Bob Hannon is one of those small-time breeders that rolls in big-time success. Ascot Park is his farm on the northwest outskirts of Sydney, flanking the Hawkesbury River, and from it has come the likes of Shamus Award, Cosmic Force and Shaquero (Shalaa {Ire}).
Bob Hannon
Across 20 years, Hannon has had horses in Golden Slippers and Gosford maidens, and he’s sold yearlings in premier catalogues and highway sessions. He’s had good seasons and bad, and the last 12 months have been especially interesting.
As Shaquero propelled himself into 2-year-old brilliance about this time last year, Ascot Park was staring down a one in 100-year flood event. A volume of water equivalent to Sydney Harbour was tipping over the wall of Warragamba Dam in the farm’s direction.
Hannon and his farm managers, Danny and Amy Kerr, were just weeks away from presenting a draft at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and, in a big hurry, they evacuated most of their 28 horses to Yarraman Park, with a handful joining Hannon at his home in Glenorie.
Shaquero (blue cap) | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“It took us some time to get the place right again,” Hannon said, speaking to TDN AusNZ this week. “The water was up over the barn. It was just a sea of water out there. We lost quite a lot of the fences and the pastures were destroyed, but there was a bonus to it all too.”
At the time, it was hard to imagine any upside to the catastrophic flood that had besieged Ascot Park. Nevertheless, nearly a year on, Hannon said the silt and alluvial deposition that occurred across his property as the Hawkesbury receded has been incredible.
“Water was lying around for a long time, but it took about three or four days for the bulk of it to recede,” he said. “And after that we were able to sow new pastures and fix the fences, and now the place has never looked better.”
Upside after the chaos
Ascot Park is sat on the low-lying, wide bends of the Hawkesbury near Pitt Town. It’s fertile country but, as Hannon discovered last year, it comes with a price.
He said the rule of thumb was that catastrophic floods occurred every 30 years, but through 2020 and 2021 the farm was underwater on two separate occasions.
“It was probably 30 years before the flood in 2020, and this other one last year hit us too and it was devastating,” Hannon said
Ascot Park in March 2021 | Image courtesy of Ascot Park
However, it didn’t occur to him that he should move his horse farm, and it certainly hasn’t occurred to him in the months since.
“I’m too set in my ways I think, and I’m too old to move now,” he said. “We’ve been there nearly 20 years and we’ve had a good time. We’ve produced unbelievable results off the farm so we just roll with the punches and get on with it.”
“We’ve produced unbelievable results off the farm so we just roll with the punches and get on with it.” - Bob Hannon
Hannon’s stoicism is part of who he is. During the floods last year, in-hand with the Kerrs, it was part of the reason why the farm was up and on its feet again in no time. Fences sprung up and new pastures were sown.
While floodplains are heavily devastated at the time of events, later on there is significant upside. Pollutants are often filtered out of soils and carried away, and groundwater can be recharged. Nutrients and sediments settle on floodplain soils, and Ascot Park is looking particularly green and lush on the other side of last year’s devastation.
“Our runners to winners ratio is about 87 per cent, which is amazing, and I think this will even make them go faster,” Hannon said, bemused.
Business as usual
Through last year, the farm's collection of horses moved back to Ascot Park after the flood.
The more valuable mares, who were in foal and evacuated to Yarraman Park, stayed in the Hunter Valley to foal down and breed before returning in recent weeks.
“We brought the dry mares back fairly quickly, but we left all the others at Yarraman to foal and be served again before bringing them back down,” Hannon said. “We didn’t want to be sending them down and then back up again, so it’s only in the last four or five weeks that we’ve had them all back home.”
Ascot Park in May 2021 | Image courtesy of Ascot Park
The obvious question after the floods was if the evacuation affected the farm’s spring breeding plans, but Hannon said it was business as usual.
“It didn’t affect us in that respect,” he said. “We got 12 foals on the ground this spring, which is about normal for us. We have about 16 mares with a couple of other old and difficult ones, which is all about normal in breeding. We got into the stallions we wanted and it all ended up working out very well. We’ve got about a dozen in foal right now.”
Half to Cosmic Force
This week, Ascot Park has a concise draft of two to sell at the Inglis Classic Sale. The pair of horses is the last of the farm’s 2022 yearlings, with four sold at Magic Millions last month.
