Cover image by Albert Perez courtesy of AAP Photos
Patriarch Wally Gleeson heads up the family-run operation, with the former jockey's horsemanship a considerable asset for a business which also involves his wife Jill and his three sons Jacob, Simon and Tim.
For the past decade, they have operated as small-time commercial breeders, selling through the major sales on the Gold Coast and Sydney, and achieving some strong results, including $410,000 for a Spirit Of Boom colt at the 2018 Inglis Classic Sale.
Earlier this year, Gleeson Thoroughbred Connections sold four yearlings for $560,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, its best ever result at a sale, including $250,000 for a Deep Field colt picked up by Star Thoroughbreds and now under the eye of Champion trainer Chris Waller.
But while that success was crucial to its growing reputation as a vendor, the Gleeson family was very much aware that one of their earlier graduates was ready to put their name in lights. At that stage, Rothfire (Rothesay) had won a couple of pre-Christmas 2-year-old races, including one by 6l, and the reports from the Robert Heathcote stable were that he had more improvement to come.
Jill and Wally Gleeson | Image courtesy of Gleeson Thoroughbred Connections
He put together two more wins in February and while he suffered his first defeat when second in the QTIS Jewel in March, he resumed with a tough on-pace success in Saturday's G2 Champagne Classic at Eagle Farm.
Rothfire is now favourite for the G1 JJ Atkins S., with his breeders cheering him every step of the way.
"It's a big thrill for us. We started breeding commercially around 10 years ago and while Rothfire wasn't as commercial as he could have been, to come out and win a Group 2 with a horse bred from our place in Chinchilla is a huge thrill for us," Simon Gleeson told TDN AusNZ.
"It’s great for our farm, to be a small breeder in a place that is just outside of Queensland's breeding zone and be a chance to breed a Group 1 winner would be a fantastic result."
It was only just over a year ago that the Gleesons were struggling to find a home for the then yearling, who didn’t have the pedigree to get himself into any of the major sales.
"He never really stood out as a younger horse. We breed 15-20 foals and he was just another one of the foals. He was a nice horse, and he was always well put together, but he lacked the pedigree to get into any of the bigger sales," Gleeson said.
"He was a nice horse, and he was always well put together, but he lacked the pedigree to get into any of the bigger sales." - Simon Gleeson
"We ended up getting stuck with him and had to find a home for him, because we only tend to keep the fillies to race ourselves.
"We offered him to North Queensland to see if we could get anyone to take him up there. We had bred out of that mare a filly called Rylee's Saga, that ended up being the top 2-year-old up in North Queensland. We thought we might be able to offload him up there, but that didn’t work out."
Heathcote to the rescue
Enter trainer Robert Heathcote, who the Gleeson family already had an association with.
"I rang Rob. We've got a number of horses in work with him and have a good relationship with him. I told him we have this colt at home, he's a nice horse, he doesn't have a lot of pedigree, but he's well put together and we don't want a hell of a lot of money for him," he said.
"We needed $10,000 for him and I said if you are interested, we will send him down to Kevin Thomas to get him broken in. Rob liked the Rothesays and took him and it went from there."
Trainer Robert Heathcote | Image courtesy of AAP Photos
It wasn't until well-respected horseman Thomas, who runs Washpool Lodge, got his hands on the gelding that it became clear that Rothfire, as he was to be called, was a little bit special.
"Kevin is a renowned horseman and he rang Rob up and was giving him glowing reports. When he came into Rob's stables, Kevin said he'd be interested in taking a share in the horse. Rob had already filled him up. But that gave us an inkling that he might be a good horse," Gleeson said.
Chinchilla tough
Only six months after he was rejected from the sales, Rothfire came out and won his first trial by 7.5l, backed up and won another trial and then led all the way to win on debut at Eagle Farm. He has developed somewhat of a cult following, with Heathcote coining the phrase 'The Thrilla from Chinchilla.'
That maiden win was back on October 19, and while he has had a couple of lets ups, he is doing a remarkable job to still be improving enough to be winning Group 2 races in May and fronting up in a JJ Atkins.
"It’s a bit of a hall mark of the Rothesay breed, they are tough," Gleeson said. "We pride ourselves on our farm on breeding tough horses. My father is a really good horseman. He's been around horses all his life.
Rothesay | Standing at Lyndhurst Stud
"He is rising 70 and he looks after 60 horses on his own. He handles everything from foals, to doing yearling preps to walking mares onto studs. He's very energetic and he's a great horseman. Our horses are all very well educated. Rothfire shows that, because he's relaxed too. He's had a lot of education from an early age."
Unfortunately for the Gleesons, Rothfire's dam Huss On Fire (NZ) (Hussonet {USA}) died from a leg infection last year, but they have been able to buy back a couple of his siblings to maintain a connection to the family.
"We have been fortunate enough to buy Rothfire's half-sister, Fiery Hussy, who is by Sizzling, back after we sold her in Sydney in 2018," Gleeson said.
"We sold her to Angela Davies, but we bought her back off the back of a good trial for Rothfire. Angela told us that she had bowed a tendon at trackwork and never raced. They found her for us and we had a free nomination to Flying Artie and we sent her there and she's in foal."
Wally Gleeson
Fiery Hussy is set to go through the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in July with a fairly significant pedigree update, thanks to her younger half-brother.
The Gleesons also recently purchased the sister to Rothfire, Smokin' Hussay, who won one race for Toowoomba trainer Rex Lipp, and they are currently assessing their options on which stallion she starts her breeding career with this year.
There are a host of possibilities, with the Gleesons holding shares or breeding rights in a myriad of stallions, most of them based in Queensland.