Segenhoe stars taking centre stage in spring

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

There aren’t too many busier times at a farm like Segenhoe than the end of September, with foals arriving, mares heading off for service, while on the track, their graduates off the farm are looking to build their records in stakes races across the country.

While Segenhoe has built an enviable reputation as a nursery of star racehorses over the years, the joy of stakes success doesn't diminish for O'Brien, who cheered home Vangelic's (Vancouver) stakes breakthrough in the G2 Golden Pendant at Rosehill and Queen Of Dubai's (Pride Of Dubai) victory in the Listed Jim Moloney S. at Sandown.

Vangelic, bred by Segenhoe and sold for $400,000 to her trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott as a yearling through its draft at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, had been placed five times in stakes company before her victory on Saturday.

Queen Of Dubai became the 12th global stakes winner for Pride Of Dubai, but the first to be bred by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also bred her sire. She was foaled and raised at Segenhoe, with Waterhouse and Bott paying $500,000, the highest price yet for a filly by the sire, at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

"Queen Of Dubai was a good-looking a yearling as you would see. It’s no surprise to anyone here that she was going to be a stakes winner," O'Brien told TDN AusNZ. "Vangelic was an absolute queen of a yearling also and she has been knocking on the door and got her just desserts.

"We were all delighted because we all had something on both of them and both were a bit of a price, so it was a happy farm here on Saturday evening."

Angel's legacy

There was added poignancy in Vangelic's win, given Segenhoe lost her dam, Angel Bee (NZ) (Pins), after she foaled a Written Tycoon colt last year.

"It was a tragedy really, she was a beautiful mare," O'Brien said. "The Written Tycoon is a beautiful colt. He's a lovely scopey horse with a terrific action.

"Angel Bee had a beautiful action and she has passed that on to all her foals. He's a typical Written Tycoon, whereby, he's got a ton of scope, so we will go to Easter with him to get him to fill out."

Segenhoe also remains connected to the family through Vangelic's half-sister Isa Rocket (Fastnet Rock), who won one of her seven starts on the track and is now embarking on a breeding career.

"She's named after Kevin and Lesley's (Maloney) granddaughter and she is due to foal in about two weeks to Shalaa, and she is then going to Wootton Bassett," he said.

"We lost Angel Bee as a young mare but at least we have one of her daughters to breed on with."

Dubai double delight

Also headed to Coolmore's new stallion Wootton Bassett (GB) this season is Jezzabba (Fastnet Rock), the dam of Queen Of Dubai.

Jezzabba, a daughter of Group 1-winning mare Piavonic (Scenic {Ire}), has already produced a stakes placegetter in Dubai Star (Pride Of Dubai), who was purchased for $340,000 by James Bester at this year's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, and now has a stakes winner by the same sire.

"Sheikh Khalifa has Jezzabba here on the farm and we have a yearling full sister to Queen Of Dubai, who is as good-looking as what she is. Jezzabba is just one of those mares that you could send her anywhere and she'd throw a good horse," O'Brien said.

Her Snitzel filly sold for $280,000 through the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale to Snowden Racing and reports on her are also very strong according to O'Brien, who is also very pleased with the Pride Of Dubai colt that Jezzabba has produced this spring.

Segenhoe pride in Merchant Navy

Pride Of Dubai is a stallion whose progeny O'Brien has charted very closely, with the son of Street Cry (Ire) having been foaled and raised on the farm. It’s a similar story for another Coolmore stallion, Merchant Navy, whose first runners are set to the hit to track this season.

Segenhoe had 24 of Merchant Navy's first crop on the farm, including impressive recent trial winner, Drisana, who was sold through the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale in 2020, and is set to line up as one of the leading chances for the Snowdens in Saturday's G3 Gimcrack S.

"She was a beautiful weanling. She wasn't big, so we thought it was an opportune time to sell her as part of the first crop of Merchants as a weanling. But she always had a ton of quality. Just looking at the footage of her winning that trial, she has definitely lengthened. She did it really well," O'Brien said.

O'Brien admits he was a little surprised to see multiple members of Merchant Navy's first crop show up at the recent 2-year-old trials. Merchant Navy didn't debut until an autumn 2-year-old himself, while the immediate feedback after the yearling sales season didn't suggest his progeny would be super forward in their development.

"He's close to my heart, Merchant Navy, but they didn't set the sales ring alight, there's no point in hiding from that," he said.

"We had more of them than anyone else, with 24 of them on our farm from that first crop. A lot of them had that short-backed Snippets look about them. They did look precocious, but I am surprised that they are pre-Christmas."

What O'Brien has been hearing from trainers is that they are horses who love the stable environment and have thrived.

"I've just never had such consistent positive feedback from trainers about a stallion. The constant feedback we have been getting is that they are a bit non-descript when they come in and they just thrive on work. They are tough, have great minds and are great eaters," he said.

"The last time I heard words like that about a stallion were from Lee Freedman, with the first crop of Danehill. Danehill's first crop, I was here with them, and people said they were big, ugly, back at the knee and there was a lot of negativity about them. They didn't sell well and out they came and performed.

"Snitzel was similar. But once they come out and perform, people realise that's what they are and then they make their money in the ring."

Comparison to Champion stallions of the ilk of Danehill (USA) and Snitzel may seem a little premature given Merchant Navy is yet to have a runner, but O'Brien insists that at $33,000 (inc GST) this year, the son of Fastnet Rock is the best value stallion in the Hunter Valley.

Emperor's new name

Another 2-year-old with connections to Merchant Navy could be set to debut in the G3 Breeders' Plate. Emperor (I Am Invincible), who won a trial under the name Genghis Khan at Randwick last week, is out of Merchant Navy' sister Jolie Bay.

If he should debut for Matthew Dunn on Saturday, he will carry the colours of breeders Chris and Jane Barham, who remained involved in the ownership, along with O'Brien, after he sold for $460,000 to Dunn and his bloodstock advisor Neil Jenkinson at this year's Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

"Emperor had a wound on his leg at Easter and so he would have made a lot more money. He came back to us for a month, and wasn't broken in until after then," O'Brien said.

"He then had three weeks in the paddock and then came back in, so it’s only his second prep. He has a ton of natural ability and he has very much thrown to the female side of the family, which is speed.

"He reminds me a lot of his half-brother (stakes-placed) God Of Thunder as a yearling. The whole family is speed and it wouldn't surprise me to see him as a 1000-metre to 1100-metre racehorse down the track."

Calm before the storm

The third Segenhoe graduate who could feature on Saturday is the Annabel Neasham-trained Wild Calm (American Pharoah {USA}), who was purchased by her trainer in combination with Raphie Bloodstock for $350,000 at this year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

She trialled very well, finishing hard behind Coolangatta (Written Tycoon) at Randwick last week and is set to take on the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained filly again in the Gimcrack.

"The American Pharoah filly, I think she could be very special," O'Brien said. "Annabel has a big opinion of her. I was set to have a piece of her and I pulled out and Annabel has been sending me messages all a long saying I should have taken the share.

"She had such a great action as a yearling. She could be a beautiful miler."

Wild Calm is out of Koonoomoo (Dubleo {USA}), who has already produced a stakes performer in Maurice (Jpn) filly Morioka.

"We all have our different things we look for. Action is a big thing for me. When you see then tearing around the paddock all their lives, it gives you a head start and in fairness to Annabel, she has always loved her and I think she’ll be a good one," O'Brien said.