The Matthew Smith-trained Fierce Impact is building toward a final campaign and will take up stud duties at Leneva Park Seymour later in the year.
Agreement to stand the 7-year-old is another notable step for Leneva Park, who has taken over Aquis’ former Victorian base in Seymour where it will continue to stand young stallions Lean Mean Machine and Royal Meeting (Ire) and now Fierce Impact.
“There will be a new ownership group in Fierce Impact with the existing owners retaining some shares in him with the addition of new owners that are buying into him to race and breed,” Leneva Bloodstock Manager, Mick Sharkie, said.
Leneva Park is a thoroughbred pre-training and spelling business that operates out of a base in Longwood, south of Euroa. It will continue to maintain that business while building its existing breeding and yearling development arm at Seymour Park.
“All three stallions will stand at Leneva Park Seymour, that’s our breeding and stallion property and Leneva Park Longwood is our pre-training operation,” Sharkie said.
“All three stallions will stand at Leneva Park Seymour, that’s our breeding and stallion property and Leneva Park Longwood is our pre-training operation.” - Mick Sharkie
The Seymour property is owned by prominent racehorse owner Darren Thomas, who has been involved in Fierce Impact’s career, and Leneva Park Director Luke Vandersluys was grateful for the opportunity to secure the lease to grow the operation.
“The association with Mark Pilkington and Darren Thomas through Seymour Park has opened a few doors for us and one of them is Fierce Impact,” Sharkie said.
“We’ve been having conversations for the best part of four to six weeks about how it could work and working through things with Matt Smith and the owners.
“We’ve come to an agreement that suits everybody and the horse can continue to race at a high level and hopefully add more Group 1s to the CV. We’ve secured a good stake in a new stallion that we really believe suits Victoria. He’s got the physique to match his record.”
Fierce Impact (Jpn)
Triple Group 1 winner
Fierce Impact has won at Group 1 level in the Cantala S., Makybe Diva S. and Toorak H. and will be given further top-flight opportunities during his final campaign.
“Having spoken to Matt, the horse’s first-up run is likely to be the G1 George Ryder S. From there he’ll be on a G1 Doncaster H. and G1 Queen Elizabeth prep, one or both of them.
“Matt is convinced that the horse is Group 1 capable out to 2000 metres and he really wants to give him the opportunity to show that in the Queen Elizabeth. The G1 Doomben Cup is also sitting on the agenda. Those are the main options.”
Fierce Impact was initially bought for ¥66,000,000 (AU$812,620) at the JRHA JRA Select Yearling & Foal Sale by David Redvers and was subsequently bought by Smith as a one-race winner for 120,000 gns (AU$230,580) at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale.
He is a brother to the G1 Tokyo Mile Cup winner Keiai Nautique (Jpn), and their dam Keiai Gerbera (Jpn) (Smarty Jones {USA}) was a two-time Group 3 winner and the family of another dual Group 3 winner in Boundary (USA), sire of 23 stakes winners and three at Group 1 level.
