Cressfield locks in plans for quality band of mares

Cover image courtesy of Cressfield Stud

Earlier this year, her colt by Exceed And Excel was the second highest-priced lot at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale when he sold for $1.8 million to Hawkes Racing and has been named Plagiarized.

Cressfield is owned by Bruce Neill and managed by Wayne Bedggood who chatted with TDN AusNZ about its 2020 mating plans for its proven mares and high-profile newcomers to the operation.

Paul Vettise: Have you added to the band in the last 12 months?

Wayne Bedggood: We have made additions to the broodmare band this year through purchasing a share in a couple of mares and looking to retire a couple of race fillies. We purchased 50 per cent of Spright in partnership with Robrick Lodge and 50 per cent of Miss Leonidas with Todd and Suzzanne Lichti retaining the remaining 50 per cent.

Spright has had her first foal in early August, a Zoustar colt and is booked to visit I Am Invincible. Miss Leonidas retired from racing earlier in the year and is booked to Zoustar. We have also added an unraced sister to Missrock, who is booked to visit Deep Field and potentially have Frankely Awesome, Regimental Band and a half-sister to Onemorenomore joining the dry mare paddock upon their retirement.

PV: How many mares will you be breeding from this year?

WB: We will breed up to 35 mares if some of our race fillies retire as planned.

PV: Tell us about the plans for the more higher-profile mares such as Platelet, Mid Summer Music, Regimental Gal, Wild Rain, Artistry, Park Esteem, Thump, Miss Judgment, Real Surreal and Our Egyptian Raine.

WB: Platelet had such an amazing result at this year’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale with her colt selling for $1.8 million and we could only ever entertain the idea of her returning to Exceed And Excel. That said, we are mindful that breeding to the more elderly stallions carries a degree of risk in terms of lost reproductive time for our top tier mares and sometimes a plan B has to come to the fore if the season doesn’t play out in our favour.

We have a lovely bunch of young, well-performed mares in the mix as well as some of the well-known Cressfield names fronting up for the season. I Am Invincible is set to meet Egyptian Symbol, Secret Agenda, Listen Here and Spright this year. Thump and Wild Rain are booked to Snitzel while Real Surreal will also visit Exceed And Excel. Regimental Gal, Galapagos Girl, River Dove and Miss Judgement are all returning to the breeding shed this year. However, we made the hard decision to retire Our Egyptian Raine after she delivered a Headwater colt last December.

PV: What are your thoughts about the first-season sires and any particular favourites?

WB: Cressfield don’t use a lot of first-season sires, preferring to wait and see how the market responds to their progeny and also so that we can get a line on the type a stallion is throwing. That said, we do speculate on some occasionally and to this end we inspected Pierata recently. We were very pleased with the physical examination, thinking he will be suitable for our larger, heavy-set mares, adding a touch of refinement without compromising on speedy genetics and decided to purchase a lifetime breeding right to him. Other novice sires we will watch will be Exceedance, Calyx, Castelvecchio and Omaha Beach.

PV: Who is involved in planning the matings and what guidelines do you follow?

WB: It is ultimately a decision made by the owner, Bruce. He provides our 2IC, Liesl, and myself with his initial thoughts quite early on and we provide feedback on the physical suitability of the matings as well as any fertility implications. It is a combination of his assessment of the market and pedigrees and our assessment of the mares and what we know of their conformation, physique and tendency to throw a particular trait.

PV: When does the process begin?

WB: The mating list is an ever evolving, constantly reviewed beast that ends and re-starts the moment a mare is pronounced in-foal.

PV: What have you thought of the yearling market this year?

WB: Exceptional, considering the impediments to sales. The industry is incredibly resilient and it is no doubt buoyed by the great prizemoney on offer when racing in Australia.

PV: You must have been pleased with Cressfield's sales results so far in 2020?

WB: Cressfield did extremely well in the market place and while you can grant yourself a fleeting moment to be pleased, the wheels keep turning. You never know what is around the corner so you can’t afford to rest on your laurels!

Cressfield 2020 mating plans