The Annabel Neasham-trained Mo'unga claimed the first Group 1 of the Australian racing season, when defying a particularly strong Winx S. field on Saturday at Randwick to add to the elite success he collected in the G1 Rosehill Guineas in the autumn.
For his owners, headed by Aquis Chairman Tony Fung, a 1400-metre Group 1 win not only sets him up as one of the leading racing prospects of the spring but proves a major boost for his credentials as a stallion.
It was a moment not lost on Shane McGrath, who co-ordinates Fung's racing and breeding interests, and who selected Mo'unga as a yearling through the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, where he cost NZ$325,000.
"Being by Savabeel out of an O'Reilly mare, he's obviously an outcross. He's got plenty of toe as well. He's shown that strong turn of foot and he's going to be a lovely stallion to crossover with those Danehill-line mares," McGrath told TDN AusNZ.
"You can throw in the fact that he's a stunning individual himself and he has really matured. He's a real eye-catcher when he walks around the yard. He's only lightly raced. He's got two Group 1s to his name and who knows what the rest of the spring has got in store for him."
"You can throw in the fact that he's (Mo'unga) a stunning individual himself and he has really matured. He's a real eye-catcher when he walks around the yard." - Shane McGrath
Fung's connection with Aquis provides an obvious pathway to the breeding barn for Mo'unga when his racing days are over, but Fung and McGrath have also been prepared to do stallion deals with other farms where necessary as evidenced by the likes of Farnan, Prague and Anders. The first two stand their first seasons at Kia Ora Stud in 2021, while Anders debuts at Widden Stud.
A son of a Champion
As McGrath alluded to, Mo'unga's pedigree makes him an intriguing stallion prospect, more broadly as an outcross, but specifically as a son of six-time Champion New Zealand sire Savabeel, who has yet to have produced a clear heir apparent to his proficiency in the stallion barn.
As it stands, there are just two sons of Savabeel at stud in Australia, Cool Aza Beel (NZ), who debuts at Newhaven Park this year, and Addictive Nature, who has served small books in his two seasons. There are also two active sons of Savabeel in New Zealand, Cambridge Stud's Embellish (NZ), whose first yearlings hit the market in 2022, and Norwegian Park's What's The Story (NZ), whose first crop have just turned two.
Savabeel | Standing at Waikato Stud
Savabeel may have eight individual Group 1 winners in Australia, but Mo'unga is the only one who has been an entire, while Cool Aza Beel and Embellish are the only two colts among his 18 Group 1 winners in New Zealand.
The emergence of Mo'unga as an heir to Savabeel's substantial legacy is not lost on Waikato Stud, who stand Savabeel, and who bred Mo'unga.
"There's no doubt that it is a big boost for his prospects as a stallion. We would love for the legacy of Savabeel to continue. As a racehorse, Mo'unga is perfectly poised to do that as a stallion, whenever it may happen," Mark Chittick, Waikato Stud principal, said.
Chittick said the fact that Mo'unga has been able to defeat Australia's leading weight-for-age horse of last season, Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) first-up over 1400 metres in the Winx S. also speaks to the versatility of Savabeel's progeny.
"If you go through Savabeel's numbers and stats, he has left a lot of good milers, and either side of that." - Mark Chittick
"If you go through Savabeel's numbers and stats, he has left a lot of good milers, and either side of that. Out of his 115 stakes winners, he headed towards 20 2-year-old stakes winners, which is quite phenomenal for that sireline," he said.
"It just shows they can go earlier and don’t require to get up over a lot of ground before they show their best."
Mo'unga's victory on Saturday was the 129th stakes win by Savabeel's progeny at 1600 metres or less, while his progeny have won 89 stakes races over distances of further than 1600 metres.
The reward of good families
Through careful planning by the team at Waikato Stud, a wealth of success has been generated from Mo'unga's maternal family.
Going back to his third dam, Seraphic (NZ) (Imposing), there are seven stakes winners on the pedigree page, several of them bred by Waikato Stud, including multiple Group winner Irlanda (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}), who is the sister of Mo'unga's stakes-placed dam, Chandelier (NZ).
"We say it over and over in this game, but those good families keep coming back. Over the last couple of years, there have been some very good horses to come out of this family," Chittick said.
Mark Chittick | Image courtesy of Waikato Stud
"It’s such a typical Waikato family through and through. It's the third generation and he's by Savabeel out of an O'Reilly mare, who is out of a Centaine mare."
Waikato Stud has retained Mo'unga's 2-year-old sister, while his yearling brother is set to be offered through the 2022 sales and will be undoubtedly much anticipated.
"The 2-year-old filly, I’m in the process of naming her Frankie, which is one of Richie Mo'unga's sisters' names," he said.
"Chandelier is due to foal to Super Seth in mid-October. If that all goes well, then we can get back to Savabeel. He's turned 20 now and he's fit and healthy and spot on. He's raring and waiting to get into it next week."
A bit of 'wow factor'
McGrath recalls the impression Mo'unga made as a yearling at Karaka a couple of years ago and said his formative years at Waikato Stud played a major role in the outstanding racehorse he has become.
Mo'unga (NZ) after winning the 2021 G1 Winx S.
"He was a cracking yearling. You have to give credit to Waikato. A huge amount of thought goes into the farm they are coming off when we are buying these horses. I think they had 20 stakes winners last season," he said.
"Every time we looked at him, we loved him more. He had a bit of an aura or wow factor about him. We were drawn to him and while at the end of the day, NZ$325,000 is a lot of money, as it stands, it’s looking like a pretty sound investment."
The challenge for his owners, as well as Neasham, is to determine what spring path Mo'unga will take, with a wealth of options on the table.
"There's options to go to the Makybe Diva, the George Main and the Golden Eagle is there as well. The Cox Plate is also in the mix," McGrath said.
"There's options to go to the Makybe Diva, the George Main and the Golden Eagle is there as well. The Cox Plate is also in the mix." - Shane McGrath
"That's the wonderful thing about Australian racing during carnival time, there are so many options. We are so fortunate to have a horse we can consider for those types of races."
McGrath also paid tribute to the work of Neasham, who claimed her third Group 1 success in just 12 months as a trainer.
"It’s a great endorsement of Annabel's training credentials. We have supported her heavily, as have many other stakeholders in the industry and she's no longer an emerging talent, she's emerged and she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Sydney training ranks for the next 30 years," he said.
McGrath said All Blacks fly-half Richie Mo'unga, who was brought into the horse after it was named after him, is thoroughly enjoying the ownership journey, with a portion of his winnings going to the Child Cancer Foundation, of which he is a patron.
"You can have a lot of success, but it's nice to be able to give something back. Richie was delighted as well and was cheering him on," McGrath said.
