Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Brideoake, a former champion equestrian rider turned multiple Group 1-winning trainer has trained 40 winners this season, just short of his career-best mark of 42, but has always dabbled in the breeding game.
With his son Tom now managing the family's breeding and agistment farm at Violet Town in northern Victoria, Brideoake is seeking bigger and better things from his broodmare band of around 18.
"I have always liked breeding and that goes back to a few of my equestrian horses. I kept a few of my really good mares and got results. I have kept the mares I have trust in and they have turned out to be really good producers," he told TDN AusNZ.
"There's nothing better than when you work the mating out, you breed one and it goes on and does something. Then you end up working with its progeny." - David Brideoake
"There's nothing better than when you work the mating out, you breed one and it goes on and does something. Then you end up working with its progeny.
"I'm sure it’s a disease, but you do stuff for different reasons and that part of it does give me plenty of satisfaction."
His most notable success as a breeder has been the G1 The Galaxy winner Griante (Good Journey {USA}), who he guided through a 29-start career to win over $1 million in prizemoney, including three stakes races.
Griante winning the G1 The Galaxy with Craig Williams
Griante now takes pride of place among Brideoake's broodmare band, producing the dual-winner Cadenabbia (Redoute's Choice), who sold for NZ$800,000 through the draft of Cambridge Stud at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale. She has also had a Pierro filly go through the ring as part of Milburn Creek's draft at this year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, where Spendthrift Australia paid $500,000 for her.
"She's the number-one mare. She's got a very nice Dundeel colt that will be at a sale next year. He's a nice animal and I'm sure we will get something there. She's now in foal to The Autumn Sun," he said.
Given the success of Griante's progeny through the sales, it is no surprise to see Brideoake aiming for another strong mating in 2021.
"She’ll go to Capitalist. She had oodles of speed and that should be a highly commercial option for her," he said.
A strong family hand
Brideoake lost Griante's dam Grand Strategy (Strategic) last year but has a few options with that family having retained another of her daughters, Pomona (Teofilo {Ire}).
"Pomona was a terrific mare. She trialled up and showed me a lot of promise and then broke her back sesamoid and that was the end of her. She went to stud unraced and I guess that's what you have to do, you have to trust your mare. I'm pretty happy to have her in the broodmare band," he said.
"Pomona was a terrific mare... She went to stud unraced and I guess that's what you have to do, you have to trust your mare." - David Brideoake
"She went to Pride Of Dubai and I have a Street Boss on the ground which I will sell, probably through the Magic Millions."
Across his 16 mares registered with the Studbook last year, Brideoake used 13 different stallions, mixing up his options across Darley quartet Territories (Ire), Frosted (USA), Impending and Blue Point (Ire), Coolmore duo Pride Of Dubai and Churchill (Ire), Vinery's Headwater, Arrowfield Stud's The Autumn Sun and Spendthrift's Omaha Beach (USA) as well as Nostradamus, Danerich, Magnus and Fiorente (Ire).
"I do tend to cast my net wide. I enjoy picking the stallions out, and I always look for variety," he said.
The Journey never ends
Brideoake also still utilises a stallion close to his heart, Good Journey (USA), who is based on his Violet Town property along with his mares. He is the sire of two of Brideoake's three Group 1 winners as a trainer, Griante and Grand Journey, who is also part of his broodmare band.
Good Journey (USA) pictured in 2020 | Image courtesy of David Brideoake Racing
"While he might be past his best in terms of fertility, I still breed a couple religiously to him. I bred those couple of really nice fillies by him. I wanted a bit more Nureyev, and I was always keen to find some females that went with that," he said.
"We had one of his yearlings come back from the breaker the other day who is out of a mare called Street Blaze. I had a good mare called Raven Protector and she had a whole bunch of colts and one filly and that one filly is Street Blaze."
Street Blaze (Street Sense {USA}) never raced but produced the multiple stakes winner Royal Mile (Danerich), who was last seen running fifth in the G1 South Australian Derby for trainer Lee Creek, who paid $26,000 for him as a yearling.
Brideoake takes just as much pride in horses he has bred winning for other trainers as he does when they win for him.
David Brideoake with two of his racehorses | Image courtesy of David Brideoake Racing
Double targets at Caulfield
That passion for breeding has been passed onto his son Tom, who is managing the farm, and who bred a filly called Bob's Relish (Redente) who contests a 1200-metre race at Caulfield on Saturday for Brideoake Snr.
Bob's Relish is one of two runners for the trainer at Caulfield, the other being Red Can Man (Gingerbread Man), who won the G3 Sir John Monash S. at his most recent start and takes on the G3 Bletchingly S. as one of the leading chances.
Brideoake, who took over training the horse from WA-based Steve Wolfe this campaign, has lofty ambitions for the 4-year-old and is confident of his chances heading into Saturday's race.
"He's (Red Can Man) absolutely super and he's come out of the Monash very well." - David Brideoake
"He's absolutely super and he's come out of the Monash very well. He's had a two-week break had a good gallop Tuesday and he's got a good barrier, in three," he said.
"Third run in, he'll be just about at full steam. He's a big, powerful horse and he's a really good work horse."
Red Can Man (blue silks) | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Red Can Man's first start for Brideoake didn't quite work out as planned after he finished seventh at Flemington, an effort Brideoake put down to it being his first-up run, after he initially struggled with the trip to Victoria.
"He came over in the summer and got a bit travel sick, so we abandoned the autumn. We nursed him back to health and away he went. That's probably why he was a bit fresh first-up. He was a bit too bright that day, and so he needed an outing," he said.
The G1 Memsie S. at the end of August shapes as an ideal target for Red Can Man, who Brideaoke has a lot of faith in.
"I'm pretty upbeat about a horse like this should he continue to progress the way he is going. He should get to the Memsie with a fair bit of good work under his belt and he's just a fast horse. It's a good combination," he said.
