The 'Art' of breeding a Group 1 winner

Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

The greatest enjoyment that Greg Perry gets from his various involvements in the thoroughbred game is when a family he has pioneered and persevered with ends up producing a star, and so when Artorius won the G1 Blue Diamond S. this year, it was a particularly satisfying result.

Perry has retained a share in the colt who was initially purchased by Anthony Freedman and Blue Sky Bloodstock (FBAA) for $120,000 through the Vinery Stud draft at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

For Perry, his ownership is as much about keeping close tabs on a family whose mare matings he has worked very hard on, ever since purchasing Artorius' grandam Grace And Power (USA) (More Than Ready {USA}) out of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in 2009.

"I like to develop families as a breeder. That's what drives me. I get great intellectual enjoyment out of building these families up. It’s nice to keep an eye on them," he told TDN AusNZ.

"I have followed horses for 40 or 50 years and have always had an interest in overseas horses. I had a close relationship with the late Steve Brem, and Steve was going over to America in 2009. We went through the catalogue one day and he came up with a horse from Grace And Power's family that was by Distorted Humor, and I wasn't too keen on him as a sire.

"I went through the catalogue further and found a mare from the same family called Grace And Power. She was by More Than Ready, and as a shareholder in Vinery, he was close to my heart."

Perry's prowess with pedigrees is well known and any conversation with him quickly dives deep into family history. It is no exception when talking about Artorius' family.

"I was familiar with Allez France, who was a champion race mare. Grace And Power's third dam was a Secretariat half-sister to Allez France. I was very interested in that family," he said.

"I then looked at Grace And Power's tapes from her races. She was able to perform well as a 2-year-old on the turf and then went on to run second in the G1 Hollywood Starlet S. on the dirt.

"I shut my eyes and bid on her and we got her."

Offered in foal to Giant's Causeway (USA), she was a US$700,000 (AU$968,000) purchase from the draft of Denali Stud. The resultant filly, Pocket Power (USA), was foaled in the United States and began her racing career there before following her dam to Australia, eventually winning a race for Brett Cavanough under Perry's ownership.

A perfect start in Australia

Grace And Power's first Australian mating was to prove highly successful, producing a Group 1 winner in Delectation (Shamardal {USA}).

"I had watched Shamardal win with Kerrin McEvoy on board at Royal Ascot, a few years earlier, when it was at York. I fell in love with him and was determined to send Grace And Power to Shamardal and we got Delectation. He ended up being a Group 1 winner," Perry said.

Delectation had been sold for $250,000 at the 2013 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale to CC Lai.

It was the perfect start to Grace And Power's breeding career in Australia, but thoroughbred breeding is rarely straightforward.

"She has been a nightmare in the breeding barn ever since. Gracie's Lass, who is Artorius' dam, was born premature and she was never going to get to the track. She was a nice bodied filly, but she had short legs," he said.

"Then she got in foal with twins to Redoute's and we lost them and she also lost a foal by Exceed And Excel."

Looking for inbreeding to influential broodmare Searching (USA) (War Admiral {USA}), Perry also sent Grace And Power to Vinery Stud resident Congrats (USA), producing a filly, La Sevena.

"I sent her to Chris Waller but she didn't like stable life and wouldn't eat when in the stable. Tim Boland told me she is pretty much a female version of Delectation, so I am breeding with her," he said.

Grace And Power has continued to have problems getting in foal and Perry sent her to Angus McKinnon at Goulburn Valley Equine to try and resolve her issues. She produced a Street Boss (USA) colt called Street Power who broke his maiden for Cavanough last December, the she was able to produce a filly to Fighting Sun in 2019.

"I went to Fighting Sun because I quite like 4 x Fappiano which gave me that. She's a filly who is a bit hot like the rest of the family, but she's like Delectation in looks. She's a 2-year-old in pre-training with Tim Boland up at Wyong," Perry said.

Grace And Power has missed the past two seasons, despite multiple attempts, but Perry will persist with her, going to Written Tycoon at Yulong this spring.

The next generation

Her Redoute's Choice daughter, Gracie's Lass, has encountered no such problems. Her first foal, Onemorechoice (Onemorenomore), another one bred with a double dose of a star mare in mind, in this case La Troienne (Fr) (Teddy {Fr}), has won four races.

"The Onemorenomore was a nice horse and so I decided to breed up a bit. I sent Gracie's Lass to I Am Invincible and got a filly out of her. She's a beautiful-bodied filly," Perry said.

Named Mhaille, the half-sister to Artorius never made it to the track but has been mated with Newgate stallion Capitalist this spring.

For Gracie's Lass' next mating, Perry took a shot at a first-season sire, Flying Artie.

"It was a nice mating on paper. I always liked him as a racehorse. I kept looking at this win in the Coolmore as well as his run when second in the Blue Diamond and I rolled the dice there and sent Gracie's Lass to Flying Artie," he said.

The result was the second Group 1 winner in two generations from Grace And Power, a resounding success for any breeder.

Gracie's Lass produced a Written Tycoon colt last year and is due to foal to Deep Field on October 1. She is then booked on a return date to Newgate Flying Artie.

Doubling up

A second Group 1 success to Artorius on Saturday would be a further boost for the burgeoning family.

"I'm very hopeful. I thought his first-up run was excellent at Caulfield. He wasn't fully wound up. Last time at Flemington, I thought it was an encouraging run," Perry said.

"He should enjoy the 1400 metres on Saturday. Rosehill is a bit of an unknown as he got lost around there in the Slipper. He's a fairly headstrong horse. But I'd be disappointed if he's not powering home."