“With these two this week and the four on the Gold Coast, plus I normally keep a filly or two each year, that’s about a normal number for us,” Hannon said. “We’re a bit lower on numbers this year in terms of sales, but the long-term plan is to continue these beautiful families I’ve got, so that means keeping the fillies.”
“We’re a bit lower on numbers this year in terms of sales, but the long-term plan is to continue these beautiful families I’ve got, so that means keeping the fillies.” - Bob Hannon
One such family is that of Lot 26 in this week’s Classic Sale. It’s a colt by Deep Field from the excellent producer Little Zeta (Commands).
Lot 26 is a full brother to the Newgate stallion Cosmic Force, and he’s also a half-brother to the Group 3-winning, Group-placed filly Onemorezeta (Onemorenomore).
Lot 26 - Deep Field x Little Zeta (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
“This fellow was a bit of a late foal and late to mature, but he’s grown into a beautiful colt,” Hannon said. “Danny and Amy have been very happy with him, and they think he’s very similar to what Cosmic Force was at the same age. He might have a bit more growing to do, so he just wasn’t the early maturing type for the Magic Millions.”
The blood of this family runs deep through Ascot Park.
Cosmic Force was sold by the farm at this Sale in 2018, heading to China Horse Club, Newgate Farm and WinStar for $180,000. He’s now a young sire at Newgate with two big books behind him.
Cosmic Force when racing | Standing at Newgate Farm
Onemorezeta was retained by Hannon and, until her passing in November last year, she produced four foals. She died while foaling a Deep Field colt (which survived to be fostered out), and her loss was devastating for Hannon, albeit he has her first foal, a 2018 filly called Zetarita (Capitalist).
Hannon also has Little Zeta’s 2019 filly, Razeta (Deep Field), a full sibling to Cosmic Force, and her latest filly, a Capitalist youngster, will also be retained to grow the family.
Of Lot 26, the studmaster said he’s keen to see how the colt flourishes.
“He’s a very sharp horse and he’s got a very good brain on him,” Hannon said. “He’ll furnish into a nice horse and his conformation is hard to fault. He’s still got growing to do but that’s not against him.”
“He’s (Lot 26) a very sharp horse and he’s got a very good brain on him, he’ll furnish into a nice horse and his conformation is hard to fault. He’s still got growing to do but that’s not against him.” - Bob Hannon
Hannon added that he’s still in raptures about the pedigree in this family, right back to More Than Great, a son of More Than Ready (USA) through Great Temptation (Luskin Star).
“More Than Great held the track record there at Randwick for quite a number of years when he beat So You Think in the Ming Dynasty,” he said. “And Zetarita is going around next week in the Light Fingers. Kris Lees has got her and he’s got a big opinion of her.”
Good buying
Whipping in the pair of Classic colts for Ascot Park is Lot 705, a Rubick yearling from the Kheleyf (USA) mare Radiant Angel. This is the same family as General Beau (Brazen Beau), who was a very hot Blue Diamond prospect last season.
Lot 705 - Rubick x Radiant Angel (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Lot 705 is a half-brother to the recent Sydney winner Irish Angel (Not A Single Doubt), and he's also a half-brother to the once-promising Hot ‘N’ Hazy (Snitzel), who died in a Rosehill handicap two years ago in a mid-race accident which severely injured his jockey, Andrew Adkins.
“This colt shouldn’t be in that part of the Sale, but that’s how it goes,” Hannon said of Lot 705. “I think they had so many nominations and Rubick was a bit off the boil, but this colt has grown into a bloody nice horse. He’s a big, strong sort, scopey with a good brain, and he’s too good for that Sale, but we deal with the cards that we’re dealt.”
“He’s (Lot 705) a big, strong sort, scopey with a good brain, and he’s too good for that Sale, but we deal with the cards that we’re dealt.” - Bob Hannon
Hannon said Irish Angel, the half-sister to this colt, will go around on Saturday at Randwick for Chris Waller in Race 9, and they’re hopeful of black type with her down the track.
“The way she’s racing, she will get it,” Hannon said. “And Hot ‘N’ Hazy could have been anything. This mare has had only three to race, and the other one by Winning Rupert (a filly called Loving Angel) can gallop too, they tell me. So we’re building this family up too and I’m sure it’s going to kick on.”
