Rosemont Stud has made no secret of its rising ambitions over the past couple of years, spending up big at bloodstock sales around Australia, either under its own name or in partnership, and laying down a plan to take the Victorian breeding operation to a new level.
That plan was formulated by Rosemont owner Nigel Austin and Principal Anthony Mithen soon after the arrival of Ryan McEvoy as Rosemont's General Manager - Bloodstock, and saw the three men commit to an ambitious undertaking aimed at making it one of the biggest players in Australia.
Anthony Mithen
The success of Austin's burgeoning retail businesses ensured the capital investment was in place, with the three men spearheading an ambitious strategy that harnesses Austin's business acumen, Mithen's vision and drive and McEvoy's bloodstock expertise.
The strategy is multi-faceted, but one of the key outcomes they were searching for was to see the iconic colours in more of Australia's top races.
In Saturday's G1 Blue Diamond S. the 'gatecrasher', a stylised lion design, will feature with three runners, while Rosemont also had Minhaaj (Exceed And Exceed) in the G1 Oakleigh Plate on the same Caulfield card.
The presence of the Rosemont-bred and part-owned Rampant Lion (Frankel {GB}) and Counttheheadlights (I Am Invincible), and the colt Hafey (I Am Invincible), owned by the Rosemont-led Victorian Alliance, in Victoria's richest 2-year-old race, ticks a key box in what the farm wants to achieve.
Gallery: The three Rosemont-owned G1 Blue Diamond S. runners as yearlings
"We sat down a couple of years ago and spoke about the direction we want to go and plot a path. The first thing was a roadmap toward having more representation with the racing team in feature races," McEvoy told TDN AusNZ.
"We sat down a couple of years ago and spoke about the direction we want to go and plot a path. The first thing was a roadmap toward having more representation with the racing team in feature races." - Ryan McEvoy
"That was to coincide with strengthening the quality of the broodmare band and the quality of the stock in general at the farm."
The Rosemont motto is 'Be Brave' and McEvoy says there was a real element of that approach with the three colts running on Saturday.
Ryan McEvoy
"Anthony and Nigel's philosophy has always been 'keep looking to the future' and to be long-term thinkers and really visionary in their outlook. We unashamedly get a kick out of watching the 'gatecrasher' run around."
A Diamond trio of star colts
The three G1 Blue Diamond S. runners all have found their way into the Rosemont colours in different ways.
"Counttheheadlights is a horse that we are really proud of. He was one, if not our top-rated colt off the farm, born, bred and raised on Rosemont and went to the Magic Millions," he said.
"Ciaron Maher bought him and we were keen to stay involved in him and it was great to do that. He's a really exciting talent. I suspect he might end up being a 1200-metre to 1400-metre horse. I can see him hitting the line tomorrow really heard and having a flashing light on him from a Sires' point of view."
Counttheheadlights
Hafey, purchased for $525,000 at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale from the draft of Coolmore, will carry the blue armbands of the Victorian Alliance and looks a colt capable of significant improvement off his 3.75l win at Bendigo on debut.
"Hafey is probably the X-factor. He's a horse that Ciaron and the stable feel is pretty special. He goes into a really high-pressure race tomorrow off a really low-pressure race, so that is probably the question mark," McEvoy said.
"Hafey is probably the X-factor. He's a horse that Ciaron (Maher) and the stable feel is pretty special." - Ryan McEvoy
"I don’t think the question mark is on his talent and he's an exciting horse. We are really proud, as a first-year venture of the Victorian Alliance, that a colt of his quality can represent us tomorrow, and all the partners are excited, as are we."
Rampant Lion is arguably the most intriguing of the trio, as a high-profile son of Frankel (GB), who was bred by Rosemont, passed in through the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and retained in partnership with Wylie Dalziel/Roy Higgins Racing with Peter Moody to train.
"A horse doing what he is doing, being by Frankel, showing the speed he is showing at his trials and jump-outs and at his two starts to date over five furlongs is a very exciting propect," McEvoy said.
Rampant Lion
"I know how highly Peter thinks of the horse. He's a little guarded ahead of tomorrow as he feels the horse will be a really dynamite 3-year-old, Golden Rose/Guineas-type horse in the spring.
"He hasn't given us any inclination that he has had enough and ultimately he is happy to saddle the horse up, knowing he's a live chance and is a good colt. It's an exciting prospect to think of a Blue Diamond-winning son of Frankel."
"It's an exciting prospect to think of a Blue Diamond-winning son of Frankel." - Ryan McEvoy
A win by any of the trio would assure them future status as a stallion at Rosemont Stud, further justifying Rosemont's bold strategy.
