Cover image courtesy of Aquis Farm
It’s been just six years since Aquis Farm settled in Australia, and the Canungra-based breeding outfit is on the verge of its busiest season yet. On Wednesday, the farm announced its stallion roster for the upcoming spring, and it’s a robust lineup of 17 sires.
They are headlined by the rising star Pierata, whose fee is unchanged at $44,000 (inc GST). Last season, the Group 1-winning Pierata was the most expensive stallion in Queensland by service fee, and one of the busiest.
He will be joined this spring by fellow headliners Brave Smash (Jpn) and Invader, while Aquis Farm has announced in recent weeks the addition of both Jonker and Glenfiddich.
“I think both of our new stallions bring something to the roster that we didn’t have before,” said Jonathan Davies, Aquis’ director of sales. “Each of them will have their own niche market, and they’ve been well-received so far. I expect both of them will cover really decent books of mares.”
Jonathan Davies | Image courtesy of Aquis
Aquis Farm stood 17 stallions last year too, so on numbers, things are unchanged. The Canungra facility, which is tucked into picturesque country west of the Gold Coast ranges, handles its numbers very well.
“We’ve been doing it for a while now, so it’s just business as usual,” Davies said. “We’ve got two covering barns and prep sheds that run simultaneously, and our stallion crew is headed by Mark Wooldridge. They do a brilliant job, and the feedback last season was nothing short of amazing.
“I don’t think anyone was waiting more than 10 to 20 minutes to have a mare covered, which is testament to the great systems we’ve got in place here.”
The headliner
Leading the roster, Pierata heads into his third season at Aquis Farm with his first weanlings just hitting the sales. For three years, his fee has remained steady at $44,000 (inc GST).
In 2020, the son of Pierro covered 169 mares in his debut season, and last season he met similar numbers with 143. It put him right up there among the busiest stallions in Queensland, behind only Spirit Of Boom, Heroic Valour and Better Than Ready.
Pierata will stand for $44,000 (inc GST)
“Pierata is the ultimate professional,” Davies said. “He’s definitely the headline act here on the farm, and he’s going to show that once again at Magic Millions in a few weeks’ time. We’ve been around to look at all his weanlings heading to the Sale this month, and they’re a great bunch of horses to represent him.”
At the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale last week, Pierata had three youngsters sell for $100,000 and $90,000 respectively. They went to bloodstock agent Sheamus Mills, as well as the UK-based Hannah Wall and Manfred Downs in New South Wales.
“Each of them sold for more than twice the service fee, and I think Pierata will improve on those statistics quite a bit at Magic Millions in the next few weeks, or at least go close,” Davies said.
“Each of them (the Pierata weanlings) sold for more than twice the service fee (at Inglis last week), and I think Pierata will improve on those statistics quite a bit at Magic Millions in the next few weeks, or at least go close.” - Jonathan Davies
Pierata has eight weanlings in the National Sale. They come from such farms as Segenhoe Stud, Yarraman Park, Bhima and Newhaven Park. There are eight colts and eight fillies, all from the first crop of the Aquis resident.
“Breeders have been really positive on him,” Davies said. “Farms like Cressfield, Segenhoe and Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, they’ve all booked multiple mares back to Pierata this season, and it speaks volumes for the quality of foals they have on their properties.”
No reds
On the track, Pierata was an accomplished athlete and a popular Sydney galloper for trainer Greg Hickman. Between 2017 and his retirement in the autumn of 2020, the horse won close to $6 million in earnings.
It was a remarkable effort for Pierata, who consistently ran into the likes of Kementari (Lonhro), Trapeze Artist, Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}) and Redzel (Snitzel). While he was fifth in The Everest, Pierata snatched five Group-race victories, the best of which was the G1 All Aged S., in which he beat Osborne Bulls (Street Cry {Ire}).
Pierata when racing | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Pierata had plenty of tenacity across his 26-race career, and this proven facet to his racing is something that has helped his popularity as a sire.
“We’ve never had any trouble filling his book,” Davies said.
Interestingly, across the 118 live foals that Pierata has put on the ground to date, none have been chestnut. Clearly, the stallion is what genetic experts refer to as ‘homozygous’, where he carries two genes for the same colour.
...across the 118 live foals that Pierata has put on the ground to date, none have been chestnut. Clearly, the stallion is what genetic experts refer to as ‘homozygous’...
“He hasn’t thrown a single chestnut,” Davies said. “It’s something that Steve Morley over there at Glenlogan Park is very excited about. Steve has supported the horse vigorously, and he says it’s just like all the greatest sires... Fastnet Rock, I Am Invincible and Danehill, of course. None of them threw a chestnut either.”
The science behind it is straightforward and, aside from colour, Davies said the Pierata foals have been straightforward too. He describes them with great hips and strong gaskins, as their sire has.
“He’s throwing a really good head on his foals with a kind eye,” Davies added. “They’re just attractive to look at, and they’ve been impressing people all along the way.”
The new kids
In the last fortnight, a bit has been written about the addition of both Jonker and Glenfiddich to the Aquis roster.
At an introductory fee of $16,500 (inc GST), Jonker is the star of the pair, a winner of over $2 million on the racetrack, namely his striking victory last year in the G1 Manikato S. at Moonee Valley.
Jonker is the first son of Spirit Of Boom to retire to stud duties in Australia, and he’s been something of a people’s horse during his career, first with trainer David Atkins and then with Tony Gollan.
