Cover image courtesy of Parsons Creek Pastoral Co.
In the last few months, Parsons Creek Pastoral Co. has popped up across the bloodstock market. It’s not a widely known name but it's getting there, a boutique breeding outfit with big plans in the Hunter Valley’s Milbrodale district.
At the recently wrapped Inglis Breeding Stock Sales, the farm purchased two mares at the Chairman’s Sale, Visenya (Fastnet Rock) and Our Sweet Sydni (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}), with an additional scoop of Siren’s Song (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}) out of the Broodmare Sale.
At Magic Millions this month, Parsons Creek will offer four weanlings, the first time it has had a presence in the weanling affairs on the Gold Coast.
“I think we should do pretty well with them,” said Jo O’Gorman, Parsons Creek operations manager. “The Hellbent colt (Lot 258) will probably be the most popular. Hellbent has been selling so well, and from the mare All Night Girl, we hope to get some really nice results with him.”
Lot 258 - Hellbent x All Night Girl (colt)
O’Gorman said Lot 262, an All Too Hard filly from the Snitzel mare Ambar, would also demand attention.
“There’s quite a bit happening with that family right now, so we hope to get quite a good result,” she said.
Remaining, the breeder has Lot 214, by Kermadec (NZ), and Lot 208, by Invader on behalf of a client. It’s a tidy draft for Parsons Creek, one befitting of its debut into the biggest weanling sale in the Southern Hemisphere.
A few more Mazus
Parsons Creek sits in a pretty spot in Milbrodale, under the eaves of Brokenback Mountain along Putty Road. The property is 300 acres of thoroughbreds, cattle and homegrown lucerne, with a handful of vines here and there.
It’s owned by Sydney business folk Marc and Lindy De Stoop, who purchased it in 2015 from the late Jack Horseman and his wife Lucy.
Jo O’Gorman is Marc and Lindy’s daughter, and she oversees the everyday operations of the property with experienced Stud Manager Ross Bone.
Jo O’Gorman | Image courtesy of Parsons Creek Pastoral Co.
“Fifteen is the magic number for us when it comes to the broodmares,” O’Gorman said. “We don’t want to get too big. We want to keep it boutique because we want to breed quality yearlings and keep only a few client mares. And that’s it for us, that’s where we want to stay.”
“We don’t want to get too big. We want to keep it boutique because we want to breed quality yearlings and keep only a few client mares. And that’s it for us, that’s where we want to stay.” - Jo O’Gorman
Within that mantra, Parsons Creek has spent much of 2021 improving the calibre of its stock, which included the three mares from Riverside last week.
“We want to produce better yearlings, and hopefully get some results on the track,” O’Gorman said. “We started with two broodmares for a bit of fun, and it evolved a few years later into obtaining some more. With these things, everything takes time, but we really want to see some results on the track that will give our young mares a kickstart.”
Currently, hot juvenile Mazu (Maurice {Jpn}) is doing that for Parsons Creek veteran Chatelaine (Flying Spur).
The 21-year-old broodmare is the dam of G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner Headway (Flying Spur), who was a super filly for Peter Moody, winning close to $1.2 million in prizemoney. Mazu was first in city company on debut in February, and third to Shaquero (Shalaa {Ire}) in the G3 Pago Pago S. in early March.
“He’s really promising for our beautiful old mare Chatelaine,” O’Gorman said. “And that’s what we need here, a few more Mazus.”
Mazu | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Girl band
With that in mind, Parsons Creek headed to the Inglis Chairman’s Sale last week. They purchased Visenya for $310,000 and Our Sweet Sydni for $230,000. Siren’s Song was picked up for $60,000.
“We want to upgrade our broodmare band,” O’Gorman said. “We want to focus on producing better-quality yearlings that are a bit more commercial for us, so we knew we had to get some better mares. The plan was to get them last year, but with COVID we decided to wait, and we came out pretty strong at the Chairman’s buying two. Siren’s Song was a little bonus.”
Visenya was plucked out of Riverside in foal to Written Tycoon and, with a dam line that boasts Shantha’s Choice (Canny Lad) on the third level, and subsequently Redoute’s Choice, Platinum Scissors and Manhattan Rain, she was a valuable buy.
Our Sweet Sydni was US-performed, stakes-placed and the dam of only one foal to date (by Merchant Navy). She heads to Parsons Creek in foal to The Autumn Sun, whose first foals will appear at Magic Millions later this month.
“We will stick around at Magic Millions after the Weanling Sale to maybe get ourselves one or two more broodmares,” O’Gorman said. “We have 15 at the moment, and about five client mares, and we wouldn’t want much more than that. We will replace some of them next year, as well as keeping our fillies to race.”
O’Gorman is particularly keen for Chatelaine’s final foal, which she hopes will be a filly. The mare was served by Toronado (Ire) last season.
Capitalism at its best
If Chatelaine is a queen at Parsons Creek, the mare Ineffable (Smart Missile) is its jewel. She is a half-sister to sire of the moment Capitalist, a young mare rising six.
Ineffable was purchased by Parsons Creek in 2019 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, a $375,000 buy for the farm from the Newgate Consignment. At the time, her half-brother had won the G1 Golden Slipper and Listed Breeders’ Plate, but his progeny were yet to storm the racetracks.
It’s a different situation now.
“She’s our star mare,” O’Gorman said. “When we bought her she was in foal to Written Tycoon, so that foal was a three-quarter brother to Capitalist, and we sold him at Magic Millions earlier this year and he made $350,000.”
“She’s our star mare (Ineffable). When we bought her she was in foal to Written Tycoon, so that foal was a three-quarter brother to Capitalist, and we sold him at Magic Millions earlier this year and he made $350,000.” - Jo O’Gorman
The colt went to Greg Hickman and, in one hit, Ineffable virtually paid herself off.
“That was just before the Capitalist yearlings started to sell really well,” O’Gorman added. “I think if we’d held onto him for just a little bit longer, and got him into Easter, we may have got more. We might have got quite a bit more, actually, but those are the decisions you have to make.”
Parsons Creek kept a share in the colt with Greg Hickman, and Ineffable dropped a Zoustar colt last year. She is in foal to Written Tycoon once again.
Written Tycoon x Ineffable (colt)
Five-year vision
Parsons Creek will head to Magic Millions next week well into a five-year expansion plan. The farm has had a strong year, and O’Gorman said they are where they want to be.
“When we started with the two broodmares, we always knew we wanted to expand, but we knew how long these things take,” she said. “There was a bit of a five-year plan for us in building our numbers up, and I think we’re on-track with these mares.”
O’Gorman will be ringside on the Gold Coast. Sydney-based, she keeps a close eye on the farm, and her ambition for the property is obvious.
“We’re aiming to sell at the top-tier sales, at Easter and Magic Millions Book 1, and that would be great for us to be that commercial,” she said. “We realise, with some of our mares, that we can’t quite achieve those results, so we are supplementing with some better ones, which is what we were doing at the Chairman’s last week, and what we’ll be doing at the Gold Coast next week.”