Tactically flexible
While determined to implement its plan, Rosemont is not fixed in its tactical approach. Minhaaj (Exceed And Excel), who contests the Oakleigh Plate, is an excellent example of that, having been purchased for $1.8 million at last year's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The initial intention was her immediate passage to the broodmare barn, but she showed enough to suggest she may be worth persisting with at the racetrack and she then came out and won two Group 3 races during the spring carnival in the 'gatecrasher' colours for new trainer John O'Shea.
Minhaaj
"She's a by-product of that decision we made. We were strong on a number of those nice mares on the Gold Coast with a view to strengthening the quality of the broodmare band," he said.
"We gave her a spin with John. She is a gun fresh mare. She's done a great job. She's had two Group wins and a faultless prep this time in. She has trialled up super. We are excited about her too."
"She's (Minhaaj) done a great job. She's had two Group wins and a faultless prep this time in. She has trialled up super. We are excited about her too." - Ryan McEvoy
Rosemont recently bought Group 1-winning mare Bella Vella (Commands), a mare they paid $1.9 million at the same Gold Coast Sale, out of retirement after she failed to get in foal, in another example of their willingness to adapt a strategy.
"That's always been the ethos. Anthony has always been inclined to be a bit left field, think outside the square and I think that has held them in good stead. Nige is clearly a very entrepreneurial guy. They work really well together and the overall philosophy is 'be brave and be disciplined in the approach and strategy'," McEvoy said.
'The Woodlands model'
Another key plank of the strategy will see Rosemont retain the majority of the stock bred by itself. It will still sell through the sales client horses and those bred in partnership, but the core plan revolves around a long-term retention of the best stock.
"There's an appetite to want to get into a position where we are producing our own elite future-broodmare and stallion prospects organically by breeding and raising them on the farm, then to the racetrack and back to Rosemont," he said.
The Ingham family's Woodlands Stud operation, which dominated Australian racing in the 1990s and 2000s, and whose impact is felt through pedigrees to this day, is a model which McEvoy says has been discussed by Rosemont as a long-term vision.
"They were so successful for so many years, producing elite fillies from the track into their broodmare band. They had a great system where they were producing a stallion prospect every year," he said.
"They (Ingham family's Woodlands) were so successful for so many years, producing elite fillies from the track into their broodmare band. They had a great system, where they were producing a stallion prospect every year." - Ryan McEvoy
"A model like that you could strive for. It’s a lot of work, and a lot of luck and a lot of effort to approach what they have. But it's a model that is a reference within our organisation as something to be ambitious for."
Selling at home
In the short-term, Rosemont has a draft of 18 yearlings to sell at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, which starts on Sunday.
"Inspections have been great, I couldn't be happier with the general enthusiasm. You walk in this morning (Friday) and think today is the day where you need to be busy and the right people are coming back," McEvoy said.
"We have a lot of variety in the draft, we won't have the Sale-topper I wouldn’t think, and we won't break any records, but our horses all certainly fall in that middle market."
There are representatives of 13 sires, including three by Toronado (Ire) and two by Contributer (Ire) and Dundeel (NZ) as well as two from the first Victorian-conceived crop of Rosemont resident Shamus Award.
"There are Shamus Award colts (Lots 209 and 226) that are going to make into beautiful back-end 2-year-olds/3-year olds and there's a Written By colt (Lot 224) that looks sharp. There's also a Capitalist filly (Lot 530) that looks sharp," McEvoy said.
"There are two Dundeels (Lot 274 and 597) that look great 2-year-olds and 3-year olds. I'm really looking forward to Sunday to see how it pans out."
What is also aiding the anticipation is the fact that the yearling market is continuing to scale record heights.
"This Sale has been an historically unbelievable source of high-quality horses that have fallen in the middle market," McEvoy said.
"Those that may have missed out on the Gold Coast and at Classic, this might be one of the last opportunities to land on a good-quality horse without having to compete at the really pointy end come Easter."
"Those that may have missed out on the Gold Coast and at Classic, this might be one of the last opportunities to land on a good-quality horse without having to compete at the really pointy end come Easter." - Ryan McEvoy
McEvoy said that despite the homebred strategy for those horses bred by Rosemont, he expects the farm to be a presence at yearling sales like Premier for years to come.
"We will certainly retain the majority of yearlings that we breed ourselves. However, both Anthony and Nigel own a lot of horses in partnerships with clients which we will be selling," he said.
"We have a number of clients who we sell for on their behalf and we are excited about doing that. Our numbers will be slightly reduced, but we will still be here."
