Between his two operations this season - Baramul Stud in New South Wales and Westbury Stud in New Zealand - Harvey has bred 14 stakes winners, which places him second behind global powerhouse Godolphin Australia - who have bred 27 - and just ahead of Bob Peters on 13.
The 2021/22 roll of honour includes some of the headline horses in Australia at the moment, including Swiss Exile (Pariah), winner of the G2 Spirit Of Boom Classic and Stroll (Snitzel), who won Saturday’s Listed Bill Carter S. as well as G1 South Australian Derby winner and Hong Kong-bound star Jungle Magnate (NZ) (Tarzino {NZ}).
Gallery: Some of the headline stakes winners bred by Gerry Harvey in the 2021/22 season
Harvey’s Racing and Bloodstock Manager Luke McDonald told TDN AusNZ it has been a satisfying few months and said it was just reward for Harvey’s huge investment in the industry.
“It has been a brilliant year for us in terms of winners we have bred and sold. Gerry has just produced stakes winner after stakes winner,” said McDonald. “It is great to see the brand in the winner’s picture and it is so well deserved because he has put so much into the industry and he is getting the results now, which is what it is all about.”
“It is great to see the brand in the winner’s picture and it is so well deserved because he (Gerry Harvey) has put so much into the industry and he is getting the results now, which is what it is all about.” - Luke McDonald
Dominant season
Stroll was purchased by Jamie Walter’s Proven Thoroughbreds and her trainers Steve O'Dea and Matthew Hoysted Racing for $450,000 from the Baramul Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, but her victory in the Listed Bill Carter S. at Eagle Farm was one strand of Harvey's success story over the weekend.
Another brilliant result came when Baller (High Chaparral {Ire}), who was also sold by Baramul - for $160,000 to Anthony Cummings at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2017, landed the G2 Moreton Cup.
Meanwhile, Harvey’s Westbury Stud arm also bred and sold Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) (Redwood {GB}), who was narrowly denied victory in the Listed The Phoenix and looks a huge chance in Saturday’s G1 JJ Atkins S.
Baller, winner of the G2 Moreton Cup | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
“On Saturday, we had one of the best weekends we’ve ever had. We produced Stroll and Sharp ‘N’ Smart, who we have big shares in - so that is rewarding to see them run well. Despite not winning, Sharp ‘N’ Smart will now head to the JJ Atkins as one of the favourites and I daresay he will be close to winning.
“We also had Baller on Saturday who we also sold and retained a share in. We are just having a really dominant season and we are extremely proud of what the Gerry Harvey broodmare band can produce and we are looking to go on to bigger and better things in the future.”
McDonald said the success of the juveniles off the farm this season has been hugely satisfying, especially given the competitive nature of this side of the market in Australia.
Luke McDonald | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“In the past Gerry hasn’t always been known to breed a lot of 2-year-olds, but this year we have gone from strength to strength with the juveniles. We are trying to mate the most commercial horses for the Australian market, who obviously love that precocious, sharp speed.”
The headline act
Perhaps the most exciting of the Harvey graduates for the 2021 Sale season is Best Of Bordeaux (Snitzel), whose exploits on the racetrack in winning the G3 Canonbury S. and G2 Silver Slipper S. has earned him a place on the Coolmore Stud roster at the end of his racing career.
Despite being narrowly denied the perfect end to his 2-year-old season when finishing second behind Fireburn (Rebel Dane) in the G1 Golden Slipper S., McDonald is confident he will prove to be a high-class 3-year-old next season.
Best Of Bordeaux, winner of the G2 Silver Slipper S. | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
The son of Snitzel was purchased by his trainer Kacy Fogden for $425,000 from the Baramul Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2021, with Harvey retaining a share in the colt.
“The most satisfying result this year has probably been Best Of Bordeaux, who was second in a Golden Slipper and will obviously stand at Coolmore at the end of his racing career and we will be supporting him heavily. We have retained our share in the horse and we are really excited to see what he can go on to achieve as a 3-year-old.
“He is so precocious and has this beautiful family and it will keep improving. I hope he will be aiming at the Golden Rose and if he wins that he will have a high price for his first year at stud.
