Season locked and loaded at Milburn Creek

Cover image courtesy of Milburn Creek

In an ordinary year, about this time, Milburn Creek studmaster John Muir would have clapped eyes on almost every stallion he has booked for the upcoming breeding season. But this year, with a COVID chokehold on much of New South Wales, neither he nor his farm manager, Scott Holcombe, have seen them all.

Sponsored video

Spendthrift Australia's 2021 Stallion Parade

In this case, Muir relies on other things.

A confident word from Jon Freyer about Arrowfield shuttler Admire Mars (Jpn), or feedback from those who saw Anders at Widden Stud. It’s not ideal, but no one is complaining.

“Scott and I make it a point to go up and physically look at the stallions each year,” Muir said. “We want to make sure the mare and stallion will suit physically, so it’s a priority to go up and look. Unfortunately, with COVID now, it’s hard to get around, but as soon as the overseas stallions arrive and we can move around, we intend to go and look at all the stallions we have bookings for.”

At Milburn Creek, the booking sheet runs to 37 mares for the season upcoming.

It’s a stout list that includes stakes winners Secret Admirer (Dubawi {Ire}) and Walk With Attitude (Hussonet {USA}), and imported mares Chocolate Martini (USA) (Broken Vow {USA}) and Saratoga Treasure (USA) (Treasure Beach {GB}).

Muir’s stallion choices are equally rich and varied, from proven sires like Exceed And Excel and Written Tycoon to new sires Ole Kirk, North Pacific, Farnan, Bivouac and Irish shuttler Wootton Bassett (GB).

Still admiring

Bonny mare Secret Admirer is rising 14-years-old at Milburn Creek. She is one of the farm’s flagship additions, a $38,000 purchase by Muir, via Jon Freyer, at the 2008 Inglis Weanling and Broodmare Sale.

In a career that spanned three seasons, Secret Admirer won the G1 Flight S. and G1 Epsom H., and was stakes placed on 14 other occasions. She was among the first three in 18 of her 28 lifetime starts.

“She’s in foal to The Autumn Sun at the moment,” Muir said. “We’d love to get a filly out of her. The first foal she had was a filly by Redoute’s Choice, and that unfortunately died at birth. So we’re really hoping to get a filly next to retain.”

Secret Admirer’s second foal was the stakes winner Danawi (Exceed And Excel), who won the G3 Ming Dynasty H. in 2018. The mare’s latest offspring was a colt by Dundeel (NZ) last season, which Muir said will head to the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale next year.

Secret Admirer is booked to Newgate’s hot sire Capitalist this spring, who will finish second in the First Season Sires’ Premiership and is currently fighting out the title by winners (20) with Star Turn (18).

Milburn will also send maiden mare Battleofwinterfell (USA) (Declaration Of War {USA}) to Capitalist. She was stakes placed in the United States before her sale this year at the Keeneland January All Ages Sale, bought for Muir by Nicoma Bloodstock’s Headley Bell for US$110,000 (AU$149,033).

Broken Vows

Chestnut mare Roses ‘N’ Wine (Can) (Broken Vow {USA}) is another of Milburn Creek’s excellent mares, the dam of 2014 G1 Spring Champion S. winner Hampton Court.

Hampton Court was the first foal from Roses ‘N’ Wine, fetching $500,000 as an Inglis Easter yearling in 2013 and, since then, the mare’s progeny have all made six figures at auctions. The most recent was the 2020 sale of her Pride Of Dubai colt, which went to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for $500,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

“She’s been a very good mare for us,” Muir said. “Everything she’s produced has been a winner. She had a late service to Dundeel last season, and we’d dearly like to get a filly out of her to retain. Because she’s foaling on November 13, so I haven’t decided what to do with her yet. I’ll wait and see what happens.”

Muir also mentions Chocolate Martini, the American mare by the same sire as Roses ‘N’ Wine in Broken Vow (USA).

“Scott, myself and my wife went to America, and we had difficulty buying something that looked quality for the money at that time,” Muir said. “We were lucky enough to buy this mare, Chocolate Martini, and she was a Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed in the American Coaching Club Oaks.”

Chocolate Martini arrived in Australia in January last year, and Muir sent her to Snitzel. She is booked to Exceed And Excel this spring.

“We like to give our mares every opportunity,” Muir said. “We want to breed a yearling that is attractive and going to appeal to the buyers, that is physically going to give people what they want. But, fundamentally, our priority is to breed a racehorse. It’s nice to get a sales horse, but we want to breed a racehorse.”

The new boys

Milburn Creek has three foals on the way this spring by Arrowfield star The Autumn Sun, and one of those will be from Walk With Attitude, the Hussonet (USA) mare that won the Listed VRC Desirable S. in 2012.

