Telemon’s roster has been boosted with the arrival of Zoustar’s Group-winning son Sun City for stud duty in 2020 and, as part of the Queensland Cup Colts syndicate, the Fletchers share in the ownership of the G1 South Australian Derby winner Russian Camelot (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).
And added to that, they are also part of the ownership group behind Sunlight (Zoustar) who will attempt to add to her Group 1 tally in Saturday’s Goodwood H. at Morphettville.
The precocious Sun City will stand at $7700 (inc GST) at Telemon alongside Sidestep, whose service fee has been reduced to $16,500 (inc GST) while Jungle Cat (Ire) will again be offered at an unchanged $13,200 (in GST).
Sun City will be standing at Telemon Stud in 2020 | Image supplied by Telemon Stud
It was through Telemon’s association with the star sprinter Sunlight that the opportunity to stand Sun City evolved.
“We’re always on the lookout and when this horse came up, it was the people behind him that were critical and made him so attractive to us,” Dan Fletcher said.
“Qatar Bloodstock and a collection of other people we know through Sunlight are behind him. They will be strongly supporting the horse.
“Qatar Bloodstock and a collection of other people we know through Sunlight are behind him. They will be strongly supporting the horse.” – Dan Fletcher
“We have to cater for people with limited budgets. You need to try and identify a horse with quality and who is attainable for people with lesser resources. There’s a big community who breed to race in Queensland and he’s a really good candidate for them.
“There’s also a big community of people who pursue the QTIS scheme and he’s especially well-suited to that with the big bonuses on offer for early 2-year-olds. If you want to be winning those sorts of races, this is the profile of the horse you need.”
Watch: Sun City winning the G3 BJ McLachlan S.
Trained by Tony McEvoy, Sun City was stakes placed at his first two starts before he won the G3 BJ McLachlan S.
“He was a genuine Group 1 talent. We clocked him as quick as Sunlight on occasions. Sadly, injury has prevented him from fulfilling that ability,” McEvoy said.
A $525,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale graduate, Sun City is out of the stakes winner Roulettes (Flying Spur), who has produced three winners including the Group performer Spin (I Am Invincible). She is a half-sister to the dual Group 3 winner Royal Discretion (Royal Academy {USA}).
Strong support
Sidestep continues to grow in popularity off the back of his G1 Golden Slipper-winning daughter Kiamichi.
“We have done a lot of work behind the scenes with the people who have supported him. He has been really well-received,” Fletcher said.
Sidestep will stand at a reduced fee of $16,500 (inc GST) in 2020
“He has city winners and stakes winners from, with respect, very modest mares, so when you look behind the numbers you see a stallion that is building real momentum.
“He has easily his highest quality crop in-utero that will be running as 2-year-olds when his 2020 matings will be yearlings
“The upside for breeders is they will have last year’s book winning stakes races as 2-year-olds for them when they are selling their yearlings.
“We brought him back in fee purely because of the economic environment. We want to keep the ball rolling and at that price people who breed to race can get on board because he’s in their sweet spot
“People who are trying to breed commercially and are conscious of their budget can see a lot of upside as well.”
G1 Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi is by Sidestep
Cat set to pounce
Fletcher is also expecting increased support for the multiple Group 1-winning sprinter Jungle Cat in his second season.
“It’s a bit frustrating and I’m not sure he really gets the recognition that he deserves. We’re comfortable knowing the quality he’s got and he’s one of the best sprinting stallions in the country or the Southern Hemisphere,” he said.
“I know him really well now that I’ve been on the farm for the last four months and done a lot with him. The more you do with the horse the more you realise why he was absolutely world class.
"The more you do with the horse the more you realise why he was absolutely world class. " - Dan Fletcher
“If he can throw that into his foals, which we expect he will, he will be a real sleeper. He might possibly be a slower burning type of horse because he didn’t get massive numbers in his first season.
“He didn’t get a big push early and possibly got a bit lost in Queensland, but we have now built a big support base for him and he’s a really exciting horse.”
Jungle Cat will stand at an unchanged fee of $13,200 (inc GST)
On Monday, Fletcher was still coming to terms with the extraordinary show the Danny O’Brien-trained Russian Camelot turned on at Morphettville.
“People were saying how good might he be and now everyone is saying how good is he. It’s hard to get your mind around it,” he said. “He didn’t just deliver, he blew the doors off the hype. It’s historic what Danny (O’Brien) has achieved with him.
“You can stumble over some of the words people use like champion, but you can certainly see the raw material is there with all the promise he’s got.
“He’s probably the most exciting young horse in Australia and one of the most exciting stallion prospects we’ve got.”