“The most satisfying result this year has probably been Best Of Bordeaux... We have retained our share in the horse and we are really excited to see what he can go on to achieve as a 3-year-old.” - Luke McDonald
“Gerry is a big believer in his broodmare band and you can never have too much of a good thing these days. We keep reinvesting into these beautiful families and there is no surprise to them getting the best results on the racetrack. It is great to see for the whole team - it's fantastic.”
Tarzino: a star ascending
While this season has been fruitful on the track for Harvey as a breeder, the emergence of Westbury Stud stallion Tarzino (NZ) will undoubtedly steal the headlines when one looks back on the season.
The team at Westbury's faith in the son of Tavistock’s (NZ) talents as a stallion were rewarded once again on Saturday, when he was represented by his second Group 1 winner of the season when Gypsy Goddess (NZ) produce an impressive display to win the G1 Queensland Oaks.
Tarzino - whose first Group 1 winner Jungle Magnate was bred and raised at Westbury and fittingly he was co-owned by Harvey and trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, with the former having trained the stallion to his pair of Group 1 wins. The gelding will continue his career in Hong Kong, with connections having sold him after last month’s Group 1 victory.
Gypsy Goddess (NZ), winner of the G1 Queensland Oaks | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
While some may be surprised by Tarzino’s continued success, McDonald said he always believed the stallion had the potential to make it in the breeding barn.
“We always believed in the stallion and that is why Gerry sends a huge number of mares to him each year. I reckon we have averaged around 50 mares to him each season, so he alone has definitely added to the horse's numbers and helped him have the runners each year which is what a stallion needs.
“We bred Jungle Magnate, so that is very pleasing as well and we are extremely proud of the sire. For him to produce two Group 1 winners in his first crop puts him in high regard to everyone in the industry and places him up there with some of the best stallions in Australasia.
“For him (Tarzino) to produce two Group 1 winners in his first crop puts him in high regard to everyone in the industry and places him up there with some of the best stallions in Australasia.” - Luke McDonald
“Hopefully he can continue his success and I know that he has plenty of horses that people really think are Saturday and above class, so that is obviously very exciting. Mick Price has a number of Tarzinos in his stable that he thinks the world of, so the future certainly looks bright for the stallion.”
Best value stallion
Despite looking like he has the the world at his feet, Tarzino will stand the 2022 season for an ultra competitive fee of NZ$15,000 plus GST and McDonald believes this figure makes him one of the best value stallions not just in his native New Zealand, but in the whole of the Southern Hemisphere
“I think you have to give back to the breeders. We set him reasonably early at NZ$15,000 and he was very popular. He was always going to fill up regardless of whether he got these Group 1 winners or not and I think on that fee he has to be one of the best-priced stallions in the Southern Hemisphere at the moment.
Tarzino (NZ) will stand for NZ$15,000 plus GST at Westbury Stud in 2022
“We now have Australians sending mares to New Zealand to be covered by Tarzino and that speaks volumes and tells you that he is just so well priced within the industry. The great thing about the stallion is that he gets a great type and he ticks every box that every breeder is looking for. If the fee was increased significantly, I’m pretty sure he would still sell. There are a lot of people out there who just want to send them mares.
“He has bred that nice Classic horse and staying horse, but his progeny are also showing speed over the shorter trips and his sire Tavistock did the same and that is a sign of a good stallion. We are very lucky to be standing him at Westbury with Russell (Warwick, general manager) and the team, it’s looking good for the stallion, that’s for sure.”
This season’s success is testament to Harvey's continued commitment to the industry and McDonald said his boss' passion and thirst for racing and breeding is still as strong as ever.
“He is the most hands-on person I know, which is great to see,” said McDonald. “You could so easily sit back and watch everything unfold, but he gets out there and is involved in every aspect of the business including the matings and the sales. The most amazing thing about Gerry is the passion and love he has for every aspect of the game. I wouldn’t want it any other way and it is good for the morale and everyone that works for him.
Gerry Harvey | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
“I think he gets so much enjoyment watching the horses we have sold and bred win, even if we haven’t got anything to do with them anymore.
"He checks up on the results everyday and that is what he enjoys the most, watching the family upgrade because he has retained these families for a long period of time and when good horses like Stroll, Swiss Exile or Sharp ‘N’ Smart come along and upgrade those pedigrees, it is so rewarding for him and the business as a whole.”