“We’re very excited to have Jonker,” Davies said. “He’s a horse that we’ve had our sights on for quite some time, so to have him at Aquis is incredibly exciting. Justin Fung was very keen to stand him, and being a Group 1 winner of a weight-for-age event, he was also a very fast juvenile.”
“We’re very excited to have Jonker. He’s a horse that we’ve had our sights on for quite some time, so to have him at Aquis is incredibly exciting. Justin Fung was very keen to stand him...” - Jonathan Davies
At Doomben in late 2020, Jonker won the Listed Keith Noud H. for Gollan, winding back the record books to post a winning time of 1:07.83. It demolished a 1200-metre track record at Doomben, set by no less than Takeover Target (Celtic Swing {GB}) 15 years before.
“He was a fast horse, he had early speed and he raced on,” Davies said. “He’s a great recipe for success. Not to mention the fact that when we went to inspect Jonker, as soon as we saw him it really sealed the deal. There was no way we were going to let anyone else have him.”
At $8800 (inc GST), Glenfiddich will join Jonker as the new boy in town.
He’s a son of Fastnet Rock and a winner of the G2 Bill Stutt S., a race that boasts on its wall of fame the likes of Pierro, Encosta De Lago, Canny Lad and Zabeel (NZ).
Gallery: New to Aquis Farm's roster in 2022
Glenfiddich was lightly raced, with a conservative 12 starts to his career for two wins and four placings.
Nevertheless, he was smart enough to run second to King’s Legacy in the G1 Champagne S. at Randwick in 2020, and he was third to Behemoth (All Too Hard) in the G1 Memsie S. the same year.
First-crop stars
For Aquis, the 17-strong roster represents ‘promising and proven’. While the farm has its eye on the national industry, accepting mares from all over Australia, it is also loyally Queensland.
“We’re very passionate about the Queensland breeding industry,” Davies said. “Both Justin and Mr Fung consider themselves adopted Queenslanders, but on saying that, we’re not just standing Queensland horses here. We’ve got horses of the quality of Pierata, Brave Smash and Invader, and they’re national-quality stallions.”
Gallery: Other stallions to stand at Aquis in 2022
At $22,000 (inc GST), the Japanese-bred Brave Smash, and Invader, a son of Snitzel, provide immense value among their price points.
Brave Smash has had a slight fee increase from last year’s $16,500 (inc GST), while Invader has remained steady. The latter entered stud in 2018, with Brave Smash joining him a season later.
“Both of these horses have got some great shareholders in them,” Davies said. “Lean Mean Machine too. They’ve been supported all the way through, which is very important in those first few years.”
“Both of these horses (Brave Smash and Invader) have got some great shareholders in them. Lean Mean Machine too. They’ve been supported all the way through, which is very important in those first few years.” - Jonathan Davies
At $17,600 (inc GST), Lean Mean Machine is back to the fee that introduced him to stud in 2019, as is Brave Smash.
“That’s purely off the back of how well their yearlings were received, and how well they sold at the sales,” Davies said. “Their fees are just about reminding breeders of their quality, especially those breeders that supported them in their first seasons and earned a return on their services fees. At these prices, we think these stallions are incredibly good value.”
Brave Smash is one of four Aquis stallions whose first-crop progeny hit the yearling circuit in 2022.
Joining them was the progeny of Lean Mean Machine, Performer (who will stand this season unchanged at $6600 {inc GST}) and Santos, whose fees drops to $6600 (inc GST) from last year’s $13,200 (inc GST).
Gallery: Other stallions to stand at Aquis in 2022
“So many of the yearlings went into good stables,” Davies said. “Lean Mean Machine, in particular, we were very impressed with him. He was the leading first-season sire by average at both the Inglis Classic Sale and the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale, knocking off some pretty big boppers along the way.”
On a Mission
In that double-digit price point, Aquis also has Divine Prophet at $16,500 (inc GST), unchanged from last year, Dubious also unchanged at $13,200 (inc GST), and The Mission, whose $8800 (inc GST) fee has risen slightly to $11,000 (inc GST).
In particular, The Mission has been very loyal to the local market, sitting within the top 10 of 2-year-old sires by winners in Australia this current season. He is equal leader with Russian Revolution on the first-season sires' table by winners.
“The Mission is doing a fantastic job,” Davies said. “They’re just so incredibly tough, his horses. There’s plenty more still to come too, with a few of the trials washed out up here this week.
Gallery: Other stallions to stand at Aquis in 2022
“We’re really happy with the job he’s doing, and we’re hoping for some black type maybe during the upcoming carnival with his horses like Mishani Warfare and Perfect Mission.”
Both of those juveniles were fifth and fourth respectively in the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic in January. They are smart youngsters, typical of what The Mission has been throwing.
“I think his slight fee increase is very well-deserved,” Davies said. “He’ll be well-supported by some very loyal breeders that have used him successfully up here for the last couple of years.”
There is no doubt that The Mission, a son of Choisir, has outperformed his service fee this racing season. Australia-wide, he’s one of 18 first-crop stallions that have produced multiple winners and, of these 18, five are based at Aquis Farm.
Australia-wide, he’s (The Mission) one of 18 first-crop stallions that have produced multiple winners and, of these 18, five are based at Aquis Farm.
It’s given the operation plenty to look at this year with more to come, according to the Aquis President, Justin Fung.
“I’m extremely proud and excited with the lineup Aquis is presenting to broodmare owners in 2022,” Fung said. “Every year, the quality and depth of our roster has strengthened substantially and, with the introduction of Jonker and Glenfiddich joining Pierata and company, there’s some exciting times ahead.”
