Almanzor’s sale results boosts stud’s spirits

For the third consecutive year, Brendan and Jo Lindsay’s showpiece nursery has put the book full sign up on Almanzor while Cambridge Stud will also be sending a sizeable portion of its broodmare band to a selection of leading Hunter Valley-based stallions.

The farm will breed more than 150 mares in 2020 with 60 booked to proven Australian-based stallions and an array of first-season sires.

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Hunter quality

Included among the proven Australian-based sires to be used by Cambridge Stud is Dundeel (NZ), with three mares booked to the Arrowfield Stud stallion.

“Ardeche is going to him along with another nice mare called Promise To Reign, who was a stakes-placed filly. We think he’s done very well at stud and had two Group 1 horses in his first crop,” Plumptre said.

Ardeche (NZ) (Dehere {USA}) is the dam of the Group 3 winner Mongolian Marshal (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) while Promise To Reign (Manhattan Rain), a multiple Group placegetter, produced her first foal last year by Tavistock (NZ). Both mares are currently empty.

“We have decided to roll the dice with I Am Invincible and sent the Zabeel mare Zonza to him. She has produced the stakes winners Bavella and Vernazza,” Chief Executive Officer Henry Plumptre said.

“We’ve got a beautiful Tavistock 2-year-old colt with Roger James out of her so she’s getting every chance and Zonza is in foal to Almanzor.

“We were delayed by the piroplasmossis investigation so our in-foal mares have to foal here before they go to Australia.”

Two further high-profile Hunter Valley matings involve Griante (Good Journey {USA}) and Thames Court (Commands).

“They are two pretty important mares and they will be going to Pierro,” Plumptre said.

The G1 The Galaxy H. winner Griante is the dam of recent debut winner Cadenabbia (Redoute’s Choice), who was a NZ$800,000 Karaka yearling, and is in foal to Dundeel and currently at Milburn Creek.

Thames Court won the G3 Alexandra S. and her first foal topped Cambridge Stud’s draft at the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale this year when her Lonhro colt sold to Coolmore for NZ$675,000. She was served by Written Tycoon last year.

“Of the other established stallions, we’re using horses like Written Tycoon, Lonhro, Epaulette who I think has also made a very good start, Deep Field and Brazen Beau,” Plumptre said.

First-season sires

Cambridge Stud is also sending mares to first-season stallions including Blue Point (Ire), Castelvecchio, Microphone, Pierata and Too Darn Hot (GB).

“We’re sending Egyptian Cross to Pierata. She is a daughter of Egyptian Raine and had a Deep Field filly last year and a very nice All Too Hard colt,” Plumptre said.

“Egyptian Cross is in foal to Almanzor and we’ve got a mare called Prose Poem. She’s a European mare by Street Cry and going to Pierata and also in foal to Almanzor.

“Pierata is easily the fastest son of Pierro and Aquis has been extremely good supporters of the yearling sale arena for the last few years. We wanted in some small way to do some reciprocal business with them.

“I loved Pierata when he was racing, he was a very good horse, and Pierro looks like the heir designate to Lonhro. "

The older guard of Coolmore's Pierro, So You Think (NZ) and Fastnet Rock aside, Cambridge Stud will also support the youthful members of the roster including Rubick, American Pharoah (USA), Churchill (Ire), Merchant Navy and Yes Yes Yes.

“We’ve taken the view with some of the young Coolmore stallions that they are horses that Coolmore have a lot of vested interest in. In their inimitable way, they will do everything they can to make sure those horses succeed and we’re trying to be part of that as well,” Plumptre said.

“The Group 2 winner Abidewithme is going to American Pharoah and is foal to Almanzor. The dam of the Group 2 winner Scott Base (NZ), Extra Celestial, is going to American Pharoah as well.

“That’s a good mating for her and she has got an I Am Invincible yearling and wasn’t served last year.

New Zealand sires supported

On the home front, stud resident Almanzor and Embellish (NZ) will again be strongly supported, and the farm will also send mares to the established group of outside stallions Savabeel, Ocean Park (NZ), Reliable Man (GB), Per Incanto (USA), Darci Brahma (NZ), El Roca and Charm Spirit (Ire).

Young stallions Tivaci, Tarzino (NZ), U S Navy Flag (USA), Ten Sovereigns (Ire), Belardo (Ire), Ribchester (Ire) and Eminent (Ire) figure in breeding plans as well.

