Invincible last week
That pair are two of the 15 mares that form part of the Arrowfield/GSA Bloodstock broodmare band, with the overall GSA Bloodstock broodmare portfolio standing at 80.
Breeding plans for those mares involve protracted discussions between Hawthorne and Munz over the course of several months.
"We spend many hours discussing what we're going to do. The policy of GSA at this present point is not to punt on unknown sires too much. We will only usually do that if the mating suits on paper," Hawthorne said.
"We spend many hours discussing what we're going to do." - Dean Hawthorne
"Jonathan does his matings, he's very good on his pedigrees. We just make sure that the type matches type and it suits and we go from there."
Jonathan Munz
The main priority is to ensure they produce a commercial product, with the majority of the horses going through the yearling sales.
"We are running a commercial operation and no matter how much money you are throwing at a game like this, you have got to have a solid business plan. We're probably selling 40-50 a year. We did that last year and had a very, very good year," he said.
"We are looking at the commercial market and we don’t plan to retain any of our colts. We do plan to retain a group of fillies, probably the top five or six each year, depending on how the family is going. Especially if the mares are getting a bit old, we like to keep the fillies."
The next generation
GSA Bloodstock also looks to purchase fillies through the yearling sales in order to identify future candidates for the broodmare band.
One example of that is the promising filly Southbank (Fastnet Rock), who Hawthorne paid $1.25 million for on GSA's behalf at the 2018 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. The filly is out of a sister to four-time Group winner Preferment (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}).
Southbank as a yearling
She broke her maiden at Mornington last month and was runner-up at Geelong on Sunday and is a horse that Douglas has a lot of time for.
"I think she's a very good filly. She's a filly that can go to the (G3) Thousand Guineas Prelude, we've got high hopes for her when she gets out a bit further," Douglas said.
"She's probably the sleeper of the stable. I'd be surprised if she doesn’t win a Group race by the end of the spring."
"She's probably the sleeper of the stable. I'd be surprised if she doesn’t win a Group race by the end of the spring." - Rod Douglas
She is one of 30 either homebred or purchased fillies that Pinecliff currently has in work with a view to them being future broodmare prospects.
With so many on their way through, Hawthorne said GSA Bloodstock decided to 'have a bit of a clean out' this year, dispersing of around 40 mares, while playing it relatively quiet in terms of the acquisition of broodmares through the Australian sales.
Dean Hawthorne (right) with Mike Fleming and Harry Mitchell
International approach
GSA Bloodstock has secured six mares by Galileo (Ire) through the sales in the United Kingdom and Europe over the past couple of years and they are all going to the top-line sires in Australia.
"He (Galileo) works very well with Fastnet Rock, and as we saw with The Autumn Sun, he works well with Redoute's Choice blood. Galileo is such an international sensation, that it doesn't matter what you stick them with," Hawthorne said. "I Am Invincible's last Group 1 winner (Invincibella) was out of a Galileo mare.
"We will put that blood across the Galileos and send them to Snitzel, Fastnet Rock and I Am Invincible. When you are buying them out of Europe, they aren't cheap, so you have to back them up with these high-profile stallions."
GSA Bloodstock has secured six mares by Galileo (Ire)
The mixing of international bloodlines was also key in the decision by GSA and Arrowfield to send Omei Sword (High Chaparral {Ire}) and Abbey Marie (Redoute's Choice), both million-dollar-plus purchases out of the 2018 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale, to Japanese super stallion Deep Impact (Jpn) last season.
The timing proved all important given it proved the final chance to go to Deep Impact, who died earlier this year, and Abbey Marie delivered a filly and Omei Sword a colt in the past few weeks.
"Both are really good foals. Omei Sword is now going to I Am Invincible and Abbey Marie, she has already been covered by Dundeel," Hawthorne said.
Also going to Dundeel (NZ) is Breccia (Fastnet Rock), the dam of Group 1 winner Tivaci (High Chaparral {Ire}) who Hawthorne paid $950,000 for at the 2017 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Breccia purchased for $950,000 for at the 2017 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale
Faith in Arrowfield trio
While GSA Bloodstock's policy is generally to stick with proven sires, it does retain shares in emerging Arrowfield trio Scissor Kick, Pariah and Showtime.
"We are very, very impressed with the Pariah foals we’ve got this year," Hawthorne said. "We've got absolute crackers, so we’ve got some really nice mares going to Pariah.
"We are also still giving Scissor Kick some good mares. The talk we’ve heard of the first crop Scissor Kicks is very good from the breakers and pre-trainers."
