Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
It’s often in the face of great disaster that great stories emerge, and few will be better than that of Shaquero this weekend should the colt win the G1 Golden Slipper. His breeder, the lush, boutique Ascot Park on the banks of the Hawkesbury, is underwater, evacuating all horses this week in ruinous conditions.
Stud manager Danny Kerr hardly took a breath on Tuesday morning as the river swallowed everything around him.
“It’s going to be months before we can rebuild,” he said. “All the paddocks are submerged. We’re very lucky that we’re only a small farm and there’s just 28 horses to get out. There’s a few others that are still here on higher ground.”
Small pond, big fish
For close to 20 years, Ascot Park has punched above its weight in Australian breeding circles. Owned by affable Bob Hannon, the property is managed by Kerr and his wife Amy, and they’ve had big-race success. It was from here, on 75 acres of rich river flats northwest of Sydney, that the Cox Plate winner and Rosemont Stud stallion Shamus Award was foaled. And it was also from here that Slipper contender Shaquero emerged.
And it’s no coincidence.
The dam of Shamus Award, Sunset Express (Success Express {USA}), is a half-sister to Fimatino (Not A Single Doubt), the dam of Shaquero. Both are residents at Ascot Park and both owe their time to Hannon’s 1988 purchase of Irish mare From The Wood (Ire) (Tap On Wood {Ire}).
From her, a rich family grew among the grasses of Ascot Park, one that Hannon is especially proud of, and one that will compete on racing’s biggest stage this Saturday.
Bob Hannon | Image courtesy of Ascot Park
Shades of greatness
Shaquero heads into the Golden Slipper with an armoury of experience. He’s had six starts to date in his juvenile season, for three wins and a second. He won the G3 Breeders’ Plate on debut in October, and by early January he was firing.
He won the $2 million R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic, before a surprising sixth behind O’President (Fastnet Rock) in the G2 Skyline S. (O’President has since withdrawn from Saturday’s race). Shaquero was a last-start winner of the G3 Pago Pago S. and trained by Chris Waller at Rosehill, he will have a hometown advantage on Saturday.
“He’s had a marvellous start for any young horse,” Hannon said. “Some of the great horses like Capitalist, they virtually did the same thing. But he might be up against it in the Slipper. Reports from the stable after his last run in the Pago Pago suggests he might not handle the going, and he’s also drawn barrier 15. So we’ll just have to see.”
“He’s (Shaquero) had a marvellous start for any young horse. Some of the great horses like Capitalist, they virtually did the same thing." - Bob Hannon
Hannon isn’t new to Golden Slipper hoopla.
Two years ago, he had homebred Cosmic Force (Deep Field) and Vincere Volare (I Am Invincible) line up in the race, both unplaced on a Heavy 8 behind Kiamichi (Sidestep). It’s a significant thing for a breeder of Hannon’s size to be represented in the race at all, but as frequently as this is exceptional.
“It’s been an amazing ride, no doubt about that,” he said. “It will be a great story if Shaquero gets up to win.”
Cosmic Force when racing
Sobering circumstances
If Hannon isn’t excited about the Slipper, it’s forgivable. He’s not even sure if he’ll make it to the track on Saturday. The evacuation of Ascot Park and its stock this week has been heavy on him, in a week that has seen similar tragedy up and down the Sydney basin.
“We knew that we were in some sort of trouble on the weekend,” Hannon said, “but not to the extent that’s happened. The volume of water has been something like the Sydney Harbour-full each day coming over the dam (Warragamba), and it happened nearly overnight. I haven’t been able to get into the place, but Danny and Amy did a marvellous job to firstly get horses to higher land on the farm, and then coordinate the transport to get them out.”
"It (the floods) happened nearly overnight. I haven’t been able to get into the place, but Danny and Amy did a marvellous job to firstly, get horses to higher land on the farm, and then coordinate the transport to get them out.” - Bob Hannon
Ascot Park sent most horses to Inglis’ Warwick Farm complex immediately, while Hannon took four mares and foals to his home nearby at Glenorie. The bulk of the horses then went to Yarraman Park in Scone, not a small thing to organise at a moment’s notice.
“We had to get all horses out because the whole thing could have closed in, and who knows what would have happened then,” Hannon said. “Yesterday they all went to Yarraman, and fortunately they arrived in good shape, so no damage done.”
The alliance with Yarraman Park goes back a long way, as far back as 40 years between Hannon and Harry Mitchell.
“Bob has been a great friend for a long time, and when he was in need of a safe place for his horses, we were happy to offer our assistance,” said Yarraman’s Matt Scown. “In circumstances like these, you have to be willing to lend a hand.”
Lightning strikes twice
While the horses ended up with little more than a good story to tell among themselves, Ascot Park didn’t fare so well. Hannon said the current outlook is catastrophic, with paddocks underwater and no chance of assessing the real damage until the flood recedes.
Ascot Park pre-floods | Image courtesy of Ascot Park
In 18 years of being on this bend of the Hawkesbury, he remembers only one occasion when such a disaster occurred, and it was last year.
“We had something like this a year ago, and it was devastating but it was nothing like the extent of this one,” Hannon said. “A lot of the pastures and fencing were wiped out, and we had to re-establish everything. It was going great, we had good weather and rainfall, and we had the place looking absolutely magnificent. And then this had to happen.”
Hannon is stoic about things. It might be that he’s programmed that way, or it’s the result of a long life on the land, dealing with livestock and the weather gods.
“Life throws a lot of arrows at you, but you’ve just got to get on with it,” he said. “It’s a tough game, horse breeding. There’s nothing harder. You go through so many issues from breeding them and growing them. It’s a bloody major job just getting them to the sale ring. But we love it, and we love our horses so we’ll get back. We’ll do it again.”
The show goes on
If Shaquero can’t execute a fairytale for his breeder on Saturday, there’s a colt heading to the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale that might. Lot 290, for Ascot Park on account of Attunga Stud, is by Spirit Of Boom from Hannon’s mare Elimbari (Fastnet Rock), who was second to Solar Charged (Charge Forward) in the G3 Kindergarten S. in 2010.
Elimbari is a half-sister to the delightful Amelia’s Dream, winner of the G2 Silver Slipper S. in 2008. Their dam, Shalt Not (St Covet), was third in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic behind Testa Rossa, a $1.05 million broodmare purchase for Cambridge Stud the year after foaling Elimbari.
“That family has been incredible for us too,” Hannon said. “Elimbari has a beautiful filly on the ground by Hellbent, and they’re with me at Glenorie right now away from the water. Yearlings have to be very well-bred to send to Easter, and if they’re not, they get beaten up.”
Lot 290 will sell mid-morning on April 7, and Hannon said the current market is marvellous. In January, he sold Shaquero’s Hellbent half-sister via Tyreel Stud for $360,000 to The Racing League, a reluctant sale, he admitted.
“You can’t keep them all because you’ve got to pay the bills,” Hannon said. “And I’ve got more bills to pay after this week, I know that.”
Hellbent x Fimatino (filly)