Cambridge Stud was delighted to see Almanzor claim first-season sire honours at the recent Arqana Deauville Select Sale. The son of Wootton Bassett (GB) had 19 yearlings sell at an average of €126,789 (AU$206,300) and a top price of €280,000 (AU$455,500).

“We were very heartened and there was a bit of an indicator with his foals at the December sale at Deauville last year. The few on offer sold extremely well and we were very happy with Almanzor’s yearling sale,” Plumptre said.

“For a first-season sire they sold for pretty serious money and, in a year like this and off a €35,000 (AU$56,940) service fee, it was all pretty acceptable.

“He does get good types and puts a bit more bone and substance into them than the average French sire. That’s one of the things we’ve noticed down here, they are well-conformed with plenty of scope so we’re excited.”

Among the Cambridge Stud mares booked to Almanzor is the G3 Nivison S. winner Diamond Earth (Choisir).

“She’s (Diamond Earth) had a colt by Churchill last year and then missed, and Game Duchess, who is the dam of two Group 3 winners, Exquisite Jewel and Dark Princess, is in foal to Almanzor and going back to him,” Plumptre said.

“Zenella, who was second in the G1 Queensland Oaks, is in foal to The Autumn Sun and another going to Almanzor.”

Also booked in is Mefnooda (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}), who had a Snitzel colt last year and is in foal to Justify (USA), and My My Maree (Testa Rossa) who is the dam of Group 1 winner Marky Mark (NZ) (Makfi {GB}).

Mefnooda was purchased at last year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale out of Segenhoe Stud’s draft for $450,000. She is a half-sister to the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude winner One Last Dance (Encosta De Lago).

Almanzor will serve Too Many Diamonds (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), dam of Group 2 winner Ruud Not Too (NZ) (Bernardini {USA}), as well as the Listed winner Diamond Like (Danehill {USA}), dam of Group 2 winner Forever Loved (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and in foal to the stallion.

“We’ll be selling yearlings by him at Karaka and we’ve offered a small group to Inglis and Magic Millions. There’s a couple for Magic Millions who are more forward, robust types and a few others we’ve put in the Classic Sale and two or three in the Melbourne Sale.

“We’ve got a minimum of 50 yearlings going to Karaka and that’s going to be our strength. If we can take half a dozen or so Almanzors out of the Karaka system we’re not directly competing with our major supporters here.

“We want to carefully expose him to the Australian market and luckily for us I think his exploits overseas at the sales and Wootton Bassett’s record over the last 18 months has resulted in Almanzor successfully advertising himself.”

The book for Almanzor’s associate sire Embellish includes proven mares Dancing Forever (NZ) (Keeper) and Love Diamonds (Danehill {USA}).

“We’re giving him a lot of chances. He’ll serve Dancing Forever, the dam of stakes winner Respin, and he’s getting Love Diamonds, the dam of Group 2 winner Queen Of Diamonds, who is in foal to Embellish,” Plumptre said.

The G2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ S. winner Fazzle (NZ) (Johar {USA}), who is empty, and the G3 Desert Gold S. winner Glamorous Girl (NZ) (Thorn Park) is another on Embellish’s list.

Team approach

The matings are completed with a team effort from Cambridge Stud employees and modelled Plumptre’s past experience.

“I’ve done pretty much the same thing here as I did at Godolphin. I had the stud managers from New South Wales and Victoria, who knew their mares, and I’d have Alastair Pulford and Andy Makiv,” he said.

“In the first run through everyone would sit down and go through every mare, the second run through we’d fine-tune.

“Here, we sit down as a group with Stud Manager Bevan McCullum and General Manager Marc Devcich, myself, Scott Calder, Head of Sales and Nominations, and Cameron Ring from the sales team.

“We look at pedigrees and crosses, Scott and Cam are very up to speed with what works with a sire line and we use the stud manager’s expertise of the types the mares throw. We gradually come up with a picture of what we want.

“What we have done this year, because we had a disastrous time last year losing our stallions, is that we made the decision to send a significant number of mares to Australia.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to do that next year because we will have Hello Youmzain arriving, but equally I don’t see anything wrong in going to the yearling sales with a draft of horses with a strong representation of Australian sires.

“In terms of pedigrees and stallions, we have to be multi-national to appeal to our biggest customer.”

Cambridge Stud's 2020 mating plans