It’s a deal which has echoes of the one Newgate completed to secure now promising stallion and 2016 G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Extreme Choice, with Managing Director Henry Field looking to finalise the list of investors in Profiteer in the coming days.
Profiteer, who is trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, has had just one start, an impressive debut win at Flemington over 1100 metres in December, but that and a strong trial performance at Rosehill last Wednesday were enough to convince Newgate to invest in a majority share of the Capitalist colt, with a view to his long-term value of a prospective stallion.
"We've bought into the horse on a very similar deal structure to what we did with Extreme Choice. We’ve bought him at base price that is similar to what a high-profile yearling colt would make, with a bonus built in if he goes on and wins a Group 1 race," Field told TDN AusNZ.
"We work closely with (form analyst) Daniel O'Sullivan, and every year I ask him to find a 2-year-old colt that we can buy into prior to the Diamond and the Slipper. We have bid on three or four over the past few years and the only one we got was Extreme Choice.
"Profiteer ran a huge rating of over 100 on debut at Flemington, and it's very rare for a 2-year-old to do that on Daniel's ratings and that put him on our radar."
"Profiteer ran a huge rating of over 100 on debut at Flemington, and it's very rare for a 2-year-old to do that on Daniel's ratings and that put him on our radar." - Henry Field
According to O'Sullivan's ratings, Profiteer ran 100.5 on debut. The only 2-year-old to produce a better rating at Flemington over the 1100 metres in the past five years was subsequent Group 1 winner Microphone, who did it at his third start.
O'Sullivan confirmed that there have been only 16 2-year-olds run a triple-figure rating on debut in Australia in the past five seasons and six of them went on to be Group 1 winners.
Profiteer's performance closely matched what his own sire Capitalist was able to produce on debut in the 2015 Listed Breeders' Plate (101.9).
Newgate know the colt very well, having bred and raised him. He is the first foal out of the stakes-placed Athena Lass (Snitzel), the three-quarter sister to Group 3 winner Sweet Redemption and half-sister to Euryale (Lonhro). His third dam is the Group 1 winner Danglissa (Danzero), whose grandson is the 2-year-old stakes winner and now Kingstar Farm stallion Unite And Conquer.
Profiteer was sold by Newgate to Roll The Dice Racing and Rogers Bloodstock at last year's Inglis Classic Yearling Sale for $165,000.
"He sold for the exact same price as Capitalist did, which is an interesting piece of trivia," Field said.
"He's a very similar shape to Capitalist. Very athletic and a very good mover. He's a neat-to-medium sized, great-shaped horse. He's got a huge girth and shoulder, a lovely hindquarter and he's a super athletic colt.
"He's a horse that has got that profile of a horse that can fly, with that early speed and acceleration, that can run time. He has that exceptional precocity and maturity. It’s everything as a stud master, we like very much."
Price factor plays key role
The parallels with Extreme Choice extend beyond the timing and the nature of the deal, with Profiteer prepared by the same stable as the son of Not A Single Doubt.
"When you are buying into a horse early, part of the equation is very much whose hands they are in. Mick Price knows how to manage important colts and we had a terrific experience with him with both Extreme Choice and Flying Artie. Both those horses are very promising stallions," Field said.
"We are in the process of syndicating the horse right now. We have syndicated the majority of him, but we have still got space and will tie that up in the next few days.
Henry Field with partners Matthew Sandblom (left) and Gavin Murphy (right)
"If he can go on and do the job as a 2 or 3-year-old, he profiles as a horse that we would love to have on our roster at Newgate."
"If he can go on and do the job as a 2 or 3-year-old, he profiles as a horse that we would love to have on our roster at Newgate." - Henry Field
Field said buying into promising colts early in their 2-year-old career was an approach necessitated by the high demand for Group 1-performed stallion prospects in Australia at the moment.
"In my time, I have never seen the stallion market as hot for stallion prospects that are already Group 1 winners. So we are taking a different approach and buying a horse that we know has talent at a price that lines up to him being a premium yearling colt," he said.
Great result for Roll The Dice
Profiteer will remain racing in the Roll The Dice colours, with the initial investors staying involved with the colt.
"Roll The Dice are smart operators and have had plenty of good horses. Jeremy Rogers bought him as a yearling with Roll The Dice and Jeremy is one of the most underrated judges out there," Field said.
"They have been ultra-professional to deal with over the course of the sale in the past 48 hours."
Profiteer as a yearling
Roll The Dice has raced horses such as Group 2 winners Mahuta (Flying Spur) and La Falaise (Canford Cliffs {Ire}), Group 3 winners Twitchy Frank (Choisir) and He'll Haunt Us (Time For War) and stakes-winning mares Anjana (Sepoy) and Krone (Eurozone).
Racing Director Leigh Saville said the deal on Profiteer was a significant one for the operation.
"We are rapt to be partnering with Newgate in the ownership of Profiteer," he said.
"It’s been a pleasure dealing with Henry Field and the team, and we look forward to growing this relationship. Profiteer was born and raised at Newgate, and it will be great to see him return home to join some of Australia’s best stallions."
