Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
For the Darley Australia stallions at Victoria’s Northwood Park, late summer has taken on a relaxed, restive rhythm. The breeding season is over and the shuttlers are gone, leaving behind just Impending, Kermadec (NZ), Holler and Brazen Beau.
For first-season sire Impending, there was cause for cheer this week when the son of Lonhro got his first winner. It came at Sandown in the shape of 2-year-old Sir Bailey, who also happened to be the first foal from the triple Group 1-winner Jameka.
Sir Bailey is among a 118-strong first crop of horses for Impending, who has seen 14 get to the track so far.
They’ve included the Godolphin fillies Moko, who was third to Ebhaar (I Am Invincible) in the Listed Merson Cooper S. in November, and Kin, who has raced twice for two placings. There was also the Tasmanian gelding Bold Instinct, who was third in Hobart last month and runs again in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic this Sunday at Launceston.
Bold Instinct topped the Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale last year when selling from Armidale Stud to CRT Racing for $150,000.
By the numbers
It’s been a sound beginning for Impending.
The stallion has covered four books of substantial numbers. He got 186 mares in his debut season, a further 177 and 146 in the following seasons, and then 141 last spring, and his yearling sale results have been more than respectable.
Impending | Standing at Darley
Impending’s highest-priced youngster to date is a $250,000 filly from the 2021 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale, a chestnut that sold to Anthony Ottobre from the draft of Armidale Stud.
His best-priced colt was sold at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, a $240,000 purchase for the Hawkes team from Corumbene Stud.
Across all sales in 2021, Impending’s yearlings averaged a tick over $80,000, which was a decent return against his service fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
Across all sales in 2021, Impending’s yearlings averaged a tick over $80,000, which wasn’t bad against his service fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
This year, the stallion got seven six-figure yearlings at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, headed by the $200,000 Kia Ora filly that went to Griffiths de Kock Racing, Peter Ford (FBAA) and Heywood Bloodstock.
At the Inglis Classic Sale just gone, the horse’s top-priced yearling was the $65,000 Newhaven Park filly that went to Beasy Racing.
Gallery: Impending's highest-priced yearlings
Impending has 22 youngsters in the catalogue for the upcoming Inglis Premier Yearling Sale next week, a single colt at the Magic Millions Tasmanian Sale, and another 14 for the Magic Millions event in Adelaide.
A dream result
Impending retired from an 18-race career in June 2018.
He’d won $2.4 million and five races that included the G1 Stradbroke H., G1 Kingsford-Smith Cup and a pair of Group 2s, namely the Stan Fox S. at Rosehill. He was third to Astern in the G1 Golden Rose.
He was a horse that had trained on through John O’Shea, Darren Beadman and James Cummings, somewhat better as a late 2-year-old and then a three- and 4-year-old.
Impending when racing | Image courtesy of Sportpix
As far as his pedigree went, Impending headed to stud as a son of Lonhro from the Encosta De Lago mare Mnemosyne. He was a half-brother to the Group 3 winner Forget (Exceed And Excel), and a full brother to the Queensland Listed winner Epidemic.
Mnemosyne herself was brilliantly performed, a winner of the G1 Thousand Guineas and G1 Queen of the Turf S., along with the G2 Tea Rose S., G2 Furious S. and G3 Silver Shadow S. She has the dam line of the 1981 triple Group 1 winner Full On Aces (Kaoru Star), who foaled no less than six stakes winners for 14 stakes wins in a staggering career.
At stud, Impending represents an ideal outcross because on both lines he is free of Danehill (USA).
Mnemosyne when racing | Image courtesy of Sportpix
According to Andy Makiv, head of sales for Godolphin Australia and who’s been involved with Impending right from the start, this is a significant uptick.
“It’s certainly a great fact about him,” Makiv said. “He’s by a Champion stallion and out of a Champion race mare who was by a Champion stallion, so his pedigree is outstanding anyway. But his being free of Danehill is something that a lot of the industry seeks these days.”
Makiv said that Impending had been a perfect result for the Godolphin operation.
“From our point of view, to own a stallion like Lonhro and to own a mare like Mnemosyne, then to put them together and get a dual Group 1 winner that looks and moves like Impending, it’s the dream result of what we’re in business to do,” he said. “For us, as a racing-stallion operation, he is exactly what we’re trying to produce.”
“For us (Godolphin), as a racing-stallion operation, he (Impending) is exactly what we’re trying to produce.” - Andy Makiv
Darley sold lifetime breeding rights in Impending, and they’re held by some of the elite breeders around Australia. That bodes well for the young stallion, who has kept up stout books for four seasons.
Autumn beckons
As a first-season sire on the track and a second-season sire in the sale rings, Impending is sitting comfortably according to Makiv.
“He’s in pretty good shape,” he said. “The word out there is that they’ve got a lot of talent.”
Impending didn’t get to the races until April of his 2-year-old season winning impressively first-up at Rosehill. As such, he was a late juvenile and a better three and 4-year-old. Makiv said his expectation was that autumn track results would help move things along next breeding season.
Andy Makiv, Vin Cox and Alastair Pulford | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
“I’m anticipating I’ll have a pretty easy time selling nominations in him later this year because I think he’ll have a very good April, May and June,” Makiv said. “I think they (the progeny) will be a little bit later, but I don’t think many people bought them thinking they’d be winning those early 2-year-old races.
“They’re strong-topped horses and they’re very good yearlings, which I think adds a lot to his overall profile.”
The Gilgai touch
In a way, Jameka’s colt, Sir Bailey, was a good example of this at Sandown on Wednesday. Carrying Jamie Kah, he won by 1.25l, but there’s more to come.
“He oozes talent, but I think blind Freddie could work out that he’s going to be better later on,” Makiv said.
Sir Bailey winning at Sandown
The story behind Sir Bailey comes with a fair bit of personal pride for Makiv.
For 15 years he’s managed the bloodstock interests of Colin and Janice McKenna (of Halo Racing), in whose colours both Jameka and Sir Bailey raced. He considers the McKennas important friends, so when they opted for Impending it pleased everyone, especially Makiv.
“To get the great mare, a triple Group 1 winner, to go to our Group 1-winning stallion, and to produce that first-up, was pretty exciting,” Makiv said. “And it’s got a bit more of a story to it too.”
“To get the great mare (Jameka), a triple Group 1 winner, to go to our Group 1-winning stallion (Impending), and to produce that (Sir Bailey) first-up, was pretty exciting.” - Andy Makiv
Jameka was bred by Rick Jamieson and she returned to Gilgai Farm as a broodmare. The McKennas asked Jamieson to select a stallion for her in her very first season, and Jamieson chose Impending above all others.
“That pleased me tremendously because I work for Darley and I love Impending,” Makiv said. “But having an elite breeder like Rick choose the horse was also special, and Colin, Janice and myself all listened and the result is Sir Bailey.
“Hopefully this triple Group 1-winning mare and this dual Group 1-winning stallion can produce a Group 1-winning son.”