She has had considerable success in the sale ring in the past.

Her second foal, Spend (Snitzel), made $1.55 million at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in 2018, sold to Spendthrift Farm and subsequently to Hong Kong. Her latest yearling, also by Snitzel, was a Sale-topping Magic Millions National Sale graduate at $500,000 in June, where he sold to Suman Hedge (FBAA).

Walk With Attitude is booked to Darley’s brilliant sprinter and debut sire Bivouac this season, a decision that Muir said was pretty logical.

“His credentials as a racehorse are impeccable, and he’s out of a beautiful family,” the studmaster said. “In fact, I bought a breeding right in Bivouac, I liked him that much.”

Milburn mare Soft Kiss (Bernardini {USA}) will also join Walk With Attitude in going to Bivouac at Kelvinside, among many mares that will head from Muir’s Southern Highlands base to new names in the stallion ranks.

Others include Reilly Lincoln (NZ) (Pins), a Group 3 winner in foal to Microphone, who is booked to Newgate’s debut sire North Pacific.

“He’s a very easy horse to like,” Muir said of North Pacific. “He’s a beautiful-looking horse, and he’s well-credentialled. Newgate is a great judge of stallions, and when I saw him parade at Inglis Easter I thought he was a beautiful type, very hard to fault.”

Additionally, Muir will send the mare Glamorize (Sepoy) to Vinery’s new addition, Ole Kirk.

Gallery: Some of the new stallions that Milburn Creek will be supporting in 2021

This mare is from Beauty World (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), who has produced an exceptional five stakes winners during her career at stud, including Lite’n In My Veins (Henrythenavigator {USA}) and Hi World (High Chaparral {Ire}).

“We paid $400,000 for this mare as a yearling at the Inglis Premier Sale in Melbourne, but unfortunately she had a track mishap and it wasn’t her fault that she didn’t go on to better things,” Muir said.

Glamorize will foal to Written Tycoon this spring before heading to Ole Kirk.

The jet-setters

Of the imported stallions, Milburn Creek is mixing it up.

Muir has made bookings to Frosted (USA), Ghaiyyath (Ire) and Maurice (Jpn). The mare Luluoru (Redoute’s Choice) will visit Admire Mars this spring, but only after foaling to Yes Yes Yes.

“She’s out of a lovely American family,” Muir said. “And that will be an interesting one, the Yes Yes Yes. I thought she’d mate very well with Admire Mars, and Arrowfield are great judges at bringing these horses out from places like Japan. Jon Freyer tells me this horse has got a lot to recommend him.”

Muir also took an initial punt with the mare Delphic (Street Cry {Ire}), who is the dam of a Not A Single Doubt filly that sold for Milburn Creek at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January for $550,000. Delphic, who missed last season to Exceed And Excel, was booked to Pinatubo (Ire), but that horse’s plans to shuttle were scuppered last week with an eye infection, and instead she will head to Frosted.

“We like to take a punt, and there’s a reason why we do,” Muir said, speaking of new stallions, local and shuttlers alike. “If there’s a lot to recommend the matings with particular mares, we’ll do it.”

Equally, it’s obvious that Muir has a penchant for American mares. He has numerous names on the runsheet that he sourced in the United States, and he backs this up with firm faith.

“If you go through statistics, you’ll see a lot of American mares that have raced well and have good conformation and have really suited Australian conditions,” he said. “I find sometimes the Europeans are light-boned with small feet and, while I’m not saying they haven’t made their contribution, I think you’ll find statistically that American mares have made a bigger contribution to Australian racing.”

Paying it forward

Muir is heading towards 50 years of breeding thoroughbreds, more than half a lifetime devoted to the craft. He is a former president of Thoroughbred Breeders NSW, sits on the Animal Care and Ethics committee at Racing NSW, and is part of the Jockeys’ Benefit Scheme Trust.

Muir bred Sizzling, G1 Australian Oaks winner Once Were Wild (Johannesburg {USA}) and the G1 New Zealand Derby winner Redoute’s Dancer.

This yearling season, he has enjoyed considerable success. His January draft netted nearly $3 million at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, while his five Inglis Easter yearlings sold for a collective $1.02 million. At the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale, the farm sold 13 of 13 for a collective $2.245 million and, at the National Sale, he topped proceedings with his Walk With Attitude colt.

“I never begrudge any breeder getting a good result, because it helps pay for all the bad luck,” Muir said. “We’ve had a good season this year. Rainfall has been good, the pastures look good and it hasn’t been a harsh winter. All breeders need a bit of encouragement, so I wish all of them all the luck in the world.”

Table: Some of Milburn Creek's mating plans for 2021