Bowcock's Quick chance for Group 1 return

It's been over a decade since Andrew Bowcock sold the farm which had been in the family name for around 65 years, Alanbridge, located in the Segenhoe Valley.

He misses the property but not the work that went with it and has now built a small broodmare band of around 12 to continue his lifelong involvement with thoroughbred breeding.

"I have been able to concentrate on sending my mares out and looking at pedigrees a lot more. For the small amount of horses that I've got, I feel we have done pretty good," he told TDN AusNZ.

Six years ago at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, as he was looking to build up his band, Bowcock spotted a stakes-placed Al Maher mare called Acouplamas which was carrying a foal by a stallion he had come to know well while working for Widden Stud.

"She was in foal to Sebring at the time, I was doing a bit of work with Widden, selling noms from Brisbane. I liked the progeny and I liked the horse. I wanted a young mare in foal to him and she came along and was stakes placed, from a good family, so I thought I'd buy her," Bowcock said.

Acouplamas' dam Mahira (Canny Lad) was a half-sister to Kensington Gardens (Grosvenor {NZ}), who had produced a pair of Group 1 winners in Blackfriars (Danehill {USA}) and Larrocha (Danehill {USA}) as well as stakes-winners Lions Gate (Danehill {USA}), Waterford Road (Danehill {USA}) and Manton (Danehill {USA}).

Bowcock paid $115,000 for her and sold the resultant Sebring filly as a weanling for $52,000. He also tried to re-sell Acouplamas in both 2014 and 2017, but as luck would have it, she has remained with him.

And she has rewarded his faith by producing a better product every time she has been to the breeding barn. A second Sebring filly, now named Seasons, sold for $110,000 before a colt by I Am Invincible, now called The August, fetched $150,000.

Lifting the bar

But it was the arrival of a colt by So You Think (NZ) that convinced Bowcock of the quality of foal which Acouplamas could produce.

"There was a cross there that I liked (with So You Think). I like to look for blue hen mares in pedigrees and I was looking for a horse with a little bit more size, because she is not an overly big mare," he said.

"We got Quick Thinker and in my opinion, and I know she's had a million-dollar yearling last year, this colt to me, was a good a sort as the Zoustar colt was. He just didn't make the money and she hadn’t done then what she has done now."

Certainly James Bester saw what Bowcock did and the respected agent paid $180,000 for Quick Thinker as a weanling, tagging him as a 'good moving So You Think, with a bit of substance that could develop into a Guineas horse'.

As Bowcock alluded to, the desirability of Acouplamas' progeny hit a peak at this year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. In the previous 12 months, The August had won his first two starts and was stakes-placed at start four before contesting the G1 Caulfield Guineas, while Seasons had won three races for Les Bridge and was showing plenty of promise.

Through KBL Thoroughbreds, the Zoustar colt was sold for $1.075 million to Yulong Investments and Rifa Mustang to be trained by Chris Waller. That colt is yet to be named, but reports are positive about his progress.

Bowcock always felt that the breed needed a bit of time and is surprised somewhat by the development of Quick Thinker, who is now trained by New Zealand pair Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman for OTI Racing, who paid $100,000 for him as a yearling. He was progressive enough to win a stakes race in New Zealand as a 2-year-old before returning to impressively win the G3 Ming Dynasty S. at his first Australian start in late August.

"I thought we wouldn't see the best of him until he got a bit older, like most of the So You Thinks. I was just happy to see what he's done already. He goes into Saturday at just his fifth start. Not a lot of horses do that," he said.

"The training team think he is something a bit special. I think we will probably see the best of him next season and the year after."

Quick Thinker goes into Saturday's Group 1 test as one of the leading chances, having finished third in his most recent start in the G3 Gloaming S. behind ruling Spring Champion S. favourite Shadow Hero (Pierro).

Waiting for the next foal

Acouplamas has failed to produce a foal in the past two years, losing a foal after visiting the since departed Sebring in 2018. She visited Widden's first season stallion Trapeze Artist earlier this spring.

"He was a good racehorse," Bowcock said when asked of the match with the four-time Group 1 winner. "He's a sprinter by Snitzel and if the other (progeny) can do something, I think it’s a no brainer she goes to a first season horse like him."

Understandably, given the million-dollar result at the yearling sales earlier this year, Bowcock is a big fan of Zoustar and he purchased the Group 3 winning mare Girl In Flight (Commands) in foal to him at this year's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $750,000.

He is delighted with the resultant colt, who was born in August, as well as another recent Zoustar colt out of Pearl Star (Star Witness), who Bowcock paid $360,000 for at the 2017 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale. Both will be headed to the sales.

"The past four mares that I have bought have all had colt foals. That's a plus when you are trying to meet the market," he said.

Girl in Flight is now in foal to Arrowfield Stud's first season stallion The Autumn Sun.

Connection back to Alanbridge

Bowcock still has a few mares with connections back to the Alanbridge days, including Bella Corona, the first stakes-winner from the stallion Beautiful Crown (USA) who the Bowcocks stood on the farm.

She has already left the stakes-winner Bewhatyouwannabe (Fastnet Rock) and has just foaled a Nicconi filly, which Bowcock expects to be her last.

There is also the extended family of the Group 1 winning mare the Bowcocks bred in Response (Charge Forward), who subsequently produced the G1 Golden Slipper S., winner Estijaab (Snitzel).

Response was the fourth generation of her family bred by the Bowcock family who still own her half-sister Suffer In Silence (Beautiful Crown {USA}). She produced a Charge Forward colt last year and is due to foal again to the Murrulla Stud stallion later this spring, with Bowcock hopeful of a filly to continue the family.