Bell River back and eyeing Classic impact

Cover image courtesy of Bell River Thoroughbreds

Andrew and Georgie Ferguson and sons James and Jock have spent the past 18 months planning and building their new 175-acre farm, based south of Dungog, which cost them $2.4 million at auction in October 2018.

"We aim to have 30 or 40 broodmares here, with the idea of selling 20 quality yearlings every year. The boys have come up with the motto 'Small Farm, Big Results' and that probably typifies what we hope to do. We want to be a small boutique farm that aims to produce quality yearlings that succeed on the racetrack," Andrew Ferguson told TDN AusNZ.

Originally used for dairy farming as well as lucerne, corn and rye grass crops, the former Croom Park has undergone a massive change, with the Fergusons effectively starting with a clean slate.

"That's been a massive advantage. My wife and both boys have had input into how we have designed and planned it. You never get everything perfect but it's very functional, works well and hopefully the next thing is to have the success we had with the farm at Wellington, in terms of the horses that have come off it," he said.

"It’s been a lot of work and very challenging, but it’s coming together and everyone that visits the farm is blown away. It’s a surprising pocket that we managed to find and last weekend, we had 50-60 mls of rain and that's greened the place up no end."

The comeback draft

The first yearlings to be prepared off the farm, a draft of 11, will head to the Classic Sale in what will mark a strong re-entry into the market for the renowned vendors.

Ferguson is confident that the eight colts and three fillies that he will take to the Riverside Stables will be very well received.

"The boys wanted to go back with a bang, and hopefully that's the case," he said. "All these horses have been here for well over six months. It is exciting, especially having the boys on board."

Among the 11, there is a half-brother by Your Song to Group 2 winner Invincible Gem (I Am Invincible) (Lot 99), a Hinchinbrook half-brother the Group 2 winning stallion Rothesay (Fastnet Rock) and Listed winner Sensei (Dream Ahead {USA}) (Lot 434) and another Hinchinbrook colt who is a half-brother to G3 Kindergarten S. winner Furnaces (Exceed And Excel) (Lot 178).

There is also a three-quarter brother to one of Bell River's most famous graduates, Extreme Choice. Lot 451 is by Not A Single Doubt out of She's Our Choice (Duporth), the half-sister to the Bell River bred G1 Blue Diamond S. and G1 Moir S. winner.

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A Choice of three

There are also three of now Newgate stallion Extreme Choice's first crop of yearlings. Ferguson said the sentiment around the relatively small first crop of the stallion was very positive.

"I didn't get to the Gold Coast, but I did hear very positive thoughts on them. I think the most telling fact is that of the around 40 yearlings in that crop, nearly half of them made the Gold Coast, which is unheard of from a first season stallion," he said.

"He's going to have to do it a bit tough, because of numbers, but I've got three going to the Classic, and another one as well, and I’d be disappointed if every single one of them couldn't gallop."

Ferguson certainly sees similarities between the stallion and his stock, particularly in their mindset.

"He always had a lovely attitude and good demeanour. Hopefully, if he can push that demeanour into his progeny, he is going to go a long way in terms of getting 2-year-olds," he said.

Ferguson points to one of the Extreme Choice colts, Lot 445 out of Set To Skelter (Reset), as a great example of that.

"Set To Skelter has had three foals and they have all been a bit feisty, especially Prophet's Thumb. This guy looks a dead-set 2-year-old. He's just got a great attitude and has coped with everything," he said.

The other Extreme Choice colt, Lot 276, is out of Magic Zefta (Viscount), making him a half-brother to the Group 1 placed Denmagic (Denman), while the Extreme Choice filly, Lot 158, is out of Frilly Curtain (Mossman), a three-quarter sister to Pure Energy (Mossman) and Segments (Mossman).

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Timely updates add to positive sentiment

Meanwhile, Saturday's racing provided a very handy pedigree update for a couple of other yearlings in Bell River's draft, with Lot 594 a Deep Field half-brother to Randwick winner She's Ideel (Dundeel {NZ}) and Lot 87 a Spirit Of Boom half-sister to Baroda (Epaulette), who completed a hat-trick of city wins at Doomben.

Both those yearlings are offered on behalf of Queensland's Eureka Stud.

"James has had a bit to do with the McAlpine family and they rang and asked us, because they only had the two, and we were more than happy to accommodate them. We are looking forward to presenting what looks to be two lovely horses," Ferguson said.

Ferguson not only has confidence in the quality of horses on offer at the Classic Sale but also in the current shape of the market, with Bell River's re-entry into the market coinciding with a surge in positive sentiment from buyers.

"The market looks fantastic at the moment. Everyone was probably a bit nervous about what might have happened on the Gold Coast, but credit to the Magic Millions team, it was an unbelievable sale and it looked like it flowed through to Karaka. Hopefully, things are still the same at the Inglis Sale," he said.