Cover image courtesy of Wyndholm Park
Written by Georgie Dennis
Kim and Liz McKellar’s Wyndholm Park had good reason to celebrate Excelling’s (Manhattan Rain) win in the Listed Merlion Trophy at Kranji in Singapore on Sunday, with the gelding’s mare Princess Ruhie (Fusaichi Pegasus {USA}) now part of their broodmare band in Ballarat.
The McKellars secured Princess Ruhie from Phillip Wells when she was sent to their property to foal what turned out to be Excelling. Wells retained Excelling and sold him for $20,000 at the 2015 Inglis Great Southern Sale, while his mare remains at Wyndholm Park as a valuable dual stakes producer.
“Princess Ruhie was purchased from auction by Phillip Wells and then he brought some mares here to foal down which included her,” Kim McKellar told TDN AusNZ. “When we finished the deal I had the mare and he owned the foal.
“We then had two Rebel Raiders and now we’ve got two Crackerjack Kings and she’s back in foal to Rebel Raider and this year she’s going to Sports Edition, who is a son of Northern Meteor, to try and get another Excelling.”
McKellar began his thoroughbred career as a vet and started his farm as mainly an agistment property, before deciding to dip his toes into the stallion market in the late 90's. Wyndholm Park is also home to a herd of around 1000 sheep, which McKellar use to manufacture biosynthetic arteries for humans.
“I was doing Robert Smerdon’s work so were agisting racehorses for them plus I also make biosynthetic arteries for humans using sheep as the manufacturing plant so we run about 1000 sheep on the farm as well for that process,” he said.
“Then I was in New Zealand and a stallion became available so I thought I’d give that a go. We put the first stallion on here in around about 1994/95 somewhere about then.
“But mainly it’s been an agistment place for racehorses and a small breeding component that’s much bigger now.
"Mainly it’s been an agistment place for racehorses and a small breeding component that’s much bigger now." - Kim McKellar
“We had the quinella of the Melbourne Cup here at one stage. We had Let’s Elope and Shiva's Revenge at the same time and that year we had two Oaks winners, Weekend Delight and Richfield Lady. Azkadelia and Srikandi have been here as well.
“I don’t like going to the sales because I spent 30 years going to the sales buying horses and I couldn’t sell and buy at the same time, so I made this property here a property for people who breed to race themselves.
“There are some that breed horses and then take them elsewhere to prepare for the yearling sales, but we tend to be developing horses for people that want to race them themselves.
“But that may change because I’ve stopped going to the sales as a buyer but certainly we sell them privately here.
“I have a few people that ring me up and want to buy them. We’ve got a horse at the moment by Crackerjack King, called Shadow Pray, which we were offered $800,000 for the other day to go to Hong Kong. He’s had two starts and is in the betting for the Derby.”
Gallery: Wyndholm Park Stud stallions
Wyndholm Park currently stand a small number of stallions, including Crackerjack King (Ire) and Sports Edition, while G1 VRC Derby winner Rebel Raider was their flagship resident until he died late last year.
This year, Wyndholm Park secured G2 Sandown Guineas winner Ringerdingding to stand at the farm for in introductory fee of $6600 (inc GST).
“He’s a little Rebel Raider,” McKellar said. “Rebel Raider was extremely athletic, he was 16.3 (hands) or something but he used to dance around the paddock like a really athletic horse.
“Ringerdingding is exactly the same mould but probably about four inches shorter. So, he’s an extremely athletic and fast horse and he’s got a good temperament.
“We’ve had a lot of phone calls about him but it’s a pretty quiet scene out there at the moment.
“I think it’s a concern for all of us this year. A lot of people are a bit nervous about what they’re doing because of COVID-19 and racing and the pressure that’s on financially.”
