Written by Richard Edmunds
Fledgling Victorian operation Leneva Park will stand Melbourne Cup placegetter Lucas Cranach (Ger) in the 2020 breeding season.
Lucas Cranach won six of his 12 starts in an injury-shortened career, headed by Group 2 victories in Germany and Australia. He finished third behind Dunaden (Fr) (Nicobar {GB}) and Red Cadeaux (GB) (Cadeaux Genereaux {GB}) in the 2011 Melbourne Cup.
From 2013 to 2019, Lucas Cranach stood at Bullarook Park Stud, and he is the sire of 42 winners from 105 runners to date.
This year he is moving down the road to a new name on the Victorian thoroughbred scene.
“He previously stood at Bullarook Park Stud, which is just five minutes away from us here,” said Leneva Park’s Mick Sharkie. “But now Malcolm Boyd has decided that it’s time to retire.
Lucas Cranach (Ger) | Standing at Leneva Park Stud in 2020
“I’ve been a shareholder in Lucas Cranach right back to when he first arrived in Australia during his racing career.
“Malcolm came to me and said he was a bit worried. He really wanted him to have a secure future, and he wanted to see him get another chance at stud.
“I’d only recently started working here at Leneva Park, and I went to Luke (Vandersluys) and said, ‘How about I bring in a stallion?’
“I think it’s going to work out really well. He’ll stay at his previous service fee of $5500 (inc GST), which we think is reasonable. He’s doing a good job with around half a dozen city winners, including some by big margins. Get Stuck In has scored some dominant wins up in Queensland over the last few months.
“For people who are breeding to race and could possibly send more than one mare, we’ll certainly be happy to do some deals for multiple mares.
Watch: Get Stuck In win at Doomben
“He’s proven to be a good source of winners so far. There’s been a lot of feedback that as soon as his progeny turn four, they’re just different horses. They might struggle to win as 3-year-olds, or they’re just not quite the complete article, but once they’re four, they just go bang.
“John Fiteni has had some good success with Lucas Cranach horses. He’s experimented with the breed, giving them all the time they need and not pushing them too much early on, and it’s paid off for him.
“If you just treat their 3-year-old season as if it’s a 2-year-old season, his progeny really develop into very tough and durable performers.
“He arrived here at the farm on Wednesday, and he’s just in fantastic condition. He looks great.
“He arrived here at the farm on Wednesday, and he’s just in fantastic condition. He looks great." - Mick Sharkie
“Maybe he might have a resurgence as far as his stud career goes – I’d love to see that happen. He was such a talented racehorse with so much potential that he wasn’t quite able to fulfil.”
It was only last year that Luke Vandersluys bought the existing Rockmount property and established Leneva Park, but the emerging operation has quickly made giant strides.
They have already built a strong pre-training relationship with major stables such as Mick Price, Lindsey Smith, Nigel Blackiston and Brad Spicer, while breeding relationships with Rosemont and Swettenham Stud have seen them purchase stallion shares in Strasbourg and I Am Immortal.
“It’s still a very new business, but already some very strong relationships have been formed,” Sharkie said. “The pre-training part of the business has taken off and is going really well.
“The property has a long history, but we’re only a young farm in terms of this ownership. It’s a new family entering into the Victorian thoroughbred game.
“We really focussed on trying to build a good relationship with Rosemont, which involved buying shares and breeding rights for Strasbourg, and it’s the same for Swettenham with I Am Immortal.
“It’s important to be fostering those relationships. We really want to get established in this business and be here for the long haul.”
