Magic farewell to Blackfriars

Blackfriars died aged 21 from post-surgery complications at the end of 2017 and the crop from that final season at stud are now yearlings, with 15 in all available at Middle Swan for the Perth sale which starts next Monday and concludes on Tuesday.

Scenic Lodge General Manager Jeremy Smith told TDN AusNZ he would expect there to be strong demand for the final offering from the sire, who has been the dominant stallion of the past decade in WA.

"I'm hopeful they will do well. He certainly couldn't have done any more as a sire, with nine championships in a row over here," he said.

"He's been such a dominant sire, we’ve got a nice draft and there are some nice ones some other people have, so hopefully, they will sell well."

As it currently stands, Blackfriars has produced 493 winners, 41 of them at stakes level, and three at Group 1 level. However, his sale results probably don’t reflect that success, with his best annual yearling average at around $47,700 in 2018 and an overall average of $37,644 across 254 sales since 2010.

"They have never been great sellers when you consider how dominant a stallion he has been, but hopefully, being the last of them, it might create a bit more buzz," Smith said.

"They are just horses that take a bit more time. The market is so focussed on these fast and early horses. I think maybe there has been a little bit of complacency over the years. There's always been a lot of them bred here, so there has been a lot on offer. But with there being no more after this year, people are talking about that and that might lead to a little more demand."

The prospect of his final crop going through the ring has given Smith an opportunity to reflect upon the journey Blackfriars went on after arriving in WA in 2001 with the 1999 G1 Victoria Derby winner building his career from the ground up.

"He had to do it the hard way and he probably wasn't always afforded the best mares. There was a knock on him from the start, being a Derby winner, but he's just proved himself from day one," he said.

"As that has happened, he has got better quality mares. To do the job he's done, and not just here in WA, but to be around No.20 in the nation every season across that time, is quite remarkable really for a WA stallion."

The final offering

In terms of the most-anticipated of the 11 lots by Blackfriars Scenic Lodge will offer at Middle Swan, Smith thinks Lot 83, the sister to Listed Natasha S. winner Friar Fox, will make an impression.

"She is a lovely strong filly, a very tough filly and has a bit more substance than a few others that have been out of the mare," he said.

Lot 163 is also well-related, being the brother to multiple stakeswinner Tellem We're Comin, who was well in the market in the G1 Railway S. at the end of his last campaign.

"He's a later foal, but he's a really nice type and very correct. I think that Tellem We’re Comin could be one of Blackfriars' next stars. He's a very, very good horse," he said.

There is also Lot 178, a filly out of City Miss (Distorted Humor {USA}), the half-sister to stakes winners Metro Miss (Xaar {GB}) and Diamond Dash (Hennessy {USA}). This filly's brother, Black Sabbath, made a huge impression when winning his first two starts as a 2-year-old.

The era of Snippetson

While the Blackfriars-era may be coming to a close, things are on the up for another Scenic Lodge resident in Snippetson, who from his two WA crops to the track has produced the Champion WA 2-year-old of last season, Tinsnip, and the front-runner for that award this year, Gemma's Son. That colt, trained by David Harrison, is unbeaten in three starts and won last weekend's R. Listed Magic Millions WA 2YO Classic at Pinjarra.

"We could not be happier with how he has gone. He was always a good consistent stallion, just maybe a tier down from the big high-profile ones in the east, but he has always done a good job and had a good strike rate," Smith said of Snippetson.

"They are such nice types of horse and earlier types, which the market likes. It gives us a nice mix this year going into the sale with Snippetson going so well and the last of the Blackfriars going through."

Of the 11 Snippetsons Scenic Lodge will offer, the highlight on pedigree is Gemma's Son's younger sister, Lot 252.

"She is not dissimilar to him, not overly big, but just looks an absolute 2-year-old. She's mature, strong and looks early. It's nice to have that," Smith said.

There are 21 Snippetsons in the catalogue overall, with Smith very happy with the offering he and his team have put forward.

"The feedback has been really good. People who have seen our horses are really happy with how they are looking and it’s always nice to get that feedback," he said.

The only yearling which Scenic Lodge will offer which is not by either Snippetson or Blackfriars is a Foxwedge filly, Lot 102, who is a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winning filly Delicacy (Al Maher).

"She is just a lovely filly. Size wise she's just average, but Delicacy was similar. She's a beautiful filly with a great family behind her. We're proud to have her going through as well," he said.

It's a pedigree which also features WA stakes winner Profit Street (Viscount).

Positive vibes ahead of sale

Overall, Smith is expecting a stronger market in 2020, boosted by both the momentum from the yearling market elsewhere in Australia and the ongoing impact of bonus and incentive programs such as Westspeed.

"It was a little bit tough last year, but the Westspeed scheme is absolutely unbelievable. A horse like Gemma's Son just highlights what can be done, especially, if they are by a WA sire. Before he won the Magic Millions, he had won $180,000 in two wins. They are winning about $80,000 for a Saturday win, with all the bonuses," he said.

"It’s funny, they’ve been in for a couple of years, but until people start winning the money, it doesn't click, but I think it has now.

"WA is a very viable place to race horses. For what you are paying for the horse, the average price and what they can return, I don't think there's a better place anywhere really.

"Things are certainly starting to turn and it’s good to see the sales starting well in other places and hopefully that can flow on over here to Perth."